What happened? I tried to make root beer. It's flat!?!
What happened? I tried to make root beer. It's flat!?
Me and my children tried to make home made root beer we waited 7 days to drink it and when we finally got the chance it turned out to be flat. I read the directions over again and we did everything it said. Is it possible I used the wrong kind of yeast? I used Red star. The bottles seemed tight when I opened them and it doesn't make sense that not one has any carbonation. When the direction said to boil water and then let it sit for then add yeast when the water reaches 98 degrees could it of ben to hot ( we dont have a candy thermometer)? It sat a while before I added it and when I did the yeast just sat there and did nothing accept expand a little. could that have been a problem? Can someone please help so I don't do whatever I did to mess this recipe up again?
Answers:
Yeast is a tricky thing. Sometimes it goes bad, even if it is newly purchased. We had that problem with some yeast we bought to use in our breadmaking machine. It was completely fresh, but it did not work. You can try buying more yeast--just make sure it is fresh by checking the date on the bottle, and store it in the refrigerator.
Also, you really need to invest in a thermometer. When I was a kid, a lot of people around here used to make root beer, and from what I know, you need to follow the directions really carefully, which includes getting water or ingredients to exactly the right temperature. I know that when making candy, a difference of only a few degrees can mean the difference between a tasty treat and a disgusting mess of sugar, so I imagine root beer is no different.
There are other root beer recipes which use dry ice instead of yeast. If you cannot get your yeast recipe to work, you might want to try one of those. It has to be drunk right away, and cannot be stored in bottles, as it will go flat, but if you make it in tiny batches, you can just have a root beer binge and drink it all in one day.
Do try buying new yeast and a thermometer first, though.
Best of luck to you ;)
It is very possible that the water was too hot and killed the yeast, 98 degrees is below body temperature, the water should have felt just barely tepid.
Another problem may have been too much "head space" in the bottle. If they are not full enough the carbonation may not develop.
You can try and fix the problem by opening each bottle and pouring a FEW grains of yeast in and re-sealing each bottle. Let sit for another week at room temperature.
Chilling the beverage will also reduce carbonation.
Making soda is a tricky job, and might take a couple of tries.
Good luck!