Hard Root Beer recipe

[Pyg]

My og was 1.068

This would be the final recipe. I'm thinking next time to add a vanilla bean in the primary and also hops, most likely Willamette. I feel as though this would be a lot easier in a keg, but you could skip stabilizing it, bottle, and put in the fridge to stop fermentation.

Grandpa Willies Hard Root Beer

---Primary---
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp yeast energizer
4 oz brown sugar
4 oz lactose
1 pound light DME
Nottingham Ale Yeast

Boil DME, brown sugar, and lactose with about 4 cups water. Pour in primary. Add nutrient and energizer. Top off. Let cool and pitch yeast. Ferment for 5-7 days. Stabilize (if kegging). Wait another week.

---Before Kegging---
1 cup sugar boiled in 1 cup water
5 1/2 oz wildflower honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp root beer extract (McCormick)

Boil sugar and add to bottling bucket. Then add honey (warm it so its easier to pour) and the extracts. Let cool and add primary. Pour in Keg or bottles.

My OG was 1.080
Seems really high for 1 gallon

 

[Pyg]

So I just got done bottling the root beer.

At bottling I added-
1 cup sugar boiled in 1 cup water
5 1/2 oz wildflower honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp root beer extract (McCormick)

I gave it a taste before I bottled....oh my.

It initially tastes like damn good rootbeer, and the aftertaste of honey and vanilla. it gives that mouthfeel you get like you just drank a rootbeer float, which I'm guessing is from the lactose. And this is when it was warm and uncarbonated! I'm telling you right now I'm buying a kegging setup just so I can make a big old batch of this and bring it to tailgates.

I just bottled and the honey was overwhelming.

 

[easymode]

Anyone figure out the separation issue?

 

[Pyg]

How long do people let this bottle condition for?
1 week?
Will I have bottle bombs if I let it go 2?

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

You just want it to rest in the bottles until it reaches the carb level you want then pasteurize it to stop it from over carbing. Then you can let it condition as long as you wish it too.

I kegged mine and was drinking it after a week using the set and forget method.

 

[Pyg]

You just want it to rest in the bottles until it reaches the carb level you want then pasteurize it to stop it from over carbing. Then you can let it condition as long as you wish it too.

I kegged mine and was drinking it after a week using the set and forget method.

My issue is I am leaving town for a week. They will have been in bottle for 1 week, 2 after I return.
I am afraid 1 week is not enough to carb, 2 might be too much.

I used an 8 oz plastic water bottle to check carb level. It is in fridge now and I will check when I get home, but the bottom was starting to bow

I was going to forgo pasteurizing and just store in fridge.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

If you are keeping them cold it will not matter. If you are storing them warm you shouldn't have the plastic one in the fridge. Otherwise it won't be representative to what your bottling.

 

[Pyg]

If you are keeping them cold it will not matter. If you are storing them warm you shouldn't have the plastic one in the fridge. Otherwise it won't be representative to what your bottling.

The small plastic one has tightened up and so I was going to open it tonight to see how carbed it is.
This will save me from having to open a 12 oz bottle.
For 1 cup of sugar for 1 gallon I am fearing bottle bombs while I am away!
Maybe I will keep them all in an empty cooler in the garage. This way they can carb and if they pop, no mess!

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

The small plastic one has tightened up and so I was going to open it tonight to see how carbed it is.
This will save me from having to open a 12 oz bottle.
For 1 cup of sugar for 1 gallon I am fearing bottle bombs while I am away!
Maybe I will keep them all in an empty cooler in the garage. This way they can carb and if they pop, no mess!

Id just chill them all if possible then let them warm and carb while you can supervise when you get back.

 

[easymode]

I am still having a separation issues. I wonder if it's because of the extract.

 

[MMBB]

I am still having a separation issues. I wonder if it's because of the extract.

Which extract are you using?

 

[EelRiverBottomsBrewing]

I have done this recipe in 3 gallon batches a few times. Just tripled everything, well almost everything. All three batches came out great tasting and i didn't have the issues with separation. When I racked it to the bottling bucket, I did let it sit and settle before adding the extracts. I always use Watkins root beer extract and have never had any problems.

I have played with the recipe a bit though and used maple syrup and honey at bottling and it tasted amazing. I bottle carbed it, then pasteurized it and sent a case home with my cousin from Wisconsin to share with some friends. He liked it better than NYFs root beer. I don't have my notes right in front of me but I do remember it came out at about 8.7% with a smooth taste.

 

[Ike]

I have done this recipe in 3 gallon batches a few times. Just tripled everything, well almost everything. All three batches came out great tasting and i didn't have the issues with separation. When I racked it to the bottling bucket, I did let it sit and settle before adding the extracts. I always use Watkins root beer extract and have never had any problems.

Details! For example:

1.) Did you secondary, or just bottle from primary right into the bottling bucket?

2.) Cold crash?

 

[EelRiverBottomsBrewing]

I just racked to my bottling bucket and let it sit for about an hour and a half with a lid on it. Then bottled and stored in some cases in the basement. I always bottle one in a .5L PET. Once its carbed up I do a stove top pasteurization. Maybe I've just been lucky.

I do have a 3 Gallon batch I brewed up yesterday fermenting now because I have friends coming in in a couple weeks and they love this. I'll detail everything out once its done fermenting and take some pics and post them.

 

[ckg1999]

If i am kegging (Co2 carbonating), do I need to do the following:

---Before Kegging---
1 cup sugar boiled in 1 cup water
5 1/2 oz wildflower honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp root beer extract (McCormick)

 

[GwedoKCCO]

I have a question. Im very green when it comes to brewing. Making a Hard Lemonade now. I only have gal carboys and nothing more.

