root beer

[Wendy1971]

Has any one ever made an alchoholic version of root beer :

 

[Ceejay]

Awwwww, now you're talking! Root beer is awesome!

I guess the predominant flavour in RB is "wintergreen". However I'm not sure how easy that is to get hold of, you might be able to subsitute it with a mild aniseed/licorice or something.

I wonder if you could maybe do something like make a sweet, malty beer, very lightly hopped but add the following flavours:

Vanilla from vanilla pod?
Cinnamon
Licorice
Honey
Molasses
Cherry

I am going to have to try this out when I get my brewery set up, what a great idea!

 

[Wendy1971]

thanks ceejay il try this pretty soon

 

[fliski]

Awesome idea! Im a big fan of root beer and could definately picture myself getting good and drunk from it!

I would have thought that you'd have to stick to the original recipe to get it to the point that people can taste it and say its root beer

 

[Wendy1971]

Would be good if someone had a recipie

 

[ricardo]

Just brew your beer as normal the chuck half a tub of Germolyne in it.............
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

 

[cutnrun]

I dont know where to get it but i am sure i have heard of syrops that can be used to make your own root beer.

there is some 'sasafras' root i think that goes into the mix. I am not sure if i amde that last bit up from somwhere. i tend to remember odd things and mix them up with other memories. :wha:

 

[Mark1964]

Just brew your beer as normal the chuck half a tub of Germolyne in it.............
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

marvellous what a great idea :shock:

 

[screamlead]

You can get this stuff online in UK in concentrate format - sasafras
I spent months searching for seeds etc i'll try to find link i had.
Also i have a recipe for root beer too but in printed format - gimme a couple of days an i'll dig it out an post on here.

 

[Mark1964]

Great thanks for that could you send it by pm :

 

[cutnrun]

i wouldnt mind a copy of the recipe as well!

 

[snail59]

Found this on the tinterweb if its any help.

HOW TO MAKE THE ROOT BEER FROM SCRATCH

You don't want to use the extract do you? You want to make root beer from scratch don't you? Well, here is how to do it. Do NOT use sassafras that still has safrole because it is a carcinogen (it causes cancer). The first thing you need to do is gather your roots, barks, and herbs. What do you gather? The Hires root beer recipe is a great source, but there are a couple of items that you must have, and a few that you should have.

Must Have:

Vanilla (use real vanilla, but not the bean)
Wintergreen
Should Have:

Ginger
Licorice
Sarsaparilla
The actual amounts that you use are up to you, but it is generally an ounce of each ingredient. Wintergreen is the main ingredient used in root beers today, so more Wintergreen and less other ingredients for a post 1960 tasting root beer (2½ oz. Wintergreen ¼ oz. other ingredients). A little later I'll provide you with a real root beer recipe used in the 1890's, and it includes exact measurements. When the roots are gathered they should be rinsed in clear water. All dirt and tops should be removed. Roots that are heavy should be cut or split. When it comes to barks care should be taken that the woody part is removed. The inner skin is the part of the bark that will be used. Herbs & leaves must be gathered when the plant is in seed or flowering stage. When gathering herbs, the plant must be cut where the first leaf begins to branch out. When we state leaves, it is the leaves only that is wanted. After washing, these items should be laid out to dry, and care should be taken so that they are spread out where the air can get around them to prevent molding. Or go buy them at a health food store.

Now just boil the ingredients for about 30 minutes, remove the roots and herbs, and proceed to the fermentation stage described earlier. Vanilla beans contain very tiny seeds, so don't use the bean unless you're prepared to filter the liquid first (boiling the bean without slicing it open doesn't provide enough flavor).



A couple of recipes:

Sarsaparilla mead: 1 lb. Spanish Sarsaparilla, boiled in 4 gal water for 5 hours. And add enough water to have 2 gal. Add 16 lb. sugar, and 10 oz. tartaric acid. To make a tumbler of it, take 1/2 wine glass of above mix, add water to fill tumbler and add 1/2 tsp. soda (baking soda)- Beecher's Receipt Book 1857

Root Beer (Medicinal): For each gal. of water take hops, burdock, yellow dock, sarsaparilla, dandelion and spikenard roots, bruised of each ½ ox. Boil about 20 min, and strain while hot. Add 8-10 drops of oils of spruce and sassafras mixed in equal proportions. When cooled to a warm temp add 2-3 tbsp. yeast, molasses 2/3 pint, or white sugar 1/2 lb.. Put the mix into a jar, with a cloth covering it, let it work for 2-3 hrs, then bottle and set in a cool place.- Dr. Chase's Recipes 1869



My recipe:

Approximately 2 oz Sarsaparilla
Approximately 2 oz Sassafras
Approximately ½ oz licorice
2 oz Wintergreen leaves
2 ½ pounds sugar
2 gallons water.
I started the water boiling and added all the ingredients.. When it cooled, I use Munton & Fisson Ale yeast.

 

[Mark1964]

Thanks for that recipie made a copy will be giving it a try

 

[screamlead]

Root Beer, Spruce Beer, Ginger Soda
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.
SPRUCE BEER
5 gallons fo 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.
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.

Dandelion & Burdock Beverage
There are many recipes available, using either dried or fresh roots of both plants, and a variety of other ingredients giving a range of subtle taste differences.
It is known as, Dandelion and Burdock Tea, Cordial or Beer, or just “D&B”
I have been asked by a number of people, to find the recipe recently shown on television, but if you have the time and inclination a little experimenting with various recipes and ingredients might be fun!


The River Cottage “Dandelion and Burdock Recipe”
by Hugh Fearnley–Whittingstall

Ingredients
2 large Burdock roots
2 Dandelion roots
4.5 litres/1 gallon of water
500g/1lb caster sugar
2 tbs black treacle
Juice of 1 lemon
Yeast

Wipe the roots clean and cut off their leaves.; cut the roots into small pieces. Put the chopped roots into a pan with 2.2 litres/4 pints water and boil for 30 minutes.
Add the sugar, treacle and lemon juice to the rest of the water in a large pan and simmer. After 30 minutes, strain off the roots and leave the liquid to cool.

Meanwhile, mix the yeast with some warm water so it starts fermenting. When the root liquid is tepid, add the yeast. Leave it to ferment in the bucket for 3-4 days. Put into bottles and drink after a week.
Theres loads of fleabay shops online selling Burdock root, sarsaparilla is hard to get hold of unless some of our Aussie m8s have any seeds? and as i said you can buy the concentrates too, i'll have a search through my stuff and see if i can find the links.

I'll PM as requested too but better if u PM me your email addy as one is word doc and the other is PDF - Cheers

Scream

 

[screamlead]

Snail where do you get those ingredients from? Any web links??
Cheers :

 

[snail59]

Snail where do you get those ingredients from? Any web links??
Cheers :

I've never made this I just found the recipe on tinterweb.

A quich search finds Sarsaparilla root on E-BAY

Sassafras root bark can be found at INDIGO HERBS

The rest should be easy to find