Comments on: Root Beer: The Bacon of Beverages http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/2008/12/root-beer-the-bacon-of-beverages/ Musings from the BS Brewing Brew Crew Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:05:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Alan Gates http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/2008/12/root-beer-the-bacon-of-beverages/comment-page-1/#comment-22791 Alan Gates Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:07:49 +0000 http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/?p=792#comment-22791 It makes me cry when I hear the price folks have to pay for cornies...I have moved to three different cities where Pepsi Bottle Co. has had several pallets of pre-mix kegs for about 3 bucks a pop.....But I imagine in brew rich OR the kegs are hot items....the pleasures of kegging are rich, may you all be blessed with a rich supply. It makes me cry when I hear the price folks have to pay for cornies…I have moved to three different cities where Pepsi Bottle Co. has had several pallets of pre-mix kegs for about 3 bucks a pop…..But I imagine in brew rich OR the kegs are hot items….the pleasures of kegging are rich, may you all be blessed with a rich supply.

]]> By: Penny Scout http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/2008/12/root-beer-the-bacon-of-beverages/comment-page-1/#comment-21222 Penny Scout Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:27:45 +0000 http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/?p=792#comment-21222 Oh, and I used to think the bottle exploding thing was an exaggerated risk, but I was making some non root beer, with ale yeast, that I bottled after only three days of bucket fermentation, and was intending to let ferment the rest of the time in bottle for a quick drink. They started exploding in the kitchen drawer I was keeping them in after a week or so. Shattered pretty well and made an awful racket. And were way too carbonated to drink even when chilled. So I can imagine that COULD happen with root beer, especially if you used champagne yeast, but I was making real alcohol. You would hopefully be putting it in the fridge much sooner than I did. So that ought to stop the bulk of the carbonation process. But hey a shattered bottle isn't the end of the world as long as it doesn't explode in your hands. Keep 'em in a cardboard box in case they make a mess. Oh, and I used to think the bottle exploding thing was an exaggerated risk, but I was making some non root beer, with ale yeast, that I bottled after only three days of bucket fermentation, and was intending to let ferment the rest of the time in bottle for a quick drink. They started exploding in the kitchen drawer I was keeping them in after a week or so. Shattered pretty well and made an awful racket. And were way too carbonated to drink even when chilled.

So I can imagine that COULD happen with root beer, especially if you used champagne yeast, but I was making real alcohol. You would hopefully be putting it in the fridge much sooner than I did. So that ought to stop the bulk of the carbonation process. But hey a shattered bottle isn’t the end of the world as long as it doesn’t explode in your hands. Keep ‘em in a cardboard box in case they make a mess.

]]> By: Penny Scout http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/2008/12/root-beer-the-bacon-of-beverages/comment-page-1/#comment-21220 Penny Scout Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:12:34 +0000 http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/?p=792#comment-21220 I second the person who said the risks of sassafras are greatly exaggerated. That study was done on rats with a HIGHLY concentrated derivative of the whole plant and the FDA was no doubt under pressure by the flavor industry to pass that ban so they could sell a more patentable product. The cancer rate is lower in the southern US in rural areas where sassafras tea is traditionally consumed as a spring tonic. I'm from NW Pennsylvania where the sassafras was about at the top of it's range, and used to collect the root and drink tea all the time. It is strictly an Eastern North America plant. There are no sassafras trees I am aware of in Portland, save a giant one the Washington Park Arboretum. Good if you want the leaves to make gumbo file powder, not so good for roots. You can use the leaves for flavor, but they aren't a good root substitute. They taste a bit like the smell of fruit loops. Dried root is available at the Herb Shoppe on 33rd and Hawthorne, and probably at Limbo on 39th and Holgate which has a bulk wall of almost every herb you could imagine. Also at the little natural grocery at the top of the hill, on the right, if you're on that road heading up out of Oregon City to 213. I second the person who said the risks of sassafras are greatly exaggerated. That study was done on rats with a HIGHLY concentrated derivative of the whole plant and the FDA was no doubt under pressure by the flavor industry to pass that ban so they could sell a more patentable product. The cancer rate is lower in the southern US in rural areas where sassafras tea is traditionally consumed as a spring tonic.

I’m from NW Pennsylvania where the sassafras was about at the top of it’s range, and used to collect the root and drink tea all the time. It is strictly an Eastern North America plant. There are no sassafras trees I am aware of in Portland, save a giant one the Washington Park Arboretum. Good if you want the leaves to make gumbo file powder, not so good for roots. You can use the leaves for flavor, but they aren’t a good root substitute. They taste a bit like the smell of fruit loops.

Dried root is available at the Herb Shoppe on 33rd and Hawthorne, and probably at Limbo on 39th and Holgate which has a bulk wall of almost every herb you could imagine. Also at the little natural grocery at the top of the hill, on the right, if you’re on that road heading up out of Oregon City to 213.

