The home brew quality of beers

[Wayne]

I'm heading the supermarket right now!

[stevea]

Originally Posted by beaker_

It's more common than you think and I suspect a preservative.

No - there is no special preservative in Bud or other beers.

Some lager yeast, including those in Bud, produce a little SO2 which can result in sulfites and some people have a bad reaction to sulfites (headaches, flushing ..). This is incorrectly called a sulfite allergy. Ale yeast, most common in HB, don't produce extra sulfites.

Hangover headaches are often attributed to fusel oils (higher alcohols) but that's unlikely to be a complete story. I've a friend who claims that drinking a few table spoons of fructose helps a lot, and there is some metabolic logic to this idea. I've no idea if it actually works.

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by trigpoint

Because Wayne is a publican, they are experts in all things, social workers, marriage guidance councillors

It's also ironic that our own lives are such a mess

[beaker_]

Originally Posted by Wayne

I'm heading the supermarket right now!

Yes, that's my idea of a ready meal.

[BBQdave]

Originally Posted by stevea

Let me pull credentials on you. I've studied brewing from the professional texts, and done considerable study in the brewing journals.

Thanks for the education stevea. I appreciate the information and was wondering if you have any experience with making root beer. Friends have pointed me in the direction of Home Brewing stores. The kids and I are working on this, and I was mainly concerned with releasing pressure in the root beer containers as the root beer ferments. I read that exploding root beer containers is one of the biggest challenges in home made soda.

Thoughts or experience on home made root beer would be appreciated

[DBelton]

Try Wheaties instead of Special K..

Wheaties and warm beer... The breakfast of Ex-champions

[Wayne]

Almost at the end of a keg of IPA from the Shonan Brewery in Kanagawa made with cascade hops in the boil and dry-hopped with New Zealand Nelson Sauvin Hops! Yummy, except I've had a rotten cold since the day it was tapped and have only been able to taste the bitterness. It's a limited brew, but luckily I ordered a second keg which arrived this morning

I hear there's a shortage of many American hops, especially Simcoe and someone mentioned that Stone bought most, if not all of the supply of Simcoe!

Still, as an Englishman, there's nothing wrong with Kent Goldings and would like to see more beers made in Japan with UK hop varieties

[tashirosgt]

Originally Posted by BBQdave

if you have any experience with making root beer. Friends have pointed me in the direction of Home Brewing stores.

I made root beer several times from the concentrate sold in grocery stores. This was in the days when soda came in glass quart bottles. I used those. Several did explode. The explosions weren't dramatic. The bottles were touching each other and the exploding bottle didn't break the adjacent ones. I quit doing this because I didn't like the taste of the brewed root beer I made. It was too yeasty.

[BBQdave]

Originally Posted by tashirosgt

I made root beer several times from the concentrate sold in grocery stores. This was in the days when soda came in glass quart bottles. I used those. Several did explode. The explosions weren't dramatic. The bottles were touching each other and the exploding bottle didn't break the adjacent ones. I quit doing this because I didn't like the taste of the brewed root beer I made. It was too yeasty.

Glass bottles make me nervous. So I will probably use plastic soda bottles (2 litre) to start. I am researching what home brewers (beer) use and pressure valves. Some home made root beer makers recommend using ale yeast. I will start with ale yeast, and test flavor.

At some point, I am going to make it into my local home brew store, and ask recommendations.

Where I grew up, as a kid, there was a Root Beer and Hot Dog stand. Great food and really good home made root beer. I am wondering how they did it, or if they ordered it from a supplier?

[tashirosgt]

Originally Posted by BBQdave

Glass bottles make me nervous. So I will probably use plastic soda bottles (2 litre) to start.

Don't assume plastic bottles are safer. Yes, they might be, but it's also possilble they might hold more pressure than the old glass bottles and thus burst more violently. You can probably find Youtubes of people deliberately bursting them by filling them with various mixtures or (if the cap gives way first) making them into rockets. A stopper is a simple pressure-release device but it can also be a projectile. It seems that , by now, a clever person should have found a safe pressure release cap for plastic bottles, but I know of none.

---------- Post added at 09:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:38 AM ----------

Originally Posted by BBQdave

Where I grew up, as a kid, there was a Root Beer and Hot Dog stand. Great food and really good home made root beer.

Brewed root beer does have some alcoholic content!

[stevea]

Originally Posted by Wayne

Almost at the end of a keg of IPA from the Shonan Brewery in Kanagawa made with cascade hops in the boil and dry-hopped with New Zealand Nelson Sauvin Hops! Yummy, except I've had a rotten cold since the day it was tapped and have only been able to taste the bitterness. It's a limited brew, but luckily I ordered a second keg which arrived this morning

Seems that only in the past few years has NZ gotten competitive wrt hops. I remember the Pride of Ringwood and Sticklebrackt (sp?) that just didn't have good flavor IMO.

No offense to Cascades, but I'd happily substitute Columbus hops any day in a APA. Fresh Columbus hops can smell like a freshly cut pine board but has a lot of subtle nuances.

I hear there's a shortage of many American hops, especially Simcoe and someone mentioned that Stone bought most, if not all of the supply of Simcoe!

I think 4 years of the past 10 there has been a purported hops shortage for various reasons. There is/was a lot of work underway to analyze and synthsize the terpnoids in hops and bypass the growers ... someday .... The liquid CO2 extractions seem to conve yall the flavors/aroma compounds needed.

Still, as an Englishman, there's nothing wrong with Kent Goldings and would like to see more beers made in Japan with UK hop varieties

Don't need to be English to appreciate East Kent Golding and Fuggle hops. Something magical about these in an ale. It's also a really good example of how 'terrior' impacts flavor. Golding & Fuggle from East England, or even Styrian Golding have great aroma/flavor, but golding was widely grown in the US where the flavors are dull, and muted by comparison. Maybe there are good examples from the US, but ...

Another to keep an eye out for is a German/french variety called strisselspalt - amazing aroma, but hard to find. Sometimes used in French Belgian 'farm ales', but would work great in a lager.

I Grow a little Columbus, Ultra and some other ale hops. I'd love to try growing strisselspalt.

[BBQdave]

Originally Posted by tashirosgt

A stopper is a simple pressure-release device but it can also be a projectile.

Brewed root beer does have some alcoholic content!

I was thinking of using a stopper. I am going to brew in a pantry closet, so if the stopper pops, no harm.

And I was reading about the fermentation process with ale yeast in root beer, it produces a little alcohol. A gallon or so of home brew root beer has less alcohol than one can of beer. So unless you are sensitive to alcohol, should be OK.

It will be a learning process, so I am sure there will be many test runs of different yeasts and ingredients, and messes in my pantry to clean up

[RupertPupkin]

Originally Posted by BBQdave

Thoughts or experience on home made root beer would be appreciated.

I considered it, but decided it wasn't worth it. Now I just buy this, only $2.99 for a 4-pack (including deposit) at Marshall's:



This is the best and I doubt I'd be able to improve on it.

[tashirosgt]

Originally Posted by RupertPupkin

This is the best and I doubt I'd be able to improve on it.

It is good and I like their Birch beer better.

[BBQdave]

Originally Posted by RupertPupkin

This is the best and I doubt I'd be able to improve on it.

I will have to check it out. And funny, because that is some of the feedback I get from friends,

why waste time when you can just purchase good soda?