Comments on: Home-Brewed Root Beer

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:48:13 +0000

I forgot to mention a few things about fermentation.. When making alcoholic beers the CO2 is allowed to escape for several days while the alcohol level is increasing to the point that there is no more CO2 activity which is the result of fermentation. (Alcohol and CO2) You have to add more sugar at botteling or use co2 with your kegging system to get carbonated beer. Possibly if you used the correct yeast and you fermented the same way as beer you would gain a higher alcohol level but in so doing you would lower the sweetness and flavor because the sugars would be turning into alcohol…

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:36:09 +0000

The .35-.50 percent alcohol level is the same level the factory brewers make there NON- ALCOHOLIC beerish flavored drinks. If the courts say it is NON-ALCOHOLIC I think I’d let my kids drink it… Wouldn’t you??? You’d have to drink about 1 1/2 gallons per hour to get any kind of legal buzz…

By: harlan

harlan — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:28:39 +0000

Thanks for the ginger ale link. This is what I had in mind as it is not so complicated. I will be trying it soon.

By: sweinberger

sweinberger — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:28:41 +0000

Actually Rachel, the recipe on chow.com is for ginger-beer, not ginger-ale. Ginger beer has more bite, and is quite good but I think this recipe is what Harlan is looking for.

By: Rachel B.

Rachel B. — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:57:45 +0000

Harlan, there is a ginger ale recipe at the chow.com site linked above. it’s kind of complicated though and you need special equipment. sometimes i steep ginger in sugar syrup and just mix it in seltzer, with a squeeze of lime.

By: Harlan

Harlan — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 21:54:23 +0000

Query: How does one make ginger ale then? Particularly since the ingredients may be more readily available to many of us.

By: sweinberger

sweinberger — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:51:47 +0000

The FDA’s decision that it’s a (potential) carcinogen means that it can’t be sold for human consumption. It is available ‘for external use only’ at a few herbal supply sites, e.g. this site I just found. Of course, it’s best fresh.

You probably do have a local source of it - once you learn how to recognize it. It’s common all over the eastern-half of the U.S. Try this guide. The 3 different-shaped leaves on one plant, and unique scent of the crushed leaves, make it easy to identify.

By: jabbett

jabbett — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:36:56 +0000

If I don’t have a local, wild supply of sassafras, where might I find it in a retail setting?

By: velorutionary

velorutionary — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:18:10 +0000

sweinberger,

The foraged burdock roots do indeed vary in size and shape. You can’t exactly control wild plants.

Craig:
I found this website about homebrewing root beere, and they claim that they tested the root beer in a lab to determine alcoholic content and the results showed .35 to .5%.
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/ROOTBEER_Jn0.htm

By: sweinberger

sweinberger — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 16:23:02 +0000

For more info & recipes, CHOW.com has a make-your-own soda project. They explain about the supposed carcinogenic effects of sassafras. Quote: “Since there have been no human studies, nobody really knows what levels might be dangerous to people.”