Hard Root Beer

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mxyzptlk

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I was thinking of brewing a hard root beer and using Charlie Papazian's Mack Jack Root beer as a base as suggested at the end of the recipe (steeping crystal malts for sweetness) -- anyone else tried this or anything similar? looking for any comments or suggestions!

Thanks
 
I've been working on a hard root beer for a bit now. I've done it with an extract though. The goal was to get a cheap, high alcohol drink so I've started making and using invert sugar. I don't know the results yet, but we'll find out soon.

I'd be curious to know how yours ends up though. Be sure to keep us updated.
 
I'd be interested also. I've done root and birch beers and was disappointed with the flavors. maybe they were just too dry.
 
First, I thought I should mention some other sources for root beer recipes I have come across: (1) Homemade Root Beer, Soda & Pop. By Stephen Cresswell
and (2) Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers : The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation by Stephen Harrod Buhner

anyone know of any others?

This one comes from Charlies Papazian's new complete joy of homebrewing


MacJack Root Beer

Ingredients for 5 gallons

3 quarts brown molasses
2 oz sassafras bark (with a warning about sassafras bark and the FDA and cancer- if you are concerned do some research first!)
2 oz Sarsaparilla (woody, shredded)
2 oz wintergreen (herb)
1.2 oz licorice bark or root (woody, shredded)
1 vanilla bean (Chopped)
0-1 lb honey corn or cane sugar to taste

whole list of other optional ingredients - see book if interested!

instructions:

add herbs, root, spices and molasses to 2 gallons of boiling water and immedietely turn off heat. Let steep with lid on for 2 to 4 hours. then strain the flavoring ingredients out of the root beer wort and add cold water to make 5 gallons. taste and add sugar to your preference. transfer to a keg and chill 33 to 45 degrees F. Force carbonate with CO2 until you achieve desired carbonation.

always mantian the keg at cold temperatures. if storing for long periods of time, check pressure weekly. if there is pressure buildup, then release pressure and consume as soon as possible.

Then there is a small section about fermenting root beer like other beers, and suggests adding 2 to 3 pounds crystal/carmel malts for residual sweetness.
 
Does anybody know of a recipe for REAL root beer?(not the kind for kiddies). The one above from Papazian's book doesn't look alcoholic since there's no fermentation involved. I'd like to make a clone of Sam Adam's Root Beer, which I loved!
 
Are you talking about a root beer flavored ale/lager? Or are you talking about rootbeer someone threw some yeast into to ferment it and make hooch?

If you mean a rootbeer flavored ale/lager see below. If you're talking about hooch I cant help ya

BAH lost my recipie :mad: No worries it needed tweeking anyway . . . but basicly what I do was made a dark, thich, creamy, sweet porter with VERY LITTLE to no hops (talking about 5-10 IBUs) then rack it to a primary. On my last batch I added 5 gallons worth of rootbeer extract (1 bottle + a bit) and let the ale ferment out like normal. It turned out pretty good but I need to tweek the recipie a bit (probably why I didnt keep it) My only complaints were that even though it smelled just like rootbeer it was missing a strong root beer flavor. On my next batch I am going to use the exact same process EXCEPT I'll be adding the extract to the bottling bucket instead of the fermentor.

The reason I am using a rootbeern extract is because at this point I am unable to find a GOOD non extract recipie for a root beer base without TONS of sugar in it and I'm at the stage I want to get the porter part of the recipie right and the extract gves me consistancy on the rootbeer side of the recipie
 
Well that sounds a lot easier than finding all those ingredients. Yes, I'm looking for a root beer flavored ale, kinda like Sam Adam's if you got a chance to try it.

Any reason why the extract would be stronger if added in bottling bucket? Would the flavor be better by adding 1.5 to 2 bottles of extract? What brand of extract did you use? I'm assuming the beer making kind and not the stuff for root beer soda.
 
grnich said:
Any reason why the extract would be stronger if added in bottling bucket? Would the flavor be better by adding 1.5 to 2 bottles of extract? What brand of extract did you use? I'm assuming the beer making kind and not the stuff for root beer soda.

