How do you make and bottle Root Beer?!
How do you make and bottle Root Beer?
Answers:
Here is a very simple but delicious recipe.
1 bottle (1-2 oz) Root Beer extract (this should be in most any grocery store with the baking goods).
5 gallons of water, approx.
5 lbs. sugar, approx.
5 lbs. dry ice (also at the grocery store)
Fill a 5 gallon (or larger) water cooler w/ lid about 3/4 full with water. Don't fill it all the way because the dry ice will cause a good deal of bubbling and be messy otherwise. This is where a larger cooler will be better so you can get a full 5 gallons.
Add the dry ice carefully. There will be quite a bit of bubbling so be prepared for splashes.
Pour in the entire bottle of extract.
Slowly add the sugar so the bubbling will help mix the sugar. My personal preference is for less than 5 lbs. of sugar so start with about 3-4 lbs. then add more to taste.
Place the lid on but be sure there is air escaping. I think the lid is more just to keep the mess down and to prevent bugs from getting in but it might also help speed the carbonation.
It will take about 30-45 minutes to carbonate adequately but it will continue until the bubbling stops.
As for bottling, I have never tried it as we always have this for parties and just drink it all. But there are reusable bottles with hinged lids and rubber gaskets that you could use to store it in. These you will have to find at a beer making store or specialty kitchen store.
But as long as it is sealed tightly and kept cold it should hold its fizz for a while.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Source(s):
Years of summer Root Beer making.
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 ? 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
recipe:
Approximately 2 oz Sarsaparilla
Approximately 2 oz Sassafras
Approximately ? oz licorice
2 oz Wintergreen leaves
2 ? pounds sugar
2 gallons water.
I started the water boiling and added all the ingredients.. When it cooled, I use Munton & Fisson Ale yeast.
There are two ways to make root beer. 1) Use an extract or 2) make it from scratch. (explanations below:)
http://www.greydragon.org/library/brewin...
Bottling the Root Beer:
Use a kitchen funnel to fill each bottle. Pour the root beer into the bottles so that there is about 1-1/4 inch of air space left in the neck of the bottle. Leaving to little air space will cause the root beer to remain flat. Leaving to much air space will cause the root beer to over carbonate and may cause the bottles to gush when opened or even explode. Fill the used plastic soda bottle in the same manner. Seal the bottles tightly and store them for 4 to 7 days at room temperature. This will allow the yeast to eat some of the sugar and carbonate the soft drink. You can check the carbonation by squeezing the plastic soda bottle. When it is hard, the soda is done and must be refrigerated. Allow the bottles to chill for at least 1 week prior to serving. The root beer will improve in flavor with time but it must be stored in the refrigerator.
more info on carbonation and another recipe:
http://www.leeners.com/rootbeer.html...
google a recipe for root beer