Best source for root beer extracts

[Shooter]

I'm pickin' up what you're puttin' down...and if I was just brewing a batch here and there for myself, who cares...however, this is for my kids, who will probably drink a lot of it...and I don't want to have to ration it out for fear they might drink enough of it to have a problem down the road. That's not to say we let them drink soda all day anyway, I just don't want to have to worry about them getting cancer or liver damage from it more than we are already concerned about obesity or their teeth rotting out. Maybe it's nothing...I just don't want to take that chance on me kids, ya know?

I just don't see any recipes that indicate how to replace sassafras with wintergreen, or any other herb. I'm an experienced all-grain brewer, but these roots and herbs are completely new to me, so I don't know how to substitute anything yet...and there is virtually zero documentation, (including the nearly worthless book I just bought) that has a decent written description of the flavors of the various ingredients.

I hear what you're saying. I don't know if I've ever seen a home recipe that contains wintergreen. The Creswell book uses a LOT of sasafrass!! Personally, I've only ever made root beer from the Homemade Soda Company extracts, but the recipes in his book for kvass and switchel are both pretty good.

 

[passedpawn]

First, bravo on the idiocracy references.

Second, I've used Rainbow RB extract and it's very good. I'd like to try a different one next time, but I'm surprised how well it turned out. I made 4g per this recipe. I used a cup less table sugar, and no maltodextrine. It certainly doesn't need the maltodextrine. And I would cut back another cup of the table sugar. My kids are hammering it hard. It won't last long.

I would like to go "all grain" too. Everything I saw everywhere indicated that sassafras has been replaced with wintergreen.

sassafras is almost a palindrome. Almost.

 

[ryangibson77]

I just found a recipe that calls for wintergreen instead of sassafras. I haven't tried it yet, but its a start. I will order some raw ingredients to experiment with in the same general proportions and/or similar to other recipes in the Creswell book. I'll post back in a couple weeks after I make a batch.
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http://www.inventionsthatwork.com/soda recipes.htm

Root Beer ( Makes 1 litre of concentrate for 10 litres of Root Beer)

Most Root Beers available today use Oil of Wintergreen or the synthetic equivalent Methyl Salicylate instead of sassafras due to safety concerns. This oil in combination with anise oil (strong liquorice flavour) creates a nice root beer flavour.

5 drops Oil Of Wintergreen
2 drops Oil of Anise
10 Tablespoons Molasses (adds flavour and "head" to the root beer)
20 drops Natural Vanilla Extract
1 Teaspoon (4.5 grams) Citric Acid (can substitute lemon juice-3 Tablespoons)
4 cups (900 grams) Table Sugar
2 cups (460 ml) Spring Water or Filtered Tap Water (preferably with chlorine removed)

 

[Shooter]

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

My Dad used to make root beer with Hire's root beer extract. It was delicious!!!

Yeah! My Dad did too!!! Wonder what happened to that brand....

It was sold off by whichever of the big three were contracted to bottle it.
The brand is alive and well in Sandy, UT which includes one of the original "Big H" drive-ins. In and around Salt Lake City you can find the extract in grocery stores or you can buy it direct:
http://store.hiresbigh.com/rootbeer-extract

There's a cherry flavor and vanilla flavor on their website that you can add to your root beer as well. I went to school with some guys that did product development for them, though I don't see that the product they were working on ever made it to market.

I don't think a lot of modern rootbeer contains sassafras. My understanding is that they use wintergreen flavoring.

I'm not sure where this keeps cropping up from, but I don't believe that wintergreen is used as a direct replacement for sassafras, but it is a flavor that is commonly used in root beers along with vanilla, cinnamon, dandelion root, burdock root, sarsaparilla root, etc.

Keep in mind that wintergreen oil is one of the precursers to aspirin, which is not good to give to kids either. So pick your poison.

Does anyone know where to get safrole-free sassafras extract?

I am just getting into making root beer, and want to make it from scratch with my kids, but my kids are probably going to drink as much or more than I will, and don't want to give them something that could potentially give them cancer at some point.

I have been searching the web high and low, and other than some shady deals on Ebay, I have been completely unable to uncover a reputable source of safrole-free sassafras extract, or even an artificial sassafras flavoring...where do the commercial root-beer manufacturers get it?

Also, does anyone know which or if any or all of the root-beer "kit" extracts are safrole-free or not?

If you want to go safrole-free, there are options out there. Pappy's Sassafras tea concentrate is not necessarily widely available, but it's available through their online store as well as Amazon. It being a straight sassafras flavor extract(without the safrole), it's a little different than the average root beer extract which is essentially a cocktail of various flavors

 

[Shooter]

I'm not sure where this keeps cropping up from, but I don't believe that wintergreen is used as a direct replacement for sassafras, but it is a flavor that is commonly used in root beers along with vanilla, cinnamon, dandelion root, burdock root, sarsaparilla root, etc.

Keep in mind that wintergreen oil is one of the precursers to aspirin, which is not good to give to kids either. So pick your poison.

Not sure of the original source. I believe Cresswell might mention it in his book. I don't know that a lot or any of his recipes call for sassafrass AND wintergreen at the same time. I don't have his book in front of me at the moment, but this may be the source of the belief that the omission of sassafras often results in a substitution of wintergreen flavoring.