I'm not sure if it would be stronger flavored or not if I add the extract t the bottling bucket but thats why my sig is as it is :) . I know that a lot of fruit extracts are added to the bottling bucket by some but some put the extact (or fruit) right inthe fermentor. I figure why not give it a shot, if worse comes to worse atleast I learned something. Another nice thing about waiting to add the extract until I bottle is I can see exactly how the porter base turns out befor the root beer side of the recipie is added

I probably would get more flavor if I added more extract but I'm not to that stage yet. I want to the the porter side of the recipie just the way I want it b4 I start tinkering with the rootbeer side again.

I used "Old Fashioned Homebrew Root Beer Soda Pop Base" from Rainbow Flavors, INC. 1 bottle (2oz) makes 4 gallons of root beer, in my 5 gallon batch I used 2.5oz. I used that brand because it was cheep and I can get it from a store 6 blocks from my house. I am thinking though I am going to switch to "Gnome" for my next batch IF the porter base seems to be the way I want it.

both extracts can be found here
http://www.northernbrewer.com/soda.html

BTW I found the recipie for my next attempt . . . I had it saved in a wierd area. This recipie is 100% different then my first one and I am aiming for a BIG creemy mouthfeel and I want it to be just a tiny bit on the sweet side . . . damn near chewable. I'll be using honey to prime and am still debating on what yeast to use. The SRM is WAY off. Root beer extract is very dark so I totally disreguard the SRM values. I am also going very low IBU's because I want the extract to balance off the malt not hops. Last time I used brewers gold hops because of their neutral charachetr butthis time I am going with the Willamette for the mild spicey, fruity, floral, earthy aspects but MAY reduce that last addition to .5 oz instead of a full 1 oz . . . not sure yet
Rootbeer porter

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

12-C Porter, Baltic Porter

Min OG: 1.060 Max OG: 1.090
Min IBU: 20 Max IBU: 40
Min Clr: 17 Max Clr: 30 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 17.75
Anticipated OG: 1.085 Plato: 20.38
Anticipated SRM: 31.9
Anticipated IBU: 8.7
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 5.88 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.072 SG 17.51 Plato


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
50.7 9.00 lbs. Vienna Malt America 71.27 4
16.9 3.00 lbs. CaraMunich 60 France 69.19 60
9.9 1.75 lbs. Special B Malt Belgian 60.88 120
8.5 1.50 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 67.12 2
8.5 1.50 lbs. Flaked Oats America 67.12 2
5.6 1.00 lbs. Flaked Barley America 65.04 2

Potential represented as Yield, Coarse Grind As Is.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.50 oz. Willamette Whole 5.00 4.9 30 min.
1.00 oz. Willamette Whole 5.00 3.8 10 min.
 
From BYO:

Real Root Beer
by Scott Russell


5 gallons, partial mash

Ingredients:

2 lbs. crushed mild ale malt
1 lb. dark crystal malt, 120° Lovibond
0.25 lb. black malt
0.25 lb. chocolate malt
3 lbs. unhopped dark dry malt extract
0.5 lb. dark unsulphured molasses
4 oz. maltodextrin powder
1 oz. Cluster hop pellets (7% alpha acid), for 60 min.
0.5 oz. sassafras bark
0.5 oz. sarsaparilla bark
1 oz. dried wintergreen leaves
0.5 oz. shredded licorice root
pinch sweet gale (optional)
pinch star anise (optional)
pinch mace (optional)
pinch coriander (optional)
dash black cherry juice (optional)
10 to 14 g. dry ale yeast
2 oz. lactose powder
7/8 cup corn sugar
0.5 cup spice tea (pinch wintergreen, sarsaparilla, licorice root)
corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

In 1 gal. water mash crystal, black, chocolate, and mild ale malts at 155° F for 60 minutes. Sparge with 1.5 gals. at 170° F. Add 1 gal. water to kettle and bring to a boil. Add dark dry malt, maltodextrin, and molasses. Stir well to avoid scorching. Add Cluster hops and boil 60 minutes. At kettle knockout steep your spice combination (in a mesh bag) as wort cools. Pour into fermenter and top up to 5.25 gals. Cool to 75° F and pitch ale yeast. Ferment seven to 10 days at about 70° F, rack to secondary, and condition at 60° F for two weeks. Prime with corn sugar, add strained spice tea (1/2 cup boiling water over spices for at least a half hour), and bottle. Age two to three weeks cool (55° F).

