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pizzaman

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Since there's no recipe database for sodas, I thought we could all pitch in and start adding our tried and tested soda recipes to this thread...if enough recipes are added I'm sure we could talk someone into making it sticky.

Here's what I have for tried and tested recipes:

ROOT BEER

1 gallon water
1-1/2 cups molasses
1 tsp. dry yeast
1/2 ounce each of hops, dried burdock, yellow dock, sarsaparilla, dandelion, sassafras and spikenard roots

Wash the herbs and bruise them thoroughly with a potato masher or pastry blender. Cover with the water, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat. Strain into a large crock. Add the molasses and cool to lukewarm.

When the mixture is lukewarm, add 1 teaspoon dry yeast and stir. Cover the crock with a cloth and put it in a warm, draft-free place 70-80 degrees F. After 2 hours, pour into clean bottles to within 1/2 inch of the tops. Cap with capper and metal caps, but not corks. Place the capped bottles on their sides in a warm and draft-free spot (70-80 degrees F) for 5 days, then set upright in a cool place. The root beer will be ready to drink
in 10 days, but will keep for the whole summer.



GINGER SODA

2 gallons of water
2 ounces of ginger root, thinly sliced and bruised with the back of a knife
4 cups of light raw sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
1 cup liquid homemade yeast or 1 yeast cake dissolved in a cup of warm water

Combine in a large pot the ginger, sugar, lemon juice, cream of tartar, yeast and water. Let the mixture stand in a warm place for 24 hours. Line a funnel with cheesecloth and strain the liquid into two clean gallon jugs. Cover them tightly and let them stand overnight. Chill well before drinking.



SPRUCE BEER

5 gallons of water
1/8 pound of hops
1/2 cup of dried, bruised ginger root
1 pound of the outer twigs of spruce fir
3 quarts of molasses
1/2 yeast cake dissolved in 1/2 cup of warm water or 1/2 cup of liquid homemade yeast

In a large kettle combine the water, hops, ginger root and spruce fir twigs. Boil together until all the hops sink to the bottom of the kettle. Strain into a large crock and stir in the molasses. After this has cooled add the yeast. Cover and leave to set for 48 hours. Then bottle, cap and leave in a warm place(70-75 degrees F) for 5 days. It will now be ready to drink. Store upright in a cool place.
 
Chocolate Soda

2 Liters hot water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp fleischmann's active dry bread yeast

Combine all ingredients except yeast, stir to blend. When slightly warmer than room temperature, add yeast, shake, and bottle. For an extra kick, you can also add 1 Tbsp of instant coffee to the mix, just be careful when opening the bottle the first time as it may foam up rapidly.
 
I do a really simple ginger ale.

2 tbsp Fresh ginger grated
1 cup sugar
a 2 litre soda bottle
ale yeast

Grate two tablespoons of ginger and be sure to keep the liquid that leaks out, put in a 2 litre plastic bottle. make a syrup of the sugar, pour that on top of the ginger root. Fill with water and sprinkle in a pinch of dried yeast.
I then put that in the hot press with the clothes for a day or two until the bottle is very hard, then put it in the fridge.
 
Chocolate Soda

2 Liters hot water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp fleischmann's active dry bread yeast

Combine all ingredients except yeast, stir to blend. When slightly warmer than room temperature, add yeast, shake, and bottle. For an extra kick, you can also add 1 Tbsp of instant coffee to the mix, just be careful when opening the bottle the first time as it may foam up rapidly.

How long after the soda is bottled should we let it sit before drinking?
Do we let it age at room temp. then move to the fridge?
How long does it keep?

Thanks
 
How long after the soda is bottled should we let it sit before drinking?
Do we let it age at room temp. then move to the fridge?
How long does it keep?

Thanks
You let it sit at room temperature until it's fully carbonated and the plastic bottle is hard. Then refrigerate, and you can start drinking it once it gets cold. I've kept a 2L soda bottle in the fridge for several months because I forgot to drink it, and it was still fine.
 
