JarrodTheBobo
Member
Hey everyone! This is my first post here, and let me say this forum has been one hell of a trove for information on my quest to figure out the workings of brewing!
Anyways, I came up with this little recipe here through some experimentation and thought ya'll might light to give it a try!
So I posted this to Facebook not too long ago for my friends over there, so it may be a bit lacking in the spelling department!
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 cups of Natural Cane Sugar
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
2 Tbsp of Black Strap Molasses (regular molasses is too sweet)
GINGER BUG STARTER (very important!! Or, substitute from 1/8 tbsp of Champagne Yeast)
3 tbsps Sarsparilla
1/2 tbsp Licorice Root
2.5-3 Star Anise
3 Allspice balls
5 Cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Little bit of lemon juice (adjust to taste)
1 Cardamon pod
1 Stick of cinnamon (about 4in)
1 Tbsp Peppermint leaves (I'd recommended Wintergreen leaves here instead but this was all that I had on me)
2 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Add these ingredients to a pot (MINUS THE YEAST AND SUGARS/MOLASSES!) with about 1/2 a gallon of water (I wasn't exact here!). Allow the water to come to a boil and stir then ingredients for about 15 minutes or so (or until the water starts to become dark in color).
Once the water has a good boil going, either allow it to continue to boil for this next step if you'd like the mix to steep at heat longer, or turn heat to medium for lower steeping time and a less 'spiced' mix. Now add the Cane Sugar and mix until dissolved. Then do the same for the Brown Sugar, and then the Molasses.
Once your mix looks rather dark brown/ blackish in color, keep on heat for about 10 more minutes and then remove from heat and cover to allow the mix to steep. Let the mix cool/steep for 15 minutes.
Next, add another half gallon of ICE WATER (to cool the mix to an except-able yeast temperature of around 75-90 degrees). You can use a bit less water here (like I did) or a bit more in order to control the amount of "syrupy-ness" the resulting soda has.
Transfer your pot to the sink (to control spillage for the next steps!) and add a 1/2 cup of Ginger Bug starter or the 1/8 TBSP of Champagne Yeast. Stir the mix and let sit for 10 minutes.
When ready, either let the pot alone (covered with a dish towel) for about 3 hours or so to allow fermentation to start; OR transfer to a gallon container.
Once you're sure Fermentation has begun (bubbles have formed!) you can bottle your soda up. I recommend using old plastic soda bottles (especially 2 liters!). If fermentation hasn't started yet however, allow it to sit out a bit longer. Fermentation rates change with the temperature of your mix/environment; slower rates at slower temps.
Once bottled, cap off the bottles and allow them to sit sealed for a MINIMUM of 1 day. You want the soda bottles to feel VERY hard to the touch; you should NOT be able to push the plastic in with your hands. This will typically take about 2-3 days, but be sure to monitor your bottles: We don't want any soda explosions now do we!
Once adequate fermentation has occurred, store your bottles in the fridge to allow the Yeast to go dormant and the CO2 produced by the yeast to be 'taken up' by the liquid. This process will usually take a couple of days, but the longer you let it sit in the fridge, the better tasting, and more fizzy your drink will be. Some recommend waiting a month before drinking, but I've had good results with waiting one day... 2 days, 3 days, etc. It all depends on your particular brew!
This is a VERY old fashion Root Beer/ Sarsaparilla type soda and definatly won't be for everyone; but if you want to give something new a try, go right ahead and give this a shot!
Enjoy!
EDIT:
After sufficient chilling; although this recipe has come out a bit better than my other experiments (as all were too sweet, had too much licorice, anise, not enough spice, etc....) I think I may have added too much Sarsparilla. The Beer has a somewhat 'odd' aftertaste reminiscent of cardboard, which I've heard is a pretty big telling sign of too much Sarsparilla.
...also I think I added a bit too much water; taste a little watered-down.
Today I heated up a small batch of water and made a small batch of syrup with more Peppermint, a pinch of licorice root, 3 more cloves, a dash of cinnamon, 1 more allspice, 1 more cardamon pod, and a small amount of ginger root. Although the brew has a spicier and more 'full' flavor, the aftertaste is still prevalent. I'd use less Sarsparilla for future batches.