Can I use a 6.5 gal carboy and not worry about a blow off tube if I make a 5 gal batch?

 

[Resonator]

I'm going to have to try making this sometime. Sounds amazing!

 

[EelRiverBottomsBrewing]

If you are kegging you do not need to do the priming sugar. That is for bottle carbonating only, but the added honey, vanilla and rb extract is for the flavoring of the beer

 

[easymode]

Which extract are you using?

Zatarains

 

[EelRiverBottomsBrewing]

I will say on my last batch I just bottled 3 gallons and I switched to the Gnome root beer extract and wow and turned out amazing. Tasted great war and flat... bottle carbing this batch so in a few days I'll post a pic of a carbed one poured in my mug

 

[nettekdl]

Quick question on this stuff, I've been brewing for years but this is my first attempt with bottling with residual sugar so i don't totally understand one thing. I bottled a 1 gallon batch this morning and put one in a coke bottle to test when carbonated but after about 4 hours the pet bottle is already firm. How firm do I let it get? There is no way this carbed that fast is there? I really would hate to have bottle bombs as this stuff I'm sure is one sticky mess

 

[EelRiverBottomsBrewing]

I had a batch carbed like 6 hours later. I bottles it too soon. Your yeast was probably still very potent when you bottles. Open up one if your bottles and see how carbed it is

 

[nettekdl]

Well I did 4 weeks primary and 10 days cold crash so I don't think I bottled it too soon but looks like I'll throw it in the fridge tonight to halt it where it is

 

[Ike]

Quick question on this stuff, I've been brewing for years but this is my first attempt with bottling with residual sugar so i don't totally understand one thing. I bottled a 1 gallon batch this morning and put one in a coke bottle to test when carbonated but after about 4 hours the pet bottle is already firm. How firm do I let it get? There is no way this carbed that fast is there? I really would hate to have bottle bombs as this stuff I'm sure is one sticky mess

Between a batch of this and a couple of sweet ciders, I've had a BEAR of a time getting the plastic bottle thing to work out for me. I've had the same results: the plastic bottle gets time-bomb, don't-want-to-even-jiggle-it hard, and when I check a glass bottle: nothing.

SO, I may do a plastic bottle in the future, but for my next batches I'm going to only use it as an indicator of when to start checking glass bottles. Someone here (it was in a cider thread, I think) suggests popping a top every day or so once you think things are starting to carb up; THEN, if the glass bottle you just checked is still flatter than you want, a quick re-cap shouldn't allow TOO much CO2 to escape from solution. That bottle then gets marked (or maybe has a different color cap at that point) and rotated to the back, and not "tested" again until it's drank. In this way, no one bottle is uncapped too many times leading to false results and flat bottles.

 

[jetmech_63]

I just finished carbing a 3 gallon batch, followed recipie exactly and used fermentap root beer extract... The extract sucks. The malt base is great but be warned, I used almost a whole bottle of the extract and it still doesn't taste like a good root beer flavor. Not enough anise and licorice flavor, just a subdued sasparilla flavor and not much wintergreen either. Any suggestions for my next batch? Gnome! Mccormicks? Help....

 

[fur_252]

Has any tried to use this extract?
http://www.annapolishomebrew.com/en/sprecher-root-beer

Thinking of making high OG of 4 gallons then stabilize and then dump this liquid extract in to make 5 gallons .....any thoughts??

 

[fur_252]

Found extract cheaper:
http://www.homebrewing.org/Sprecher-Rootbeer-Soda_p_740.html

 

[zagbrew]

If I am making a five gallon batch, how many packets of Nottingham?

 

[captbonez]

I bottled this today and had the separation issue. (before I even finished bottling I realized it was a problem.

3 gallon batch
7 days in a primary and another 6 in secondary, used McCormick extract. Only deviation to original recipe was I used extra light extract instead of just light extract because it was what i had on hand.

Any ideas on the cure for the separation issue yet? tasted good going into the bottle and am looking forward to the complete product.

 

[Ike]

SO... Google led me to this site:

http://www.northwesternextract.com/manufacturing-of-soft-drinks/

Where the most relevant info seemed to be:

"The flavoring ingredients used in making soft drinks must be water soluble allowing them to completely disperse throughout the drink with no separation. Flavors are supplied in two forms:

Extracts – The flavoring oils and compounds are dissolved in alcohol and water. Normally this form of flavor will produce a clear type of soft drink. Examples are lemon-lime [Seven-Up type], ginger ale and cream soda.

Emulsions – Using various types of food gums, the flavoring oils are suspended in aqueous solution. Homogenization is used to stabilize the oil in water compound. The proportions and mechanics are critical in order to prevent the oil from rising to the top or settling to the bottom of the finished drink. Citrus flavored drinks such as orange and grapefruit use this system and produce a cloudy type drink."

Looking at my bottle of Zatarain's "Root Beer Concentrate" I see it lists a bunch of chemical stuff, "artifical and natural flavors," and alcohol.

Looking at my bottle of McCormick concentrate, it lists a bunch of chemical stuff, "natural and artifical flavors," and two different gums.

While this may suggest the two concentrates might behave differently, it seems proof on this thread has been conclusive that they both settle out.

Now that I have firm temperature control, I'm going to try another small batch. I'm going to probably do the double-extract version (i.e. malt extract AND root beer extract) and do everything I can to clean it up before bottling such as using whirfloc and a bit of time in secondary.

THAT SAID: my guess is it will still settle out. BUT, if I do use whrifloc and secondary in order to minimize the amount of non-root-beer-flavoring sediment in the bottle, I'm guessing a nice GENTLE back-and-forth rolling of the bottle before pouring will bring it all back into solution long enough for me to drink it.