Thanks The Blow Leprechaun,
I have been doing some reading and thought that was how to do it but just wanted to check with the seasoned soda makers.
As for how long it lasts,I assume then from what you said it will last just as long if not longer then commercial made sodas?and that opened bottles wont last long at all?
I ask because if I were to bottle in a 2 liter bottle I had better get to drinking or else lose a good portion of the soda as it will get stale.

Thanks
 
I've found you can have an open bottle as long as an open bottle of commercial, if not a bit longer as it's still active in my case and not force carbed.
 
One of the advantages to homemade soda with live yeast over commercial beer is if you leave it open and it gets flat, you can just pull it out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature again until it carbs back up.

You'll get a little more trace alcohol and yeast flavor, and a little less sugar doing this, but hey, it beats flat soda.

The several months old soda I was referring to hadn't been open, it had just been sitting in my fridge for something like 3-4 months before I got around to drinking it.
 
Thanks for the help EoinMag and The Blow Leprechaun. Its much Appreciated.

I tried the Chocolate Soda and to be honest it wont be made again,in fact I think I will be pouring out the remainder :(
Its just not my cup of Tea or should I say Soda.
 
I have to agree with you LCE; while I think the batch I made was good, it definitely needs a lot of work before I'll be making any mass quantities...anyone have any suggestions for making the recipe better?
 
I think I actually have ingredients on hand to make it, so maybe I'll give it a whirl this afternoon and see what I think.

Just glancing at the recipe, 1 tablespoon seems like a lot of vanilla, and I'll probably drop the cinnamon entirely, going more for straight chocolate.

In fact, I think what I'll do is just go with cocoa powder and sugar and see what comes out, for simplicity's sake.

Edit: Okay, threw one together.

I used 2L water, 3/4 cup cocoa powder, about a cup and a quarter of white sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a 1/4 teaspoon of bread yeast. I debated adding some lemon juice for acidity, but I'll see how this works first.

Will update in a day or so when it carbs up.

Rather than just mix the cocoa powder, sugar, and water in the 2L bottle, I put it on the stove to make sure the cocoa powder dissolved well into the water.
 
I have noticed now a week or so later that this soda needs to be shaken or stirred before serving, the cocoa seems to separate out to the bottom otherwise. Maybe cooking would be a good idea.
 
When I did up the recipe I put it all on the stove and brought it to a low simmer to make sure everything was dissolved real good.
There is still lots of sediment as the Cocoa still separates.

If I were to make this one again I would definitely leave out the cinnamon as it is very overpowering in my opinion. As for the vanilla Id probably add more...maybe?

I have 1 liter left that I cant bring myself to pour out but I also cant bring myself to drink it either :)
 
Well I guess I'll sample my version of it now...

I think it's alright. If anything, I'd increase the amount of sugar somewhat to maybe 1.5 cups and maybe a smidge more vanilla but not much - I don't want to actually taste vanilla, just use it to round out the chocolate.

The biggest issue I have is the cocoa powder gives it a bit of a bitter aftertaste, but I'm not sure how to correct that in a soda... and that's not that much of an issue for me, as I prefer dark chocolate (as dark as I can get it!).

I think you're trying to do too much with it... a tablespoon is a lot of vanilla extract for 2 liters of soda... you'd only use around a teaspoon for chocolate cake or brownies, it's just a supplement to the chocolate, not a partner. You don't need the molasses of the brown sugar competing with the chocolate either - let it shine!
 
I'd suggest maybe scraping a bean of vanilla and throwing a small scraping in, rather than using any type of extract or liquid, just a thought, as I won't be trying chocolate soda myself.
 
I made up a batch using The Blow Leprechaun's recipe and just tasted it...
It is much better but a bit to rich for my liking so I am going to make another batch but cut down on the Cocoa and sugar.
I'll let you all know when it carbs up how it tastes.
 
I made up a batch using The Blow Leprechaun's recipe and just tasted it...
It is much better but a bit to rich for my liking so I am going to make another batch but cut down on the Cocoa and sugar.
I'll let you all know when it carbs up how it tastes.
I guess I should have mentioned that I like my chocolate as chocolate-y as possible ;) I tend to buy the 90% cocoa dark chocolate.