Anyways, I came up with this little recipe here through some experimentation and thought ya'll might light to give it a try!
So I posted this to Facebook not too long ago for my friends over there, so it may be a bit lacking in the spelling department!
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 cups of Natural Cane Sugar
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
2 Tbsp of Black Strap Molasses (regular molasses is too sweet)
GINGER BUG STARTER (very important!! Or, substitute from 1/8 tbsp of Champagne Yeast)
3 tbsps Sarsparilla
1/2 tbsp Licorice Root
2.5-3 Star Anise
3 Allspice balls
5 Cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Little bit of lemon juice (adjust to taste)
1 Cardamon pod
1 Stick of cinnamon (about 4in)
1 Tbsp Peppermint leaves (I'd recommended Wintergreen leaves here instead but this was all that I had on me)
2 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Add these ingredients to a pot (MINUS THE YEAST AND SUGARS/MOLASSES!) with about 1/2 a gallon of water (I wasn't exact here!). Allow the water to come to a boil and stir then ingredients for about 15 minutes or so (or until the water starts to become dark in color).
Once the water has a good boil going, either allow it to continue to boil for this next step if you'd like the mix to steep at heat longer, or turn heat to medium for lower steeping time and a less 'spiced' mix. Now add the Cane Sugar and mix until dissolved. Then do the same for the Brown Sugar, and then the Molasses.
Once your mix looks rather dark brown/ blackish in color, keep on heat for about 10 more minutes and then remove from heat and cover to allow the mix to steep. Let the mix cool/steep for 15 minutes.
Next, add another half gallon of ICE WATER (to cool the mix to an except-able yeast temperature of around 75-90 degrees). You can use a bit less water here (like I did) or a bit more in order to control the amount of "syrupy-ness" the resulting soda has.
Transfer your pot to the sink (to control spillage for the next steps!) and add a 1/2 cup of Ginger Bug starter or the 1/8 TBSP of Champagne Yeast. Stir the mix and let sit for 10 minutes.
When ready, either let the pot alone (covered with a dish towel) for about 3 hours or so to allow fermentation to start; OR transfer to a gallon container.
Once you're sure Fermentation has begun (bubbles have formed!) you can bottle your soda up. I recommend using old plastic soda bottles (especially 2 liters!). If fermentation hasn't started yet however, allow it to sit out a bit longer. Fermentation rates change with the temperature of your mix/environment; slower rates at slower temps.
Once bottled, cap off the bottles and allow them to sit sealed for a MINIMUM of 1 day. You want the soda bottles to feel VERY hard to the touch; you should NOT be able to push the plastic in with your hands. This will typically take about 2-3 days, but be sure to monitor your bottles: We don't want any soda explosions now do we!
Once adequate fermentation has occurred, store your bottles in the fridge to allow the Yeast to go dormant and the CO2 produced by the yeast to be 'taken up' by the liquid. This process will usually take a couple of days, but the longer you let it sit in the fridge, the better tasting, and more fizzy your drink will be. Some recommend waiting a month before drinking, but I've had good results with waiting one day... 2 days, 3 days, etc. It all depends on your particular brew!
This is a VERY old fashion Root Beer/ Sarsaparilla type soda and definatly won't be for everyone; but if you want to give something new a try, go right ahead and give this a shot!
Enjoy!
EDIT:
After sufficient chilling; although this recipe has come out a bit better than my other experiments (as all were too sweet, had too much licorice, anise, not enough spice, etc....) I think I may have added too much Sarsparilla. The Beer has a somewhat 'odd' aftertaste reminiscent of cardboard, which I've heard is a pretty big telling sign of too much Sarsparilla.
...also I think I added a bit too much water; taste a little watered-down.
Today I heated up a small batch of water and made a small batch of syrup with more Peppermint, a pinch of licorice root, 3 more cloves, a dash of cinnamon, 1 more allspice, 1 more cardamon pod, and a small amount of ginger root. Although the brew has a spicier and more 'full' flavor, the aftertaste is still prevalent. I'd use less Sarsparilla for future batches.