Alternatives and Options:

Non-alcoholic creamy version: Instead of fermenting the wort, cool to 75° F, substitute 5 to 7 g. dry champagne yeast for the ale yeast, and bottle immediately. Store at 70° F for two or three days, then refrigerate. Follow these instructions exactly, otherwise you risk exploding bottles. You may also use ale yeast, which is somewhat safer because it will not continue to ferment in cold temperatures. However, the bubbles will not have that fine champagne quality. A safer way to carbonate: Get a CO2 system and either put your root beer in 5-gal. soda kegs (force carbonated) or get Carbonater-brand couplings and bottle in 2-liter PET bottles (force carbonated at 25 to 28 psi, chilled and shaken well).


This caught my eye.

Al
 
Shot Drive said:
A safer way to carbonate: Get a CO2 system and either put your root beer in 5-gal. soda kegs (force carbonated) or get Carbonater-brand couplings and bottle in 2-liter PET bottles (force carbonated at 25 to 28 psi, chilled and shaken well).

I've tried making root beer using extracts and champagne yeast. Something I've read; if you decide to force carbonate in a keg, be aware that root beer has a VERY persistent smell and taste that may affect your keg and dispensing system. I can attest to the strength of root beer extract; it really sticks around, especially in plastic.
 
From BYO:

Real Root Beer
by Scott Russell


5 gallons, partial mash

Ingredients:

2 lbs. crushed mild ale malt
1 lb. dark crystal malt, 120° Lovibond
0.25 lb. black malt
0.25 lb. chocolate malt
3 lbs. unhopped dark dry malt extract
0.5 lb. dark unsulphured molasses
4 oz. maltodextrin powder
1 oz. Cluster hop pellets (7% alpha acid), for 60 min.
0.5 oz. sassafras bark
0.5 oz. sarsaparilla bark
1 oz. dried wintergreen leaves
0.5 oz. shredded licorice root
pinch sweet gale (optional)
pinch star anise (optional)
pinch mace (optional)
pinch coriander (optional)
dash black cherry juice (optional)
10 to 14 g. dry ale yeast
2 oz. lactose powder
7/8 cup corn sugar
0.5 cup spice tea (pinch wintergreen, sarsaparilla, licorice root)
corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

In 1 gal. water mash crystal, black, chocolate, and mild ale malts at 155° F for 60 minutes. Sparge with 1.5 gals. at 170° F. Add 1 gal. water to kettle and bring to a boil. Add dark dry malt, maltodextrin, and molasses. Stir well to avoid scorching. Add Cluster hops and boil 60 minutes. At kettle knockout steep your spice combination (in a mesh bag) as wort cools. Pour into fermenter and top up to 5.25 gals. Cool to 75° F and pitch ale yeast. Ferment seven to 10 days at about 70° F, rack to secondary, and condition at 60° F for two weeks. Prime with corn sugar, add strained spice tea (1/2 cup boiling water over spices for at least a half hour), and bottle. Age two to three weeks cool (55° F).

Alternatives and Options:

Non-alcoholic creamy version: Instead of fermenting the wort, cool to 75° F, substitute 5 to 7 g. dry champagne yeast for the ale yeast, and bottle immediately. Store at 70° F for two or three days, then refrigerate. Follow these instructions exactly, otherwise you risk exploding bottles. You may also use ale yeast, which is somewhat safer because it will not continue to ferment in cold temperatures. However, the bubbles will not have that fine champagne quality. A safer way to carbonate: Get a CO2 system and either put your root beer in 5-gal. soda kegs (force carbonated) or get Carbonater-brand couplings and bottle in 2-liter PET bottles (force carbonated at 25 to 28 psi, chilled and shaken well).


This caught my eye.

Al
Has anyone tried this?
 
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