]]> By: Brewing your own root beer | The Food Geek http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/2008/12/root-beer-the-bacon-of-beverages/comment-page-1/#comment-21023 Brewing your own root beer | The Food Geek Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:17:50 +0000 http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/?p=792#comment-21023 [...] root beer is really quite tasty, and b) RS Brewing’s blog, the Champagne of Blogs has a detailed step-by-step of how to make your own root beer. [...] [...] root beer is really quite tasty, and b) RS Brewing’s blog, the Champagne of Blogs has a detailed step-by-step of how to make your own root beer. [...]

]]> By: couchand http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/2008/12/root-beer-the-bacon-of-beverages/comment-page-1/#comment-20595 couchand Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:18:39 +0000 http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/?p=792#comment-20595 Making root beer from herbs and roots is something I've wanted to try for quite a while. Here are some things I've gleaned from my research: - Sassafras is indeed regulated by the FDA because it contains safrole, a known carcinogen. In 1960 when its use as a food additive was banned, most producers switched to using wintergreen as the primary flavoring ingredient, which is why many think root beer tastes like toothpaste or medicine. The reason sassafras root is somewhat prevalent anyway is that there now exists a safrole-free variety of sassafras with a flavor many describe as weak. - I've seen numerous suggestions for carbonation. Force-carbonating is certainly an option, but not ideal. Opening bottles as suggested by Jake above is a decent method, but somewhat of a hack. The best way I've heard is to bottle in PET (gah!). You can then tell when the carbonation has reached a proper level (the bottle becomes hard to the touch) and refrigerate it in the manner Jake described to prevent further fermentation. - Root beer has always been something of a kitchen sink brew. In that vein, you have an impressive list of ingredients (dandelion root, licorice root, star anise, cloves, cinnamon sticks, juniper berries, and wintergreen). A few more to add (some authentic, some my own): nutmeg, sarsparilla root, cherry bark, vanilla, birch bark, collinsonia root, damiana, echinacea root and chamomile, ginseng, hyssop, arrowroot, marshmallow root, rhubarb, valerian, wormwood and woodruff. Making root beer from herbs and roots is something I’ve wanted to try for quite a while. Here are some things I’ve gleaned from my research:
- Sassafras is indeed regulated by the FDA because it contains safrole, a known carcinogen. In 1960 when its use as a food additive was banned, most producers switched to using wintergreen as the primary flavoring ingredient, which is why many think root beer tastes like toothpaste or medicine. The reason sassafras root is somewhat prevalent anyway is that there now exists a safrole-free variety of sassafras with a flavor many describe as weak.
- I’ve seen numerous suggestions for carbonation. Force-carbonating is certainly an option, but not ideal. Opening bottles as suggested by Jake above is a decent method, but somewhat of a hack. The best way I’ve heard is to bottle in PET (gah!). You can then tell when the carbonation has reached a proper level (the bottle becomes hard to the touch) and refrigerate it in the manner Jake described to prevent further fermentation.
- Root beer has always been something of a kitchen sink brew. In that vein, you have an impressive list of ingredients (dandelion root, licorice root, star anise, cloves, cinnamon sticks, juniper berries, and wintergreen). A few more to add (some authentic, some my own): nutmeg, sarsparilla root, cherry bark, vanilla, birch bark, collinsonia root, damiana, echinacea root and chamomile, ginseng, hyssop, arrowroot, marshmallow root, rhubarb, valerian, wormwood and woodruff.

]]> By: Bur.gr http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/2008/12/root-beer-the-bacon-of-beverages/comment-page-1/#comment-20478 Bur.gr Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:34:12 +0000 http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/?p=792#comment-20478 Cough syrup?? That is crazy talk! :) Oddly enough, I have that same book, and must say it is highly recommended. Great recipes and a great read, tho a bit short. -Bur.gr Cough syrup?? That is crazy talk! :) Oddly enough, I have that same book, and must say it is highly recommended. Great recipes and a great read, tho a bit short.

-Bur.gr

]]> By: Daniel http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/2008/12/root-beer-the-bacon-of-beverages/comment-page-1/#comment-20388 Daniel Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:45:24 +0000 http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/?p=792#comment-20388 Actually, Sassafras is pretty common (depending on where you live), and easy to identify. Its leaves are three different "mitten" shapes: 1, 2, and 3 "fingers". Once you know what to look for, you'll see saplings all over around trails and such. Collect the root, wash, and skin with a peeler to get the root-beer-tasting bark. As noted, though, you may not want to do this too much- it is listed as a possible carcinogen (though I'm not convinced an artificial substitute is really better for you :). http://forestry.about.com/library/tree/blsass.htm Actually, Sassafras is pretty common (depending on where you live), and easy to identify. Its leaves are three different “mitten” shapes: 1, 2, and 3 “fingers”. Once you know what to look for, you’ll see saplings all over around trails and such. Collect the root, wash, and skin with a peeler to get the root-beer-tasting bark. As noted, though, you may not want to do this too much- it is listed as a possible carcinogen (though I’m not convinced an artificial substitute is really better for you :).

http://forestry.about.com/library/tree/blsass.htm

]]> By: Jake http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/2008/12/root-beer-the-bacon-of-beverages/comment-page-1/#comment-20386 Jake Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:38:01 +0000 http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/?p=792#comment-20386 And one last thing... If you really want root beer the way your great great grandfather had it when he was a kid, the yeasty way is the only way. It was brewed back then, and in the early days of sodas, tanks of co2 weren't yet a commodity. Surely they wouldn't have just infused it on the spot in 1830. The yeast adds a flavor to the root beer that some love and some hate, but it's what real root beer is. And one last thing…

If you really want root beer the way your great great grandfather had it when he was a kid, the yeasty way is the only way. It was brewed back then, and in the early days of sodas, tanks of co2 weren’t yet a commodity.

