Hard Root Beer recipe

[MikeHoncho]

That is a different message board entirely.

This sounds delicious, what is the ABV coming out to?

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Hahaha, yeah, all I want to make is root beer.

The ABV depends, the original recipe gives an abv of around 4%, but another poster on this thread doubled the brown sugar and got it up to 8%.

 

[pkrath84]

if you check out the thread, I posted the ebay handle of a guys I purchased it from. he digs it up to order and will even clean and cut it up for you. PM me if you need a link, etc. Im too toasted right now to look for it.

 

[rdneckbrew]

Well, I went to check on my batch of this last night and found it covered with an infection! Crap!

Not sure what happened but I was really looking forward to this. Guess I gotta try again.

Could temperature fluctuations cause an infection like that? I'm typically very good about sanitizing everything.

Oh well, off to the brew shop again.

 

[pkrath84]

Finally got around to popping the caps and adding champagne yeast a few days ago. I was thinking my hard root beer might be TOO alcoholic, but as of today there's a bit of bubbles in my PET bottle and she seems to be filling up with gas, albeit slowly, so I think I'm in good shape.

Will keep you all posted.

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Good to hear, hope it comes out good and carbed for ya. Im waiting on a batch I made on Monday. Added 10oz Honey malt, 8oz crystal malt, 6oz caramel 40l, and 2oz caramel 120l to the original recipe. Should be interesting to see the results. Smells amazing though.

 

[brewbeerry]

im going to brew this tomorrow! 2 row, some munich, tiny bit of flaked barley, and i like the sound of that 120L addition so may throw in a small amount of crystal or special B then follow the rest of the recipe as is. cant wait...

 

[Waterlogd2005]

I made this with the original recipe. Awesome flavor. Definately use a plastic bottle to check carb level daily after 4 days. I left it for seven and it is overcarbed. Yours may or not be, but carb level needs to be watched.

 

[brewbeerry]

i brewed this today and wow...1.085 OG after cooling to pitching temps...I forgot to factor in the brown sugar and lactose into my grain bill for gravity. hopefully it will ferment out enough, i think 12 points are just for the lactose, should be malty enough! I calculated water additions to end up with about .85 gallons post boil so that when I add the 1 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup water, honey, and extracts at bottling I will get closer to 1 gallon- can always top off with water if Im short at that point.

.85 gallons hard root beer
1.4 lbs 2 row
.085 munich 10L
.07 lbs flaked barley
.05 lbs special B
.25 lbs brown sugar
.25 lbs lactose
.2 tsp Irish moss 15 mins (dk if necessary but used grain so went with it)
US 05

Mashed with 2 qts water at 150F for 55 mins. Double batch sparged with 4.4 qts 185F water and boiled 60 mins, adding lactose and brown sugar at 15 mins. Currently bubbling away in fermentation chamber at 67F!

 

[tnorman93638]

So I'm getting ready to bottle a 2 gallon batch and I was just wandering. Do I need to double the Water, Vanilla extract, Honey and Root Beer Extract or will that be to much for bottle carbing???

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

You will want to double everything except the water. Just realize if you let it carb too long the bottles WILL explode. You will need to get them carbed, and put in the fridge, or pasteurize.

 

[tnorman93638]

Thanks that's what I thought but I just wanted to make sure.

 

[SWFLHOMEBREW]

Hey guys.....first post!! I am currently making a 1 gallon of this but upped the brown sugar to 5 oz & lactose to 4 1/2 oz. Fermented out and stabilizing right now!! Will let you know how it is when I keg in about a week!! My OG was 1.073

 

[BrewmeisterSmith]

Has anyone tried making 5 gallons of this? I'd be curious to see how this scales up.

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Not sure about a 5 gallon batch, but it scaled up to a 3 gallon really well for me. Working on another batch right now!

 

[SWFLHOMEBREW]

kegging this today.....FG 1.024.....around 7.2% !!

 

[davepeds]

I scaled up to 3 gallons, with a few hitches. I tripled the fermentables and lactose. On WLP 001, I let the ale go for 1 month. I can't stand yeasty off flavors, that's why.
I racked to bottling and found a drop from 1.062 to 1.014. I will tell you, this version of the recipe really upsets brewing software for Beer Alchemy.
I tripled the honey & vanilla, left the priming sugar at 1 cup (which is too much for a 5 gal batch of normal beer, so I was a little reticent to use 3 cups), and went with 5 tablespoons of "old fashion home brew root beer extract" because LHBS didn't have McCormicks. I'm checking it tonight for carbonation (5 days in). We'll see...

