klowneyy
Well-Known Member
Does anyone have a good root beer recipe using sassafras/sarsaparilla root?
saramc said:Try this thread... https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f95/i-need-rootbeer-recipe-supplier-362079/
I have made Crazy8's recipe several times now....awesome!
Thank you so much!!!!! Can I ask how it compares to store bought root beer? I have made a recipe before and it only called for sassafras/sarsaparilla root and I wasn't a fan of it at all.
I cant seem to find sassafras bark for sale anywhere that has it in stock... Is it because of the FDA ban? Or is it a seasonal item? I have no idea...
saramc said:Sorry for not checking this...but this blows away commercial root beer. Reminds me of the rootbeer my Mom used to throw together.
When we dug sassafras root growing up we only did so Spring thru Fall and never after first frost. If you have sassafras in your area, check farmer's markets I just grabbed some there, talk about fresh. You can also find it on eBay, many spice vendors there.
^Its REALLY good stuff!
My only problem has been hunting down sassafras bark. It's unavialable everywhere including amazon right now, everone's out. I just bought 2lbs of fresh dug/cut sassafras on ebay... Anyone have experience with the fresh root? How much to use?
Thanks!
Crazy8 said:OH MY WORD YOU GUYS...You're going to make me cry. I don't even know what to say. To be honest I have heard such comments from people I work with that have had it, and I guess I just don't get it. Perhaps its true that we are our own worst critics. I am glad that it is enjoyed by many though. I just came across this this post and thought to myself "Hmmmm maybe I should submit my recipe for this guy." and as soon as I started reading I was shocked. Saramc, thank you so much for your praises I am glad you like it so much and Klowneyy if you try it I hope it all works out well for you and that you also enjoy it. For those that are interested...This recipe is what I am now calling my "Signature" recipe. It has changed much since I posted those ingredients. Where it stands now does have some things I am keeping secret, at least for now, but here is kind of what it looks like now.
Ingredients:
8 Qts. Water
24 oz. Honey
1/4 tsp. Salt (try without)
1/4 cp. Sarsaparilla
1/4 cp. Sassafras
1 1/2 cp. Brown Sugar (only use light brown sugar)
2 tsp. Vanilla Flavoring (not extract)
1/4 cp. Chopped Raisins
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Champagne Yeast (1/4tsp/ gal)
I removed juniper berries because as I really paid attention to the flavors, I was picking up something in the background that I couldn't decide if I liked or not. So I looked over all my ingredients and I thought "Well the only "weird" thing here is maybe the juniper berries." Sure enough once I removed them that odd background flavor was no longer there.
Klowneyy, or anyone else who may be interested, I have a YouTube channel that goes through some root beer brewing stuff, sanitizing, etc. that you might find helpful. Just do a search in YouTube for KD0RVY. Thats a zero not an "O". Hope this helps.
Did you use the actual root for the sassafras, or extract? If extract, how much?
I cant seem to find sassafras bark for sale anywhere that has it in stock... Is it because of the FDA ban? Or is it a seasonal item? I have no idea...
OH MY WORD YOU GUYS...You're going to make me cry. I don't even know what to say. To be honest I have heard such comments from people I work with that have had it, and I guess I just don't get it. Perhaps its true that we are our own worst critics. I am glad that it is enjoyed by many though. I just came across this this post and thought to myself "Hmmmm maybe I should submit my recipe for this guy." and as soon as I started reading I was shocked. Saramc, thank you so much for your praises I am glad you like it so much and Klowneyy if you try it I hope it all works out well for you and that you also enjoy it. For those that are interested...This recipe is what I am now calling my "Signature" recipe. It has changed much since I posted those ingredients. Where it stands now does have some things I am keeping secret, at least for now, but here is kind of what it looks like now.
Ingredients:
8 Qts. Water
24 oz. Honey
1/4 tsp. Salt (try without)
1/4 cp. Sarsaparilla
1/4 cp. Sassafras
1 1/2 cp. Brown Sugar (only use light brown sugar)
2 tsp. Vanilla Flavoring (not extract)
1/4 cp. Chopped Raisins
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Champagne Yeast (1/4tsp/ gal)
I removed juniper berries because as I really paid attention to the flavors, I was picking up something in the background that I couldn't decide if I liked or not. So I looked over all my ingredients and I thought "Well the only "weird" thing here is maybe the juniper berries." Sure enough once I removed them that odd background flavor was no longer there.
Klowneyy, or anyone else who may be interested, I have a YouTube channel that goes through some root beer brewing stuff, sanitizing, etc. that you might find helpful. Just do a search in YouTube for KD0RVY. Thats a zero not an "O". Hope this helps.
So, if your not using pure vanilla extract then I hope your vanilla
"flavoring" is not derived as castoreum which essentially is from a beaver's behind. Are you using Torani syrup? Did you notice a difference in taste from not using the pure extract or a bourbon vanilla bean? Just curious as I plan on trying this recipe out.
Well I have heard that wintergreen can cause a bitterness. I guess I haven't had much problems with it. It was suggested to me though to try and put the wintergreen in towards the end of the boil. The wintergreen is only being used for head retention not flavor or to add bitterness. I think I may not be having a problem with the bitterness because of the quantity of sweets/sugars I have added in. So I would try to do that. Maybe add the wintergreen during the last 5 minutes of your boil. That should be long enough to draw out whats needed for head retention but long enough to not grab all that bitterness. At least thats my thoughts on it.
Glad to hear that everything seemed to go well over all for you. It always nice when you start something new and the experience starts off on a good foot. Just remember that you have a great resource here on the forum.
It took me a long time to develop my two recipes which 99.9% of people that have tried it seem to love. Though one of them is loved slightly more. The best part about this hobby is being able to play with your recipe and get it all tweaked just right. It takes time but in the end, when you got it, you got it, and its wonderful.
I got some online (ebay) from seller: washburn71scotty
2lbs (I received about 2.5) set me back $20 shipping included.
Just FYI, I thought I'd share that the recipe he provided for root beer calls for 3 ounces of the root in a recipe that makes 2 quarts, so this is a good starting point. I'm wondering if I need to scale directly or if I can cut back and just boil longer? His recipe calls for a 15 min boil.
As far as "clearing" the brew, that has not been a successful venture yet. I still have one or two more things to try in doing that, I just haven't done it yet. If I do find that one of the methods works you can bet ill be posting about it.
Crazy8 said:Wow that looks great. If you don't mind me asking, how much burdock did you put in for that 4 gallons and what exactly does the gum arabic do? Thanks much and Im glad you liked it and that it all turned out well for you.
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