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/diy/ - Do It Yourself

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162531 No.162531 [Reply] [Original]

Hey there /diy/

I'm looking to get into some home brewing. I'd like my first batch to be an alcoholic root beer, preferably in the 5-8% range. However, I'm having a hard time understanding a few things:

>1) How do I keep the sweetness of the recipe? If I want to make 3 gallons of root beer, how much sugar do I need to keep it good and sweet?

>2) I can't seem to find a reliable recipe. My tastes: I like sarsaparilla and licorice candy, so heavy amounts of either are welcome.

Cheers!

>> No.162532
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162532

>Bump with sweet deliciousness

>> No.162535
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162535

No home brewers on /diy/ today?

>> No.162540

You'll need to calculate sugar for your desired alcohol content, then let the yeast turn all of it into alcohol, then let it settle out, then syphon it off, then sweeten it to taste. Otherwise the yeast will keep fermenting the sugar until either they run out of sugar, or the alcohol content of the brew kills them off.

>> No.162542

If you can get your hands on local honey (NOT the crap they sell in the grocery store), it's pretty cheap, tastes great, and works a lot better than sugar in just about all brewing situations.

Other than that i dont fucking know because i never made root beer.

>> No.162544

I've looked up how to make alcoholic root beer and didn't really find anything. I have made my own root beer, but I used extract. It didn't come out very well. I want to make actual root beer by buying the roots and boiling them.

I guess to make it alcoholic, you'd have to leave it to ferment longer. I did 3 days. I'd love to know more, so post more if you find out more.

>> No.162548

>>162544
Get yourself some Sarsaparilla and Sassafras, add a little licorice root and you got yourself a fine root beer base.
>>162540
Ohhhhh. So I need to add the sugar after the fermentation. I didn't figure it'd form a true solution at that point, rather a suspension and I'd have to shake it up to enjoy the sweetness.
>>162542
How would that affect the flavour of the brew? I can't imagine honey in root beer, to be honest.

>> No.162549

>I can't imagine honey in root beer, to be honest

why not? You put sugar in it after all. Honey is mostly just sugar.

I think it couldnt do anything but improve it, everyone knows what boring old sugar tastes like.

>> No.162556

>>162548
NON-Sugar based sweetener after you fermentation is done if your brew is lacking sweetness. Otherwise the yeast will start fermenting again if they ain't dead and your storage container can explode.

>> No.162557

>>162549
Well, there's just a certain flavour to honey that I can't see mixing into root beer. I was going to use brown sugar in the fermentation process for the subtle nuances I think it will provide, but maybe a tablespoon or two of honey would do nicely. I'll give it a shot! Thank you!

>> No.162558

There are some root beers with honey. I don't think it's a whole lot.

Also, sassafras is carcinogenic. Not a good idea. I bought a Bavarian nutmeg root beer from Virgil's. All natural and was amazing.

>> No.162561

>storage container can

why is that a big concern on here? Why is nobody using airlocks?

>> No.162562

One I found...I would guess just adding yeast into the 2nd set of ingredients after it's been boiled and cooled.

http://www.learningherbs.com/root_beer_recipe.html

Also, instead of cheese cloth, I would use an airlock.

>> No.162579

>>162562
Pardon my ignorance, but how does one filter a drink with an airlock? Am I missing something?

>> No.162600

>>162579
Airlock isn't for filtering. It's to keep your brew sterile while allowing CO2 to escape during fermentation.

>> No.162662

>>162531
Good luck! Also, don't panic when the cops come asking about your sassafras supply, if you actually sell any root beer.
Safrole, a component chemical of sassafras is a precursor to Ecstasy. Do, however, document EVERYTHING just in case.

>> No.164186

I think something in the mix kills off yeast from developing alcohol.

I made a few batches when I was really young. But then again I didn't have the best parents so maybe I was doing home brew and just didn't know it.

>> No.164189

1st, get root beer.

2nd, pour alchohol into root beer

>> No.164311

>>162561
I believe he means after bottling. >>162540
>>162540
What this guy said. you can also cold crash it to kill the yeast and then ad sugar. Problem is it wouldnt be carbonated at that point. you can use maltodextrin which is a non fermentable sugar and will give your root beer some creaminess. bottling with brown sugar is a good idea

>> No.164317

Let's continue this line of thought.

I want to make a cranberry wine and a pomegranate wine, but both, it seems, needs a wine starter or a yeast starter. What is that?

>> No.164323

>>164317

you dont NEED a starter unless you are using liquid yeast, and maybe not even then.
i dont always use starters but i do know people who do always use them.
youll be fine pitching dry yeast though

>> No.164325

>>164323
I heard a mix talk about it. Some say you need it because of the acidity of the fruit. Others say the yeast just doesn't like a wet environment. So far, that's not the case with my cider but it's different fruits so I thought I'd ask.

Any particular yeast you would recommend for these next two batches? I want to hit around 12-15%, like a cabernet sauv.

>> No.164417

>>164325

im not well versed in wine but i make cider sometimes. cotes de blanc or champagne yeasts would do well. i would check out the recipes at wine making forums . chances are someone has tried what you are wanting to do and have experimented with different yeasts.

also what do you use for a one gallon fermentors?

>> No.164435

>>164417
Do you distill off the head? Isn't cider is unique in that it's methanol content is actually dangerous?

>> No.164440

hmmmmm... I've never heard of alcoholic root beer, but i've got some idears...

Midwest Supply has kits to make cordials or liquers which is basically making a neutral alcohol from just sugar and yeast or you can use vodka instead and add the flavoring. I think their kits are only 1 gallon, but you can easily do more than that at a time.

Or you could try making a very light ale and add your extracts to that

>> No.164463

>>164440
I would recommend the light ale idea.

build a base ale by boiling 3 gallons of water in a stock pot. add 3 pounds light dry malt extract. cool contents add to your fermenter and pitch american ale yeast. let ferment for 5 or so days then transfer to another container leaving behind the bottom inch of liquid. do this again in another 5 days.

This ale will be super sweet since there are no hops in it. Basically it's a malt liquor. Now add your root beer extract or whatever you choose to flavor your root beer, then sweeten to tast using a sugar alcohol such as xylitol. I use xylitol to sweeten my hard lemonade which I make the same way.

other sugar alcohols
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_alcohol

>> No.164476

>>164463
Here is how to make my hard lemonade if you want to know,

1.5 pounds of light DME mixed with 1 gallon boiling hot water. pitch ale yeast and Ferment this for 5 days, rack and ferment another 5 days rack and mix in these ingredients.

2.5 cups lemon juice
3 cups crystalline xylitol

I then bottle

for each bottle i add a table spoon of lemon rind and a teaspoon of white sugar. Let these sit in the bottle for about 2 weeks then Enjoy!