From: Rob
Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 23:05:02 -0600 (CST)
Was looking through some of my saved messages, and came across this.
Figured it would be fitting to send it back out onto the list one
more time.
- Rob
--
As you shall soon see, my recipe is NOT very well firmed up. That's the
primary reason I haven't shared it. But here's the basic deal.
Sinster's Herbal Root Beer Version Alpha 1.
INGREDIENTS
sarsaparilla bark (my latest try was 12oz.)
sassafras root (my latest try was 6oz. Make sure
that this is food grade sassafras, not medical grade... most
herbal stores have the medical grade stuff -- nasty flavor. This
stuff is hard to find because the DEA doesn't like the fact that
an extract of food grade sassafras makes an excellent solvent for
the home manufacture of various narcotics)
2 oz. dry weight hops. Your choice of species, but make it a mildly
flavored one.
2 cups white sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar (not normal brown sugar)
4 tsp. peppermint extract
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (the real stuff, not the artificial)
a small amount of good vodka (I use Krystal for this -- make sure it's
potato vodka, and not wheat or rye vodka)
1 pkg. champagne yeast. (I use species EC-1118)
1 tbsp. dry bentonite clay
2.5 gal. water
TOOLS
1 3 gal. soda keg
1 5 gal. stainless steel stock pot
1 stainless steel thermometer, range to at least 212F
1 brewer's bag
1 coffee grinder
1 2 qt. pressure cooker.
3 ft. vinyl siphoning hose
1 long wooden spoon
1 heavy blanket or comforter
1 bottle chlorine bleach
1 CO2 cylinder with adjustable regulator
1 tap hose
Combine sarsaparilla and sassafras in coffee grinder. Grind to coarse
grain. Drop into pressure cooker, add water to barely cover. Seal
cooker and cook at ~3psi for 4 hours. Allow pressure to drop by
cooling before opening pressure cooker. Don't just vent the thing.
Set aside 2oz. (dry volume) white sugar. Put remaining sugar and water
in stock pot. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove 1oz
(liquid volume) of sugar water and put in bowl. Add bentonite. Stir
thoroughly. Pour dissolved bentonite into stock pot. Add brewer's bag,
siphoning hose, thermometer, and spoon. Bring to a boil and boil for
5 minutes. This is to sterilize the water, sugar, and the tools that
will come in contact with the beverage. Allow to cool to 105+-2F.
Temperature is important!
Fish brewer's bag and thermometer from stock pot. Remove 1/2 cup of
sugar water from stock pot, mix with the white sugar that was set aside.
Sprinkle yeast over top and allow to sit until it develops a nice, frothy
head. Stir vigorously and mix back into stock pot. Allow to sit in stock
pot (covered) until bubbles actively start coming to the surface. Probably
2 hours. Keep the temperature at 105+-2F throughout the growing. You will
probably need to wrap the stock pot in the blanket during this time.
While yeast is growing, open pressure cooker. Add hops and simmer on low
heat for 10 minutes. Do not boil. Remove from heat and seal with lid.
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Arrange brewer's bag in the stock pot so that the opening of the bag
is draped over the edge of the stock pot. Pour herbal soup from
pressure cooker into the brewer's bag. Close bag and tie off close to
the herbs. Sterilize hands in HOT tap water with a bit of bleach.
Then wash hands thoroughly to remove bleach. Pick up the brewer's bag
and SQUEEZE all of the liquid out of the herbs into the stock pot.
Add peppermint and vanilla. Stir thoroughly. Close stock pot, raise
temperature back up to 105+-2F. Cover with blanket, and allow to
sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Clean the brewer's bag.
Fill the keg halfway with HOT water and 2oz. liquid bleach. Seal.
Shake thoroughly. Unseal keg over sink and drain. DO NOT put your
head near the opening of the keg, or you will be overcome by chlorine
fumes. Repeat 3 more times. Fill the keg halfway with HOT water
alone. Seal. Shake thoroughly. Unseal keg and drain into sink.
Repeat 2 more times. Add enough vodka to produce a thin layer at bottom
of keg. Seal. Shake thoroughly. Leave sealed while keg cools to
room temperature.
After the root beer has fermented for 1 full day, shake keg again and
drain excess vodka into a sink, or into a glass to drink. Whatever.
Open the stock pot and check to make sure there is a thick layer of
bubbles on top of the root beer. If not, your yeast is dead. Discard
entire batch and start over from scratch... or use CO2 to carbonate.
Siphon root beer into keg. There will be a film on the bottom of the
stock pot that you don't want to siphon into the keg. Seal keg,
wrap in blanket, and allow to sit undisturbed in a warm area for
1 week. Clean your utensils. Once a day, attach CO2 canister
with regulator, and check the air pressure. If it gets above 50psi,
release pressure with valve on top of keg until pressure is below
50psi.
Tap the keg and drain root beer into sink until it's clear. You're
getting rid of dead yeast and bentonite that's done its job and
precipitated to the bottom of the keg. Put keg in refrigerator
and let sit for 1 day. Drain sediment again. Attach CO2 tank with
regulator set to 15psi. Slowly open valve on top of keg and release
pressure until the regulator starts to feed CO2.
Drink. Enjoy.
IF YOUR YEAST IS DEAD AND YOU WANT TO USE CO2 CARBONATION:
Siphon root beer from stock pot into keg. Once again, avoid the
sediment. Set regulator to 50psi and charge the keg. Put the
keg in the refrigerator for 1 day. Charge again. Put the
keg back in the refrigerator for 1 day. Repeat for a total
of 4 days. Drain sediment into sink. Charge to 15psi.
Drink. Enjoy.
--
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