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Definitely let us know how the different root beer extract works out. I actually used McCorrmick because I'm not a fan of the root beer extract you used, but that's just my taste. Different extracts will make a HUGE difference in the final product, because they are all made and taste differently. Just like how Barqs doesn't taste just like A&W.

 

[SWFLHOMEBREW]

Just bottled my 1G batch from my tap. I used HOMEBREW by Rainbow Flavors Inc.. It didnt actually say extract on it, just soda pop base. Got it at my only local store. I have noticed some Walmarts in my area (5 in town) have rootbeer extract/flavoring, may try some of that. On to the good stuff....this stuff is GOOD!! I'm hoping this will get better after a week or two of aging, but it is very drinkable now! I will for sure make this again and maybe play with the recipe...more lactose....more vanilla.....but will wait to see how it is after a little more time...gonna take a few bottles to work tomorrow and see what they think!!

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Looks good! Mine always seemed to "mellow out" with age, but never lasted more then 2 weeks. You can find a few extracts from Wally World, that actually where I usually find McCorrmicks. There's also a big selection on amazon.com. The brand "Zatarains" is supposed to be good, so I might try that one next batch.

 

[SWFLHOMEBREW]

this stuff is good!!! the work peeps liked it as well!! think I'm gonna have to make a 5 of it!! You wouldn't even know you were drinking alcohol, and just 1 bottle at 7.2% had me feelin' pretty good!!!

 

[davepeds]

Don't use the "Home Brew Root Beer Extract" - I used it. Not good. I haven't tried the mccormick, but will.

 

[SWFLHOMEBREW]

I used the Home Brew extract & it tastes fine to me....but I haven't tried any other either though......

 

[PasbitinusBluinusRibbinus]

What's the verdict on it staining keg lines?

 

[Inkdrop]

This sounds amazing. I am definately going to try this when I get back home. Out of town for work right now, can't brew anything for three more weeks . But I have Octoberfest and an oat meal stout bottle conditioning so atleast I'll have some good home brew when I get back home

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

I believe if the root beer is kept in the lines for an extended amount of time it can stain them.

 

[pkrath84]

I believe if the root beer is kept in the lines for an extended amount of time it can stain them.

It does. I've been making homemade root beer and each batch, the lines get darker and darker. I just have 1 keg and 1 set of lines dedicated to root beer now.

Also an update on my end:

My high octane hard root beer is more of a liqueur now... It's about as thick as cough syrup, definitely tastes like root beer, but is too sweet and too hot to drink by the glass. I think I'll save it for shots or mixed drinks and start from square one and make sure I follow it to the letter next go.

I THINK I could fix what I have by dissolving some dextrose/malt and blending to thin and dry it out, but I think I'll just save what I have for a cocktail night.

...Round 2 coming soon!

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

From what it sounds, you made hard root beer extract. You could try mixing it with soda water, and get it back to carbonated hard root beer.

I should mention Pasteurizing this works great, doesn't effect the flavor, and best of all, no bottle bombs.

 

[fearwig]

I like this but I'm confused about all the talk of carb difficulties and bottle bomb worries. The sweetness is all from lactose, right? Why are people bottling this before primary is complete instead of upping the lactose?

Basically, I'm trying to judge whether 4oz is really the right lactose measurement if you want a shelf-stable beer. Is a partially fermented beer (fridged or pasteurized) preferable to more lactose for some reason? Flavor?

 

[501irishred]

I like this but I'm confused about all the talk of carb difficulties and bottle bomb worries. The sweetness is all from lactose, right? Why are people bottling this before primary is complete instead of upping the lactose?

Basically, I'm trying to judge whether 4oz is really the right lactose measurement if you want a shelf-stable beer. Is a partially fermented beer (fridged or pasteurized) preferable to more lactose for some reason? Flavor?

This:

Yeah, the lactose is more for that float flavor, doesn't let a whole lot sweetness. I was going to try making it with crystal malt and honey malt to give the sweetness. Definatly give the root beer stout a shot though, it would be interesting to hear you're results.

Lactose can give some perceived sweetness, but is mainly to add to mouth feel.