What's This?

Christmas Ale is coming along.  A little harsher flavor than I hoped for, but it should mellow out over time, and hopefully that damn vanilla will finally poke its head thru the hops and ginger.

  As it stands, the hops have overtaken the flavor (with 5oz in a 5gallon batch, that tends to happen!).  And the ginger, still quite noticeable in the background, really compliments the hops, bringing their flavors out even more.  It's a hell of a bite.  Not bad, but not what I wanted in a Christmas beer, which should have more notes of chocolate, vanilla, or honey.  Still, the fact that the sample - without refrigeration or carbonation - already tastes great is a good sign!

Testing today gave a gravity of 1.013, and an ABV approximately 7.5%.  That's nothing to laugh at, but not where I wanted it to be.  However, I buzzed from that 4oz sample for an hour, which was nice, and I could taste a pleasantly smooth aftertaste for the next 2 hours.  Like a stout or porter, this does taste better warmer.  I drank the sample at around room temperature, then refrigerated it, and warmer was definitely better.

  Unlike a stout or porter, this beer is really.... not black.  Opaque as fuck, but remains stubbornly brownish, like coffee with a splash of cream, or maybe sewage water.  This may be largely in part to my using bulk pilsen as the primary malt instead of amber or a darker.  I probably could get around this (amber malt gets expensive!) by reducing the pilsner a bit and adding another lb or so of chocolate malt.


  I'd like to take a moment to share my first draft label.  Most likely some of this will change, including the name, but this is roughly what the label will look like, barring a radical redesign.

Note that with this large a batch, I can expect 50+ bottles, so not every bottle will be labeled.  Maybe one or two in each 6-pack, describing what insanity the imbiber has just gotten into.  As with Humperdinck, this label will have a QR code in that blank spot in the bottom right corner that will take you to whatever blog post I write that describes the final product.

Some may be disinclined to the title.  But I removed overt necrophilia references, so that's progress, right?

I'll take another sample in a few days, and see where everything's at.  If things are relatively consistent, I'll go ahead and bottle it.  If not, maybe another week or three will do the trick.  The beer will condition in the bottle for at least 3 weeks before it's debut in early December, and that might do a little more to temper the spiciness than anything else.

And now for something completely different...

On a completely different note, I've taken up an interest in making root beer!  Partly because my kids are starting to get very interested in my brewing hobby, and this is something they can help with (and enjoy!), but also because I've got a lot of vanilla beans left over.  I'll be heading to the LHBS (Local HomeBrew Shop) this weekend for bottles, and will probably grab some root beer extract, too.

  Looking at several recipes online, it seems pretty easy, especially compared to making beer.  Basically, you add everything in, simmer it a bit to extract the flavors and melt the sugars, let it cool, and viola! - drinkable root beer!  Then add yeast, bottle it, and let it sit and carbonate for a few days, and it's a finished product.  If I use common bread yeast, the alcohol content will be negligible, too.  As an alternative, I could forego the yeast and use an expensive carbonating machine (I'm poor), or mix the concentrated form with seltzer water (that's kind of gross).  So bread yeast it is!

The recipe will probably look something like this: 

• 2qt water
• 3 vanilla beans, scraped
• 4 whole star anise
• 2oz dried sarsaparilla root

Boil water, put the above ingredients into a fine mesh bag, simmer together for 20 mins.

• 2oz root beer extract
• 2lb honey
• 2.5lb cane or brown sugar (maybe half/half?)

Slowly add these items, stirring until dissolved.  Simmer at least 10 more mins.  Remove mesh bag, and allow to cool in a sink full of cold water.  Add all ingredients to a 5 gallon fermenter/bucket, increasing water until it's at 5 gallons.  Let cool to at last 80F (70 or cooler is better, but not cooler than low 50's); any warmer could kill the yeast.

• Add about 1tsp baker's or dry ale yeast*, gently stir.

Pour root beer into sanitized bottles (I'll be using plastic ones with resealable caps, as they're less likely to explode.  All the sugar means the yeast will ferment quickly!), let set a few days until carbonated.

When they're ready, they need to be refrigerated to stop fermentation.  This prevents unwanted alcohol buildup, but also prevents over-carbonation, which can lead to excessive fizziness, or even combustion.
*This is why bread yeast is best -- it ferments real quick, then generally stops (sorta), as opposed to beer or champagne yeasts, which could ferment for months or longer.   Dry ale yeast will carb a little faster and maybe better, too, but needs to be refrigerated t avoid explosions.  Some recipes call for champagne yeast.  Champagne yeast can continue to ferment down into the lower 40s F, meaning it could carbonate and combust in your fridge!!

 The yeast-carbonating method should take about 3-4 days.  It will likely result in minor sediment at the bottom of each bottle, but probably nothing major.  So long as the soda is poured carefully, it should not be noticeable or affect the flavor.

Fine print:  There could be a negligible alcohol content of up to 0.25% by volume - again, hardly noticeable, and safe for consumption by children.  For those more prudish, let me put that in perspective.  Most beers contain 5-7% alcohol (more than 20x what would be in these bottles).  Most light beers have around 4% ABV (Bud Light sits at 4.2%, for example).  In order to obtain as much alcohol in your body as you would get from drinking a single 12 oz Bud Light, you'd have to drink at least sixteen 12oz bottles of yeast-fermented root beer over the course of a single hour (because the human body removes alcohol at a steady pace).  Even so, it wouldn't affect your body the same because all the extra carbohydrates from all those root beers would absorb some of the alcohol, similar to how one would get drunk more slowly on a full stomach vs empty.  That, and you'd be too busy with an upset stomach and a bursting bladder because you drank 192 ounces of root beer in a single hour! (a gallon is 128oz)  By comparison, O'Doul's "non-alcoholic" beer has 0.4% alcohol, double what's in yeast-fermented root beer, and is still considered "non-alcoholic" and safe for minors to drink in moderation.
  Finally, the human body naturally produces alcohol - almost as much as 2 beers' worth over the course of a day!  Therefore, this negligible amount would not have any effect on minors.  Now you've been schooled.

Phew!  Ok, having said that, I'm probably going to make root beer.  Very soon.  Again, I won't ship it -- the yeast could make the bottles explode.  But if you're in or near Maryland, feel free to contact me or drop by and grab a bottle!

I'll post more about this once I get the process started.

More Fine Print:  Don't let your children drink and drive.  That's just illegal.  The creators of The Bruster/Armbrewster cannot be held liable for any instances of alcohol poisoning or other sickness resulting from imbibing in my products.  Drinking naturally carbonated root beer in excess for the purpose of getting "a buzz" may be hazardous to your health and may result in stomach sickness or discomfort, etc, but will still not likely produce an alcohol-induced buzz.  That's not very smart, and I don't advocate it.  Find a real beer and save your liver.  Or maybe root beer schnapps.  Or, if you really want to get buzzed from my root beer, add liquor, such as spiced rum.  Unless you're under 21.  Then don't.  When I state or imply this is safe for children, I mean this as an opinion.  I am not a doctor.  My research came from the Internet, for God's sake!  Enjoy responsibly.