View single post by Hellcat
 Posted: Fri May 20th, 2011 05:14 am
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Hellcat
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Joined: Tue Nov 15th, 2005
Location: USA
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Mana: 
 Ok, maybe it'd be a bit different. Quarantiello does give some very basic recipies for making root beer. The easiest is to make up a simple sugar syrup by boiling two cups sugar in one cup of water for a while then cool it and refrigerate until you plan to use it.  Then you take and put one to two teaspoons of the syrup into a glass of soda water and add enough root beer extract to suit your taste.

Another calls for two cups sugar, 1 teaspoon yeast, and t tablesppos of root beer extract. Place them in a gallon jug and add a quart of very warm water, stirring until well mixed. Then fill the rest of the jug with warm water and place the lid on it. Let it stand for forty-eight hours to two weeks then refrigerate to stop the carbination process.

Another, more in depth process she lists goes like this. Take 1/8 to 1/4 tablespoon of yeast and add it to one cup of luke warm water, letting it stand for five minutes for the yeast to disolve completely. If it doesn't then throw it out and start again. In a seperate bowl combine one tablespoon of root beer extract with two cups of sugar and enough warm water to disolve the sugar completely. Once the sugar is disolved add the yeast mixture. Add this mixture to enough warm water to bring you up to 1 gallon of finished product. Then taste the mixture using a spoon, if it doesn't taste sweet enough add more sugar and if it doesn't have enough root beer flavor add more extract. Once it's to your liking pour it off into 1 liter bottles to within an inch from the top and cap it tightly to allow the carbonation to  build.  Then set the bottles aside for about three or four days at room temp keeping them away from stoves, microwaves fridges, or sunlight. After that move them to a cool dark place for a week or two.

She does add a table for the above process to increase the batch. 2 Gallons, up the yeast to 1/4 to 1/2 teaspon, the extract to 1 oz., the sugar to four cups, and enough water for two gallons. 4 gallons, up the yeast to 1/2 to 1 teaspon, the extract to 1 bottle, the sugar to 8 cups, and enough water for four gallons.

The only recipe I can find at the moment from Cresswell for making root beer from root beer extract calls for making it from homemade extract. It'd be more time consuming on you to make the extract, but it'd let you make up to eight gallons of root beer.
    • 1 1/2 cups raisins, coarsely chopped
    • 3 cups boiling water
    • 2 gallons water
    • 1 1/2 onces dried sassafras root bark
    • 7 1/2 pounds (15 cups) sugar
    1. Place the raisin into  a pan. Pour 3 cups boiling water over them and cover, allowing the raisins to steep.
    2. Meanwhiles, place 2 gallons water in the brew pot, over a medium heat, and add the sassafras root bark. As water heats, stir in the sugar slowly. Simmer,  uncovered, for about 40 minutes.
    3. Remove from heat and strain raisin water into the brew pot. Allow to sit, covered, for 30 minutes. You needn't worry about "wild yeast" infections; the canner will destroy any unwanted microbes.
    4. Pout the extract into the canning jars. With a clean cloth, wipe off any spills on the rims. Put bands and lids in place and process in your canner. (Follow the instructions that came with your canner or with the bands and lids.)
    Assuming all goes well and the dome lids seal properly, this extract can be stored almost indefinitely at room temperature.

    8 quarts of extract (makes 8 gallons of root beer.
Using this extract recipe you then use this recipe for making root beer from extract
    1.  To make up a 1-gallon batch of root beer, simply empty the contents of one of the quart jars into a pan containing three quartes of water. Heat gently to mix, but do not allow to get hotter than luke warm.
    2. Add 1/8 teaspoon ale yeast to the lukewarm liquid, bottle, and put the bottles in a dark place.
    3. Check carbonation after 48 hours and again after 72 hours. When carbonation is right, refrigerate.
He does suggest placing the jars in very hot water for ten minutes to get all the extract to come out more easily.

Also, you might try using plastic bottles for making your root beer in over glass for one reason. Carbonation testing. You can just squeeze the plastic bottles until their firm to the touch to tell when the carbonation is right. That way you don't have to crack the cap to test the carbonation lavel.