user 113206
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2012
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 2
Hi All- This is my first post on the site, although I've kept an eye on these forums for a while. I thought I'd just say hello and post the recipe I've been using.
I've scoured the internet forever, read a ton of books and have asked a ton of people who've made read beer, but I never found a recipe I thought looked that great. One day I stumbled across Swagger Rootbeer. John, a truly fantastic home-brewer has a great site and since his recipe seemed like something I would enjoy I made it.
Even though I made his, I also wanted to tweak it a bit so it would be more my own. Here is what I ended up with (2 Gallon Recipe):
10 TBS DRIED SASSAFRAS ROOT BARK
4 TBS CHOPPED DRIED BURDOCK ROOT
4 TSP CHOPPED DRIED LICORICE ROOT
4 TBS DRIED WINTERGREEN LEAF
4 TSP CHOPPED DRIED DANDELION ROOT
2 CINNAMON STICK
2 TSP FRESH GINGER
4 CUPS SUGAR
2 TBS HONEY (ALL NATURAL, ORGANIC, SHOULDN'T COME IN A JAR SHAPED LIKE A BEAR)
4 TSP VANILLA EXTRACT
1/4 TSP MALTODEXTRIN
1/4 TSP ALE YEAST
2 GAL WATER (I used bottled)
1. Place first 7 ingredients in 1 gallon of water and simmer for 45 minutes. Within the last 15 minutes I added in Maltodextrin. (Wasn't quite sure at first when to do this, but it seemed to work well)
2. Remote from heat and cool for 30 minutes.
3. Rehydrate yeast in 1/4 cup boiled/cooled water for 15 minutes.
4. Strain Wort. I do this twice, once using a fine mesh strainer and another using unbleached coffee filters
5. Add Sugar, Honey and Vanilla and stir well.
6. Add remaining water, stir well.
7. Mix in yeast, stir well.
8. Bottle- I used PET bottles 500ml size. In a few days (when bottle is as hard as soda you would get in the store, put in the refrigerator).
I really, really liked the way this root beer came out. It still has a similar flavor to Swagger Root Beer, but I was trying to find a way to get that "bite" that makes root beer so good to me. The fresh ginger gives it a slight kick. I think the next time I make it I'll double the ginger, but I don't want to overpower the other flavors.
It took me a long time to find a recipe I was willing to try to make (thanks again to Swagger!). I hope anyone here who wants to make Root Beer from scratch gives both of our recipes a shot.
Have fun brewing!
I've scoured the internet forever, read a ton of books and have asked a ton of people who've made read beer, but I never found a recipe I thought looked that great. One day I stumbled across Swagger Rootbeer. John, a truly fantastic home-brewer has a great site and since his recipe seemed like something I would enjoy I made it.
Even though I made his, I also wanted to tweak it a bit so it would be more my own. Here is what I ended up with (2 Gallon Recipe):
10 TBS DRIED SASSAFRAS ROOT BARK
4 TBS CHOPPED DRIED BURDOCK ROOT
4 TSP CHOPPED DRIED LICORICE ROOT
4 TBS DRIED WINTERGREEN LEAF
4 TSP CHOPPED DRIED DANDELION ROOT
2 CINNAMON STICK
2 TSP FRESH GINGER
4 CUPS SUGAR
2 TBS HONEY (ALL NATURAL, ORGANIC, SHOULDN'T COME IN A JAR SHAPED LIKE A BEAR)
4 TSP VANILLA EXTRACT
1/4 TSP MALTODEXTRIN
1/4 TSP ALE YEAST
2 GAL WATER (I used bottled)
1. Place first 7 ingredients in 1 gallon of water and simmer for 45 minutes. Within the last 15 minutes I added in Maltodextrin. (Wasn't quite sure at first when to do this, but it seemed to work well)
2. Remote from heat and cool for 30 minutes.
3. Rehydrate yeast in 1/4 cup boiled/cooled water for 15 minutes.
4. Strain Wort. I do this twice, once using a fine mesh strainer and another using unbleached coffee filters
5. Add Sugar, Honey and Vanilla and stir well.
6. Add remaining water, stir well.
7. Mix in yeast, stir well.
8. Bottle- I used PET bottles 500ml size. In a few days (when bottle is as hard as soda you would get in the store, put in the refrigerator).
I really, really liked the way this root beer came out. It still has a similar flavor to Swagger Root Beer, but I was trying to find a way to get that "bite" that makes root beer so good to me. The fresh ginger gives it a slight kick. I think the next time I make it I'll double the ginger, but I don't want to overpower the other flavors.
It took me a long time to find a recipe I was willing to try to make (thanks again to Swagger!). I hope anyone here who wants to make Root Beer from scratch gives both of our recipes a shot.
Have fun brewing!