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home-brewed birch root beer

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TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
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    Posted: 15 September 2013 at 20:40
Had a pretty good time today with  my dad and two of my sons making home-brewed, natural-fermented birch root beer. 41 bottles are working their magic as we speak..... We'll see how it tastes in 3 weeks!

If interested, here's what we used:

http://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Flavorings-Homebrew-Birch-Root/dp/B00D48ML66/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1379299165&sr=1-1&keywords=homebrew+birch+beer


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pitrow View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pitrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 September 2013 at 09:33
Awesome, I've always wanted to try root beer from scratch. I have a recipe around somewhere that I need to try one of these days.

Let us know how it turns out!
Mike
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 September 2013 at 09:45
aye, mike - i figured this would be a great "gateway" into digging a little deeper.  i'll keep you posted! one thing i will say right now is that this project was so typical of so many other projects, in that i put it off for a LONG time (nearly 2 years) worrying that it would be somehow complicated, difficult or intimidating. nothing could be further from the truth! it was easy, quick and pretty fun, actually - the most time-consuming step was washing the bottles, and then dipping them in boiling water to sterilise them.
 
also got to talking with my dad, and a home beer brewing project might be in order before too long too. he's done a couple of batches, so it's time for me to give it a shot, as well, i figure ~
 
more on that as it develops over the next few months. as for the root beer, it will only be a few weeks!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gracoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 September 2013 at 10:45
I used to home brew quite a bit until the micro brew explosion made it unnecessary.  I still brew up a batch occasionally.

I have also brewed root beer, birch beer and spruce beer.  If you are going for natural carbonation, watch for is the spent yeast that settles to the bottom of the bottles.  While I have no problem drinking some or all of that in alcoholic beers, you don't want to drink it in your root beer.  Pour your finished root beer into a glass stopping short of the yeast rather than drinking straight from the bottle.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 September 2013 at 10:49
Originally posted by gracoman gracoman wrote:

 If you are going for natural carbonation, watch for is the spent yeast that settles to the bottom of the bottles.  While I have no problem drinking some or all of that in alcoholic beers, you don't want to drink it in your root beer.  Pour your finished root beer into a glass stopping short of the yeast rather than drinking straight from the bottle.
 
Many thanks for the tip, Gman ~ I don't mind it at all in beer, and wouldn't have thought anything of it until you pointed it out.
 
How was the spruce beer? It sounds interesting, but is one of those things I can't quite visualise in terms of taste.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gracoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 September 2013 at 11:28
The yeast at the bottom of the bottles was so off-putting that my kids (kids at the time) refused to even try the stuff.  More for me right.

The spruce beer was made from syrup produced by the same company that made the syrup you are using. It was so long ago the only thing I honestly remember about spruce beer is that I didn't really care for it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pitrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 September 2013 at 12:40
Tas,

if you're interested, here's the recipe I found for making root beer a while ago. Haven't had a chance to test it yet.

  1. Boil 1 1/2 cups water, pour over 3/4 cups chopped raisins.
  2. In a brew pot (cleaned and sanitized large kettle), bring 1 gallon of water to about 200 degrees...just below boiling. Add 3/4 ounce sassafras root, 3/4 ounce sasparilla root, and 3/8 ounce winter green. Add 1/2 chopped up vanilla bean, and 7 1/2 cups sugar. Simmer for 40 minutes stirring here and there, then dump "raisin water" into brew pot.
  3. Strain water through colander, then strain through cheese cloth to get out remaining roots.
  4. Let rest, covered for about 30 minutes, then "can" the extract in 1 quart jars (5).
  5. To make 1 gallon of root beer, combine 1 q extract with 3 q soda (carbonated) water, warm to combine, chill to serve

This uses carbonated water and the concentrate, but I'd planned on using the concentrate to make the base and then bottle ferment it like you have done. If I ever get time to try it.

Mike
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 September 2013 at 15:38
Looks good, Mike!
 
Funny thing is, those are all ingredients that I would have expected to see in root beer, even if I would't have thought of a lot of them if asked.
 
sounds pretty good, and I agree, if trying, the natural fermentation would be the way to go for me, too!
 
Thanks for sharing ~
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pitrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 September 2013 at 10:38
Ron, what kind of yeast are you using for the bottle conditioning?
Mike
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 September 2013 at 10:40
The instructions recommended champange or brewer's yeast, but also said that regular RED STAR yeast could also be used in a pinch. This latter yeast is the kind that my grandpa would always make rhubarb, apple, chokecherry and other wines with.
My guess is that any would work fine, but we used the champange yeast.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pitrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 September 2013 at 11:45
The reason I was asking is I've been doing some reading on bottle conditioning root beer and how to stop the fermentation process so you don't end up with bottle bombs.

I'm curious to see how yours turns out with the champagne yeast. 
Mike
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 September 2013 at 11:50
I'll keep you psoted, Mike - One thing to keep in mind is that the amount of yeast called for is 1 TEASPOON for 4 gallons of birch beer, so I think that keeps things on the mild side.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pitrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 October 2013 at 23:57
How did this stuff turn out Ron?
Mike
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 October 2013 at 11:55
Mike - the taste is truly outstanding; all of the things I really love about root beer and all of the old-fashioned-ness that one would want out of a product like this is there.
 
Unfortunately, there is not a single bubble of "fizz...." I am guessing either it was stored under conditions that were too cold, or perhpas the yeast (brewing or champange yeast that I had bought specifically for the project about a year and a half ago) was old and therefore no good. Considering that the directions only call for a teaspoon of yeast for a 4-gallon batch, I should have made an effort to use the freshest yeast possible, I think.
 
But, as I said, the flavour potential is truly amazing; I ordered another bottle of the concentrate, and will get fresh yeast when the time comes to brew this. I may also take photos etc. as well.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gonefishin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 October 2013 at 12:27
   really interesting Tas! 

   i do love a good rootbeer and have to admit I'm intrigued by this idea.  Out of my entire family, I am the only one who will drink an occasional soda pop.  They aren't restricted or anything...they just never started drinking it.  Each of them has tried it a couple times...just not to their liking.  (me, I'm a Pepper!)

   Pitrow, haven't they said that brewing rootbeer from the root of the sassafras tree is cancer causing?  I thought they went on to say that the leaves are fine.  I may be mistaken or might have misunderstood. 

   Thanks for the update Tas! 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 October 2013 at 14:27
There was one study that concluded sassafras was a carcinogen, Dan. But it's since been reputeated. Just like the Alheimers/aluminum flap, the cited study was flawed.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gonefishin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 October 2013 at 15:42
Originally posted by HistoricFoodie HistoricFoodie wrote:

There was one study that concluded sassafras was a carcinogen, Dan. But it's since been reputeated. Just like the Alheimers/aluminum flap, the cited study was flawed.


   Oh good!  Thanks for the info!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pitrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 October 2013 at 11:56
Good that it turned out tasty Ron, sucks about the carbonization though. Hopefully your next batch will turn out better! Keep us informed.
Mike
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