Surely they wouldn’t have just infused it on the spot in 1830.

The yeast adds a flavor to the root beer that some love and some hate, but it’s what real root beer is.

]]> By: Jake http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/2008/12/root-beer-the-bacon-of-beverages/comment-page-1/#comment-20385 Jake Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:34:34 +0000 http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/?p=792#comment-20385 "When I asked them about the yeast, the man behind the counter gave me a dreadful warning that making root beer with yeast is like making bombs. He said it was too dangerous as the bottles have a high likelihood of exploding. He also said that they had a high likelihood of fermenting the root beer and so it was a very poor way to make root beer." This is bunk. My family has been brewing wonderful, yeasty root beer since the dawn of time, and now I proudly carry on the tradition. It doesn't take much. You need bottles, a capper, caps, yeast (lots of different kinds to play with), extract, and cane sugar. It's true that fermentation happens. If it didn't, there wouldn't be any carbon dioxide in there! No fermentation = no fizz. The brewmaster needs to pull a bottle every day or so to see where they are as far as carbonation. When you pop the top at room temperature and about half the bottle fizzes out, they're done. Also, if you let them go too long, the bottles will pop. But it's not a violent explosion, and usually they just vent under the caps if they get overpressure. So you put them in a place where leaks are ok, and if some of them spray, it's definitely time to get them refrigerated. And that's the next point. When they're done, they need refrigerating. As long as the yeasties are warm, they'll keep eating sugar and pooping co2. Cold bottles stop fermenting and can be kept for six weeks or more. Also, you'll want to only open them cold, as this brings down the fizz enough that you can open and pour them without getting root beer all over the place. It's still best to open them over the sink or grass, though. “When I asked them about the yeast, the man behind the counter gave me a dreadful warning that making root beer with yeast is like making bombs. He said it was too dangerous as the bottles have a high likelihood of exploding. He also said that they had a high likelihood of fermenting the root beer and so it was a very poor way to make root beer.”

This is bunk. My family has been brewing wonderful, yeasty root beer since the dawn of time, and now I proudly carry on the tradition.

It doesn’t take much. You need bottles, a capper, caps, yeast (lots of different kinds to play with), extract, and cane sugar.

It’s true that fermentation happens. If it didn’t, there wouldn’t be any carbon dioxide in there! No fermentation = no fizz.

The brewmaster needs to pull a bottle every day or so to see where they are as far as carbonation. When you pop the top at room temperature and about half the bottle fizzes out, they’re done.

Also, if you let them go too long, the bottles will pop. But it’s not a violent explosion, and usually they just vent under the caps if they get overpressure.

So you put them in a place where leaks are ok, and if some of them spray, it’s definitely time to get them refrigerated.

And that’s the next point. When they’re done, they need refrigerating. As long as the yeasties are warm, they’ll keep eating sugar and pooping co2. Cold bottles stop fermenting and can be kept for six weeks or more.

Also, you’ll want to only open them cold, as this brings down the fizz enough that you can open and pour them without getting root beer all over the place. It’s still best to open them over the sink or grass, though.

]]> By: Alan http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/2008/12/root-beer-the-bacon-of-beverages/comment-page-1/#comment-20379 Alan Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:23:13 +0000 http://www.bsbrewing.com/blog/?p=792#comment-20379 You don't need to buy sassafras root, you can find it in the wild and truly DIY. Sassafras has a fairly distinct leaf: http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Survival/Pages/sassafras.html If you pull a baby sassafras tree out of the ground you will recognize the smell of root beer, especially if you scratch the root a bit. I've had root beer made by simply steeping the roots of baby sassafras trees in water and adding sugar and it was delicious. With spices and a good procedure for extracting flavor you could make something incredible. From what I've heard the health risks associated with sassafras are grossly exaggerated. You don’t need to buy sassafras root, you can find it in the wild and truly DIY. Sassafras has a fairly distinct leaf: http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Survival/Pages/sassafras.html If you pull a baby sassafras tree out of the ground you will recognize the smell of root beer, especially if you scratch the root a bit. I’ve had root beer made by simply steeping the roots of baby sassafras trees in water and adding sugar and it was delicious. With spices and a good procedure for extracting flavor you could make something incredible. From what I’ve heard the health risks associated with sassafras are grossly exaggerated.

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