I do know this is also commonly mentioned on several sites, noting that, modern root beers are often flavored with wintergreen, usually along side some sort of note about the historic use of sassafrass in root beer recipes.

As for wintergreen being a precursor to asprin, I would have to do further research on that. I have found that a number of relatively harmless ingredients are often precursors to some sinister compound. I've also found life to be a precursor to death and recommend that others avoid it at all cost!

 

[ryangibson77]

Keep in mind that wintergreen oil is one of the precursers to aspirin, which is not good to give to kids either. So pick your poison.

As I understand it, giving aspirin (salicylic acid) to kids is only an issue if they take it when they have a fever (virus), which may cause Reye's Syndrome. It also has a level of toxicity, like just about anything else, including water. However, it is not known to be carcinogenic. It's all about moderation.

I do not plan on keeping "essential oils" around my house for a similar reason, and plan on making root beer with all dried, or possibly fresh ingredients (if I can find them). Keeping a vial of wintergreen oil where the kids could possibly get a hold of it and do taste testing on the pure oil wouldn't be good. The raw ingredients however should be low enough in concentration that creating a "tea" should be safe enough.

I just ordered a sample of most of the "common" ingredients in root beer, including sassafras, for comparison purposes. I know I am not likely to exactly replace sassafras, but may be able to get "close" using a combination of ingredients, as indicated by the recipe above.

If you want to go safrole-free, there are options out there. Pappy's Sassafras tea concentrate is not necessarily widely available, but it's available through their online store as well as Amazon. It being a straight sassafras flavor extract(without the safrole), it's a little different than the average root beer extract which is essentially a cocktail of various flavors

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out!

 

[ryangibson77]

As for wintergreen being a precursor to asprin, I would have to do further research on that. I have found that a number of relatively harmless ingredients are often precursors to some sinister compound. I've also found life to be a precursor to death and recommend that others avoid it at all cost!

I've heard that nearly 100% of test subjects who breathed oxygen died within about 100 years...so we should probably avoid oxygen at all costs... :cross:

 

[bassdokes]

Also true that every person who has eaten a cumulative 5 pounds of carrots in their life have died or will die.

 

[ryangibson77]

Connecting two related threads:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f95/sassafras-flavor-alternatives-317718/

 

[jinx083464]

I've tried rio, rainbow, zatarain's, and my own work in progress home brew root beer extract. Zatarain's is a good choice, it tastes good, and is very cheap if you buy it from zatarain's main website. I must admit that the rainbow root beer extract was my favorite, having a good mouth feel, best/strongest aroma, and the flavor is what you'd expect from root beer with a aftertaste of licorice.

 

[steveman0]

It was sold off by whichever of the big three were contracted to bottle it.
The brand is alive and well in Sandy, UT which includes one of the original "Big H" drive-ins. In and around Salt Lake City you can find the extract in grocery stores or you can buy it direct:
http://store.hiresbigh.com/rootbeer-extract

Thanks for this! I've been looking for Hires extract since it disappeared when I was making the stuff years ago as a kid. If there was something that could distract me from beer for a while it is this!

 

[dog_gone]

I use two-ounce bottles of McCormick's Rootbeer concentrate for 5-gallon kegs. With vanilla, it tastes similar to A&W Rootbeer (IMO). The entire neighborhood loves it.

I buy the extract from Winco, Walmart and Safeway. You can also purchase it on Amazon.

Here are some recipes from various sources:

Homebrew Recipe 1 (found elsewhere on HBT, can't remember the thread):

2oz (1 bottle) McCormick Root Beer Extract
64 oz Light Corn Syrup
1 lb Dark Brown sugar
3 lb cane sugar


Heat 6 qt water in stock pot to simmer, add corn syrup and sugar. simmer 30 minutes. Cool pan in ice bath to 90.

Transfer to keg/bottling bucket

Add Root Beer extract, bring volume to 5 gallons (top off keg)

Carbonate in keg or proceed with yeast method in bottles.



McCormick's Recipe:

2 ounces McCormick® Root Beer Concentrate
5 pounds sugar
5 gallons lukewarm spring water, (approximately 95°F)


MINE

2oz (1 bottle) McCormick Root Beer Extract
1oz Real Vanilla Extract
32 oz Light Corn Syrup
2 lb raw cane sugar
2 lb light brown sugar

Heat 6 qt water in stock pot to simmer, add corn syrup and sugar. simmer 30 minutes. Cool pan in ice bath to 90.

Transfer to keg/bottling bucket

Add Root Beer extract and real vanilla extract, bring volume to roughly 5 gallons in keg.

Force carbonate in keg or proceed with yeast method in bottles.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

Has anyone used the tones version of root beer extract? Just picked up a bottle was going to try the same recipe as above with vanilla and syrup.

 

[K5MOW]

The best extract I have found is from the Home Made Soda Company.

They are great!!!!!!!!!!

Roger

 

[Airplanedoc]

I picked up a case of Zatarain's root beer extract off Amazon, Really couldn't beat the price. a 12pk of extract for $25 with Prime..

 

[illinoisbrassman]

^ you really cant beat the zatarains extract off amazon.

 

[Jeana]

Sprecher makes the best root beer extract we have ever done. It is a huge success with all our friends and family (cream soda is good too).

(Note: must be kegged...not an option to yeast carb.)

I want to add it to kombucha on the 2nd ferment. Do you think it could work for that?