10 replies to this topic

[Thirsty]

My buddy's daughter (just turned 10) keeps asking when I am going to make rootbeer. I really dont want to gum up a keg, so I have been avoiding it. Then I saw Good Eats with AB making a homemade ginger ale in a 2 liter bottle. She loves ginger ale too, so I figured this would be a fun little experiment. Then I figured active dry yeast will still produce some alcohol (?) So the recipe calls for 6 oz of sugar for a 2 liter batch, will this alcohol even be detectable? Anybody have a tried and true ginger ale or rootbeer recipe?AB's recipe: https://www.foodnetw...cipe/index.html

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

My buddy's daughter (just turned 10) keeps asking when I am going to make rootbeer. I really dont want to gum up a keg, so I have been avoiding it. Then I saw Good Eats with AB making a homemade ginger ale in a 2 liter bottle. She loves ginger ale too, so I figured this would be a fun little experiment. Then I figured active dry yeast will still produce some alcohol (?) So the recipe calls for 6 oz of sugar for a 2 liter batch, will this alcohol even be detectable? Anybody have a tried and true ginger ale or rootbeer recipe?AB's recipe: https://www.foodnetw...cipe/index.html

I've tried it - it's not for everyone. I think the amount of alcohol is pretty negligible but maybe I'm wrong.

[MakeMeHoppy]

6 oz of sugar in 1/2 gallon of water should give you a SG of about 1.033. I don't know what it will ferment down to, but you have the potential for more alcohol then you would want to give a kid. Instead of a keg can't you make the root beer in 2 liter bottles with a carb cap?

[MakeMeHoppy]

I just had another thought. Can you carb the water in your keg and then add that to the flavoring in 2 liter bottles? I never made soda before so I'm just guessing here.

[Thirsty]

Instead of a keg can't you make the root beer in 2 liter bottles with a carb cap?

I never even thought of that. I just looked at some online HBS and they have lots of kits, they all seem to be add sugar and water, carbonate. Spechler makes an already mixed concentrate, I could just dilute it and carb cap it. Now the curiosity is peaked, is their an "all grain" type of way of making soda? Meaning instead of using extract, steeping the flavor to make my own extract. That is essentially what I am doing with the ginger ale, can this be done effectively for root beer too?

[harryfrog]

I got a couple old fashioned root beer recipes online and tried them. I didn't like any of the results - most of the problem was that I couldn't get real sarsparilla bark - they only sell root bark. Apparently sarsparilla is a carcinogen (along the same LD50 as aspartame - but you still can't buy it commercially - go figure).

[No Party JKor]

Then I figured active dry yeast will still produce some alcohol (?) So the recipe calls for 6 oz of sugar for a 2 liter batch, will this alcohol even be detectable?

Let's assume you are able to stop the fermentation when there is exactly 3 volumes of CO2. The yeast will have generated 6 liters of CO2. My calcs show that that is about 0.8% ABV.

[stellarbrew]

Let's assume you are able to stop the fermentation when there is exactly 3 volumes of CO2. The yeast will have generated 6 liters of CO2. My calcs show that that is about 0.8% ABV.

That would probably be similar to the the low alcoholic level you find in kvass, the Russian soft drink made from bread. I have drunk large amounts of it with no hint of effects from the alcohol, nor does it have any noticeable flavor of alcohol. I know it is widely accepted as perfectly legitimate for children to drink it.

[Thirsty]

Well I made it, but omitted the yeast, and hooked up a carbonator cap. Chilled it first, then put it on 45 psi and shook for 30 seconds. Done, nice and fizzy. Tastes pretty good, a little sweet, but that is probably because none of the sugar fermented. Next time I will cut the sugar by a 1/3.

[No Party JKor]

3 volumes equates to about 6 gravity points. So if you started at 1.033, try 1.027 next time.

[MakeMeHoppy]

Let's assume you are able to stop the fermentation when there is exactly 3 volumes of CO2. The yeast will have generated 6 liters of CO2. My calcs show that that is about 0.8% ABV.

Right I forgot this wasn't going to ferment the whole was out.