Also, I meant to use 1/2 cup of cocoa and had a brain fart and used 3/4 cup.:drunk:
 
I guess I should have mentioned that I like my chocolate as chocolate-y as possible ;) I tend to buy the 90% cocoa dark chocolate.

Also, I meant to use 1/2 cup of cocoa and had a brain fart and used 3/4 cup.:drunk:

I used a 1/2 cup Cocoa and 1 cup sugar everything else I left the same.

I just tried it and it is much better tasting.
Unlike you though I would prefer a little less chocolate/sweet taste so I am thinking of lowering the cocoa a bit more to maybe 1/4 cup and also lowering the sugar as well. Just experimenting with the recipe until I find a suitable taste that I like.
I wouldn't make this soda very often or in large batches and I am pretty sure by the time I get the recipe to where I would like it I wont be making it for awhile as it is just about played out as it is now :)
 
Thanks for all the recipes so far everyone!!! I've been brewing beer for a little while. I recently put up a batch of hard cider and am waiting to get started on a batch of mead. Today I decided to go to my local LHBS, Hoptech, and get a few bottles of root beer extract. My oldest boy really likes watching me brew and also likes root beer, so do I for that matter. So, I thought I'd get something we can both make and drink together. Now, I'm already getting excited about trying a few of the other extracts they had and even making up a few more complex recipes. With that and this thread in mind, are there any good books out there on soda making??
 
Making 2L batches of soda, I'm not sure there are any books out there that could teach me something for less than it would cost to experiment with it myself ;)

Are you looking for recipes, techniques, science, or what? There's that one book on soda making, I forget the name at the moment... it's pretty much the only one I've heard anything about, and even then I don't know what emphasis it has.
 
Making 2L batches of soda, I'm not sure there are any books out there that could teach me something for less than it would cost to experiment with it myself ;)

Are you looking for recipes, techniques, science, or what? There's that one book on soda making, I forget the name at the moment... it's pretty much the only one I've heard anything about, and even then I don't know what emphasis it has.

I think I found the book on soda making you're talking about on Amazon, Homemade Root Beer, Soda & Pop by Stephen Cresswell. I might pick it up.

You're probably right about experimenting on my own. If I had room to crash five gallons of soda I'd make more, but a couple of two liter bottles at a time is about all I can fit in the fridge. My Hoptech root beer turned out really good and got a thumbs up from the kid!
 
If you haven't bought this yet, I think one of my brewing buddies owns it and I can ask him whether it was worth it.

Thanks for the offer. I tacked it on to my last Amazon order and its on the way. They have it for only $10 there. So, worst case scenario, it gives me a few ideas of flavors that will work well in sodas.
 
Getting my first cornie kegs in 2 days, looking forward to making sodas without having to use yeast. I know it is only a small amount but I can taste it, and swmbo really tastes it...gonna try carbing up some crystal light juices as we both love the fruit punch they make.
 
i've read the book you're talking about - got it through inter-library loan. seems like
OK recipes, but all the RB recipes use sassafras...
 
Last week i brewed up a test batch(2Gallons) of Ginger beer using 1.5kg Molasses, 4g HALLERTAUER HERSBRUCKER HOPS, 10g Bakers yeast, 0.5kg Blackberries, star anise, blackcurrant mint & .5kg Ginger!!!
 
Last week i brewed up a test batch(2Gallons) of Ginger beer using 1.5kg Molasses, 4g HALLERTAUER HERSBRUCKER HOPS, 10g Bakers yeast, 0.5kg Blackberries, star anise, blackcurrant mint & .5kg Ginger!!!

On Sunday I will brew...
1 kg. Crystal Malt 120°L
1.5 kg. Maris Otter Pale
14 g. Northern Brewer (Whole, 8.00 %AA) boiled 30 min.
14 g. Hallertau Hersbruck (Pellets, 4.50 %AA) boiled 60 min.
.500 kilograms Blackcurrants
.250 kilograms Ginger
Munton-Fison Active Brewing Yeast
6 Star Anise 30 min
Handful Blackcurrant Mint 30 min.

I will shred the ginger, but this time i will remove the outer and just use the flesh.
I will boil the blackcurrants in the liquor in a hop bag...

I think the pith and the seeds are tannic?
 
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