Root Beer

[sam]

Does any one have a root beer recipe they wouldn't mind sharing??

[Chris]

Do a search on this site. I'm pretty sure it's been around before.

[sam]

i did a quick search before i made this topic and nothing came up...

[lethaldog]

Do a search on this site. I'm pretty sure it's been around before.

From memory that was sarsparilla

[Hashie]

Root beer is traditionally made from sassafras.

I found this recipe at http://www.abc.net.au/tasmania/stories/s971336.htm

Sassafras Beer

You need:

Five gallons of water
Quarter pound of hops
Quarter of ginger (optional but if used should be bruised)
Four pounds of brown sugar
Four handfuls of crushed Sassafras Bark

Method:

Boil all together for one hour. Dissolve one ounce of icing lass in a little hot water. Stir into the boiler. Strain through a jelly bag (cloth) and put it in a large cask. When luke warm stir in one penny's worth of brewers yeast. Let stand for three days, skimming each day. Strain into bottles and cork.

Hope that helps.

[KEG]

sassafras is a known carcinogen... just putting it out there for those considering making this

look into it first..

[Pale_Ale]

quarter of a POUND of hops!?!?!!?!

That's over 100g of hops in a 23L batch. In a root beer.

[KEG]

hadn't noticed that... over 100g hops boiled for 1 hour - that'd turn your face inside out!

[Hashie]

Nor does it say what type of hops. I guess if you used hops with a really low A/A it wouldn't be to bad.

A lot of American websites talk about the link between sassafras and cancer and suggest using other ingredients instead. However, from what I have read, it is the root of the sassafras that is carcinogenic and not the bark. But that is just my opinion and I'm no scientist.

[drsmurto]

Interesting fact - you can make ecstasy from the roots of the sassafras plant. And the synthesis is only 2 steps. Easier even than converting sudafed into speed......

Have also read that drinking sassafras tea causes diaphoresis (or excessive sweating).

Good luck with the root beer!

[rwh]

Easier even than converting sudafed into speed......

I thought Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) was most often used as a feedstock for methamphetamene.

[drsmurto]

I thought Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) was most often used as a feedstock for methamphetamene.

Yes, but speed is different to ecstasy.

Speed is methamphetamine
Ecstasy is methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)

[rwh]

Aaah.

[gregb]

Interesting fact - you can make ecstasy from the roots of the sassafras plant.

Righto then, ... how?

Cheers,
Greg

[drsmurto]

Hmmmm. With big brother watching its probably best i dont share those pearls of wisdom.

Besides - very few people will have access to the chemicals required to do the synthesis unless you know a scientist whose major is chemistry and is prepared to get fired for stealing chemicals from his lab....

A quick google search for pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine will give you the recipe - finding the ingredients can be a bit trickier altho the crude backyard chemists scrape together bits and pieces from household chemicals but you wouldnt want to ingest what they made....

besides, we are all beer drinkers here, we have all the mind altering recipe we need!

[lethaldog]

A little off topic but i also googled how to make Coke ( the fizzy drink) and got a recipe that was apparently one of the originals which one of the ingredients for it was the coca bean ( yes the one they make the other coke out of) Ever tried getting hold of these, highly improbable as well as highly illegal

[gregb]

besides, we are all beer drinkers here, we have all the mind altering recipe we need!

Yep, and it tastes really good too.

Cheers,
Greg

[AlcoMoo]

I always believed that Sarsaparilla (or Root Beer) were made from the sarsaparilla vine (using the dried roots). The effects of this particular plant (Smilax regelii and other closely related species) are purported to be hugely beneficial in a number of health related areas, including liver detox, boosting male libido , skin disorders and a general tonic for health. From my POV, these are a lot more positive than the potential side effects (cancer) from the Sassafras tree.

Wikipedia (amn I allowed to quote them here??) suggests that Sassafrass was indeed used for root beer, but now it is the aforementioned plant that is used worldwide. (quote: Sarsaparilla vine should not be confused with the large sasparilla and sassafras trees (the root and bark of which were once used to flavor root beer).

[KIP]

But that is just my opinion and I'm no scientist.

Back off man. I'm a scientist.

LOL