Steeped grains for body in root beer?

[Weezy]

Wifey wants root beer on tap. I was thinking about brewing a one gallon batch of beer with a lot of flaked barley and carafoam (and maltodex) to get some body and foam in the root beer. Just blend the beer into root beer keg to taste. I assumed id ferment it. ..then I realized I'd have to meta the root beer otherwise the yeast will eat the sugar in the root beer. Hassle.

What do you think of not fermenting the wort? Just add the sweet, dextrinous wort to the keg?

 

[Yooper]

Wifey wants root beer on tap. I was thinking about brewing a one gallon batch of beer with a lot of flaked barley and carafoam (and maltodex) to get some body and foam in the root beer. Just blend the beer into root beer keg to taste. I assumed id ferment it. ..then I realized I'd have to meta the root beer otherwise the yeast will eat the sugar in the root beer. Hassle.

What do you think of not fermenting the wort? Just add the sweet, dextrinous wort to the keg?

You're talking about brewing root beer with hops? It won't taste like root beer the soda. But if you want root beer (the ale), then you'd brew it.

If your wife wants root beer (the soda pop), then you'd use root beer extract and water or a recipe for root beer.

It depends on what you want to make, of course.

I think unfermented wort tastes terrible, so that wouldn't be my choice for a non-alcoholic soda. I'd buy the Sprecher soda syrup as a first choice and the plain old McCormick's as a second choice, add water and sugar (as needed) and put it on tap.

For body, I've used maltodextrine and that's worked great. The thing is, when my son made it a few years ago, he overdid the maltodextrine and made root beer jell-o. So less is more for sure.

 

[Weezy]

No hops!

Root beer soda fortified with wort to get some body and head on it.

Does maltodex alone give enough body and head? How much would you recommend?

 

[passedpawn]

I've made the extract rootbeer, with added stuff like brown sugar and vanilla. Everybody loves it. Tons of foam. In fact, if you are planning at carbing at 30-40psi, you probably don't want to encourage the foam since it will be very difficult to pour. If you check the link at the bottom, you'll see malto dextrine was in the original recipe (I never did that).

Here's my recipe:

Root Beer Recipe - Makes 4 Gallons

• 1 Bottle Rainbow Flavors Rootbeer Extract
• 4 gals of water
• 2 lb bag of Domino Dark Brown Sugar
• 6 Cups White Cane Sugar
• 2 Teaspoon Vanilla

1. Heat up 1 - 2 gals of water just enough to dissolve sugars (make sure it's fully dissolved).
2. Remove from heat add root beer extract and vanilla and get every drop out of the bottle.
3. Pour into keg and add the rest of the water stir and shake really good to get it mixed up.
4. Connect to CO2 and carb to 40psi

I got this from http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=31257

 

[Weezy]

Carbing that high won't be practical either. I only have one regulator.

 

[Yooper]

Carbing that high won't be practical either. I only have one regulator.

That's a problem. Soda is much more highly carbed than beer, and needs about 30 psi at a minimum at fridge temps, along with about 30' of serving line to serve it without it 'ploding out of the tap (ask me how i know....)

If you have room in your kegerator, what I do for soda (which I no longer make since my kids grew up ages ago) and seltzer (awesome! Club soda on tap!) is put my spare 5# co2 tank in there with its own regulator, since I have one regulator and a 5-way distributor for beer.

When I did soda, I had root beer and ginger ale both set up like that and it was a huge hit for the non-beer drinkers.

 

[Weezy]

Very persuasive.. Thanks Yooper and Andy! I'm about to drop $700 on two 14-gallon SS brewtech fermenters. Another regulator setup is going to have to wait a bit. Wifey has to wait her turn for her soda. I wouldn't mind a second tank anyways. I don't have a backup and refills are a pain around here.

Recommendation on how much maltodex for a normal 5-gallon batch??

 

[Yooper]

Very persuasive.. Thanks Yooper and Andy! I'm about to drop $700 on two 14-gallon SS brewtech fermenters. Another regulator setup is going to have to wait a bit. Wifey has to wait her turn for her soda. I wouldn't mind a second tank anyways. I don't have a backup and refills are a pain around here.

Recommendation on how much maltodex for a normal 5-gallon batch??

I would start small- no more than 3 TBS for 5 gallons the first time. I remember the "root beer jell-o" debacle from years ago and wouldn't want that to happen to anybody else. You can always add more next time, but can't take it out once it's in there.

