Title: Root Beer - for Hot and Humid Areas
Categories: Beverages
Yield: 1 Gallon

1/8	ts	Fresh champagne yeast or beer yeast
		Lukewarm water
1	tb	Root-beer-flavored extract
2	c	Sugar (see note)

According to Chronicle beer columnist Scott Birdwell Houston's heat and humidity play havoc with recipes that might work elsewhere. Rule No. 1 is never ever follow the directions that come with the (bottling) equipment. Explosions are a very likely occurence if brewers don't take extreme care.

1. Soften yeast by dissolving it in 1 cup lukewarm water 5 to 15 minutes. This should be thoroughly mixed before it is added to the rest of the ingredients. For best results, use fresh champagne yeast or fresh beer yeast. If you're in doubt about the freshness of the yeast, don't use it. Bread yeast will make your soft drinks taste "yeasty" or "bready".

2. Shake extract bottle well. In a mixing bowl, combine extract with sugar. Add enough warm water to dissolve sugar.

NOTE: At this point, you may wish to "play" with the recipe by increasing the amount of extract or sugar per gallon. Adjust the proportions to taste. The one critical proportion is the amount of yeast per gallon. Do not exceed the recommended amounds.

3. Add "yeast slurry" to extract-sugar-water mixture; mix well. Pour mixture into large container. Fill container with lukewarm water to make 1 gallon.

Stir thoroughly to ensure that yeast is evenly dispersed. Otherwise, some bottles may carbonate very rapidly wile others take considerably longer.

4. Sanitize 11 (12-ounce) glass bottles, soaking them in a mixture of 1/4 cup unscented bleach in 2 gallons water.

Bottles must be clean before sanitizing. Unless you have some reason to suspect the quality of your tap water, rinse the bottles with warm to hot tap water after sanitation. Now, using a funnel, fill your bottles, leaving 1 to 2 inches of head space in each bottle. Seal with caps, using a bottle capper or crimper.

5. Age soda 3 to 4 days at room temperature - 70 to 80 degrees. You may wish to "check" the carbonation level before proceeding. This can be done by simply chilling a bottle and sampling the soda. An alternative is to bottle at least some of the soda in a clean plastic commercial soda bottle (16-ounce to 67-ounce) and screw the cap back on. When your homemade soda becomes carbonated, these plastic bottles become very hard.

Under any circumstances, as soon as your homemade soda is carbonated, it must be refrigerated. Whenever the drink is carbonated, *refrigerate* *immediately*. Otherwise, it will gush open or explode.

For best results, age soda in fridge 1 to 2 weeks. This will allow flavors to meld and yeast sediment to firmly pack down on bottoms of bottles. This slight yeast deposit is a natural result of the fermentation process and is not harmful, but some people find the flavor objectionable. For this reason, it is best to carefully pour soda out of the bottle and into a glass, so as to leave most of the yeast deposit behind.

from the Houston Chronicle 9/7/98

typed and posted by teri Chesser 9/98

From: Teri Chesser Date: 09-09-98 (00:25) Computer Vision Bbs! (261) Cooking

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