Hard Root Beer recipe

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

I should be making 2 gallons this week. I got everything but the extract yesterday, my lhbs only had Rainbow brand and I've seen horrible reviews for it. Then couldn't find any at Meijer ugggh.

 

[pkrath84]

Sorry if it's an obvious answer, but did you pitch the whole dry pack for the gallon?

 

[scottswe]

Do you think carbonation tablets would be a safe bet?

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

To answer both of those questions.

Pkrath84- yes, I did pitch the whole packet of yeast. I always rehydrate beforehand as well.

scottswe- you won't need carbonation tablets for this, since there will be already a lot of sugar to carbonate the bottle.

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Just got done making a 3 gallon batch, the OG was 1.045. I may add more DME or corn sugar, maybe honey, to the next batch to raise the gravity. Basically just used the 1 gallon recipe and tripled the ingredients.

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

Where did you find the McCormick extract?

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

I got my extract from Walmart, ive seen it on amazon too.

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

I plan on upping the sugars for higher gravity. Would that effect how much root beer extract I use? (And thanks for the tip bauer I found it at Wally mart)

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Hmm, I would say use the 2 tbsp, taste, and see if it needs more. Maybe add 1 tsp at a time. Root Beer extract is really strong.

 

[wombatfarms]

Dumb question. I just ordered my ingredients and hopefully will be making this next weekend. Did you cook this any before you put it in the primary?

 

[gibiore]

Man this sounds good, I can bottle in plastic root beer bottles too!! Any 5 gal recipes out there? (I love root beer)

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Wambatfarms- yes, what I did was put about half a gallon in the pot, add the malt and brown sugar. let that boil until everything is pretty well dissolved, and add to the primary. Top off with the remaining water and pitch yeast when cool enough.

gibiore-i would say you could just multiply the ingredients by 5 for a 5g batch since the recipe was for 1g. I did omit the nutrient and energizer from current batch because i read theyre not needed. Now I would probably add more fermentables because when I checked the OG for the current batch, it was low. Maybe more malt or dextrose in the primary.

 

[wombatfarms]

Thanks for the reply. Could someone possible add an updated recipe with any changes?

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

Just brewed 2 gallons. Just doubled everything. I will report progress. Using harvested WLP001

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Wombatfarms- there is a complete 1g recipe on page 2 of this post. I think the only update would be the addition of more fermentables to raise the OG.

Fuzzymittenbrewery- Looking forward to you're results!

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

My og was 1.068

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Did you add any additional fermentables?

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

Did you add any additional fermentables?

Went with 1lb brown sugar for 2 gallons.

 

[wombatfarms]

Wombatfarms- there is a complete 1g recipe on page 2 of this post. I think the only update would be the addition of more fermentables to raise the OG.

Thanks. For some reason I just looked right over it.

 

[MedicMang]

Fun recipe. Will be trying this soon. Thanks.

 

[tnorman93638]

Fuzzymittenbrewery - You said you doubled everything for your 2 gal batch except the Brown sugar you used 1 lb. correct?? Do you think it will effect the flavor? I'm curious as to how it turns out.

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

Fuzzymittenbrewery - You said you doubled everything for your 2 gal batch except the Brown sugar you used 1 lb. correct?? Do you think it will effect the flavor? I'm curious as to how it turns out.

Correct. Wanted to up the gravity a bit so used a total of 1lb brown sugar. Usually fermented light brown sugar will contribute a slight caramel flavor but it should work well in what we are going for here.

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

Fyi at the higher gravity use a blow off tube. It went nuts on me last night and my airlock was filled with krausen material this morning lol. Im using washed WLP001.

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Happened to me too, even with the lower gravity.

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Just an update, the FG for the current batch was 1.015, so the abv would be around 4%. Gonna get my CO2 tank filled on Monday and keg this for the next poker night.

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

Just bottled with all the same sugar additions as Bauerbrewery including a plastic one to monitor pressure. Will be pasturizing this. It looks a thing of beauty! And tastes fantastic ( having the last 8 oz or so over ice that didn't fit in bottles) will report on carb time and pasturization.

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

Oh and The WLP001 I used was hungry so it came down to 1.004 ending up a whopping 8.4%abv. So definately be mindful of what yeast you use. But WLP001 is my go to for any experiments, its strong, clean and aggressive. That's why its part of my farm

 

[jjefrey]

I just brewed this up today.
Did a full 5 gal boil based on the original recipe, However omitted the yeast energizer as I didn't have any. Ended up with an OG of 1.058

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

That looks amazing fuzzymittenbrewery, and the abv sounds dangerously good. Definatly keep us posted on the pasteurization. I think my yeast was higher on the FG was because the yeast was pretty old and I might have stabilized prematurely (not a normal problem). Definatly going to try WLP001 next time.

 

[pkrath84]

Oh and The WLP001 I used was hungry so it came down to 1.004 ending up a whopping 8.4%abv. So definately be mindful of what yeast you use. But WLP001 is my go to for any experiments, its strong, clean and aggressive. That's why its part of my farm

I'm curious what your starting gravity?

I'm wondering because I attempted your version as a gallon batch for the added gravity but ended up using the whole pound instead of half! I ended up with about 1.065

I'm going to use nottingham though so I doubt I'll get that low.