 

[passedpawn]

zero? That's how much I add and it's a fan favorite I'm a little interested though, since one of my boys asked me to make it for easter.

 

[Weezy]

I like you're additions to the recipe, Andrew, but my memory of my youth at root beer/hot dog stands had root beer with lovely thick foam and rich flavor. you've got the rich flavor but I want the thick head on it too

 

[Yooper]

I like you're additions to the recipe, Andrew, but my memory of my youth at root beer/hot dog stands had root beer with lovely thick foam and rich flavor. you've got the rich flavor but I want the thick head on it too

You can do the "cheap guys way", which I guess isn't just for guys since I did it for ages and ages.............

Use a 2L soda bottle and a $15 carbonator cap. Mix up your soda (use chilled water so it carbs up fast), put it in the bottle, slap on the carbonator cap and charge with 30 psi with your current regulator. Shake gently, until you hear no gas going in.

That's it! Pour what you need, and then recharge if it's going to be a while.

Start with a tiny bit of maltodextrine. See how it is. Add a bit more for the next glass. See what works for you.

I especially like the carbonator cap for ginger ale and for kiddie cocktails for the grandkids. I've made ginger ale that way in the past (straining the soda mix first), and now I do it for the grandkids by carbing up lemonade and adding some maraschino cherries.

Keep in mind that whenever you use an item for rootbeer (soda bottle, beer line), it's for rootbeer forever. You can often get lemon-lime soda smell out of beer line, but root beer is forever. So maybe it's best to start small and see what works before committing to a full tap.

 

[Weezy]

Wifey won't go for that Yooper! It needs to be on tap. It'll work out. Based on your input, I'm planning a second regulator and I need a second co2 tank anyway. I'll dedicate a 5 gallon corney to the task in perpetuity. The new brewtech tanks are going to free up a couple kegs anyways. It works out.

I'll do like 2 TBSP of maltodex for the first batch (and a modest start with some honey, dark brown sugar, and vanilla on top of the came sugar)

Thanks again! I'll report back how it goes.

 

[Homercidal]

Good info. I'm currently looking into making a batch of Root Beer from scratch for my daughter's graduation. I hope to have enough time to do an extract batch if the homemade mix isn't any good.

But I might want to pick up a second regulator too. At least it makes a good excuse to upgrade my system!

The directions that come with one of the extract kits does call for maltodextrine, but I haven't tried it. I do remember the Root Beer I made last didn't have a ton of body. Foamed a bit, but dropped quickly. I might add a bit this time, or maybe just use some malt syrup with the mix and see what happens (By the glassful to start with.)

 

[Weezy]

On my way! Picked this up off Craigslist for $60 and it's 3/4 full.

 

[Yooper]

On my way! Picked this up off Craigslist for $60 and it's 3/4 full.

Awesome!

Now, you'll need 30' of 3/16" line and you're all set.

I have club soda right now at 30 psi with 34' of line at 40 degrees, and it's good but could be even more carbonated. I'm pouring through a regular perlick faucet. Before you go to that much trouble, try a picnic tap if you have one laying around to make sure that pressure works with your desired carb level and temperature. Or not- it's not that big of a deal to put it on the regular faucet except that you'd have to tear it apart to get the rootbeer flavor and smell out of it if it doesn't work out.

I know that several others use those epoxy mixer sticks inside the keg so they don't need so much beer line, but line is like 30 cents/foot and so it wasn't a big deal to just use 30+ feet for me.

 

[Weezy]

Thanks! I'm just going to put it on my first keezer tap. That makes the most sense as far as wifey and kids using it. I'll just be down to 3 beer taps for a while. I have room for at least two more 2.5 g kegs (and taps).

I'm going to start small. This is scaled from Andrew's and I liked the sound of honey that someone used in another thread.

2.5 gallon batch
1.5# cane sugar
0.5# light brown sugar
0.5# light honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp maltodex
2 oz root beer mix

Wifey didn't like the ginger ale soda so I need to keep it a bit more on the mild side.

 

[Homercidal]

Hmmm... The picture I see is of a vehicle. The context makes me believe you had a different picture there previously...

 

[Weezy]

Hmmm... The picture I see is of a vehicle. The context makes me believe you had a different picture there previously...

???

It wasn't anything I did. I just copied/pasted the link tinypic.com generates.

 

[Weezy]

 

[Yooper]

It looks good! How's it taste? Any changes for next time?

 

[Weezy]

Its good! Wifey is happy. Ditch the vanilla and a bit more maltodex next time.

Thanks for the help!