Yeast Problems

When tasting the last two batches my stomach had a strong and immediate reaction to the root beer.  The pain was so intense on the first batch that I went to see the doctor (I have recurring stomach issues anyway and we thought this was part of it).  None of the other tasters had any such reaction.  What we've learned is that I can't have even a sip of the root beer before it has been refrigerated for a week.  That week give enough time for the yeast to go into a dormant state.  If I try it a day after putting it in the fridge, I will still have stomach pains.  I may experiment with the time frame in the future, because delaying to drink the root beer is pretty annoying.

I tell you all this, so that if you experience similar issues, you'll know that you can stick the root beer in the fridge for longer and be fine.

Verdict on Homebrew #3

The flavor of this batch is the best yet by far.  I'm not sure why this is, but it's the first batch to have a nice head.  The flavor was full, diverse, and dessert-y.  The robust flavor profile filled the pallet with unique flavors - flavors that you wouldn't get out of an over the counter bottle of root beer.  The yeasty flavor that I've complained about in the past was not present in the majority of the bottles (we did have a half bottle that had an overpowering yeasty flavor).  We believe the dessert-y taste is coming primarily from the Star Anise and the Molasses.  Each of our guests enjoyed it enough to take multiple bottles home.

The flavor is still not where I would want it personally, but I feel like we're narrowing in on perfection.

Home Brewing Round Three

Our second attempt at making root beer turned out to be very tasty.  We had a bunch of people over for a board game night and served fresh root beer.  Everyone enjoyed it and we even sent some bottles home with our friends.  My wife and I had some objection to the yeasty flavor that was still present but the root beer flavor itself was great.

For Round 3 we used the same recipe as last time (full batch) with a couple modifications:

*Star Anise was cut in half

*1oz of Dandelion Root was added

*Ale yeast was replaced with liquid English Dry yeast

The pre-carbonated flavor tasted exactly like a bitter root beer.  The flavor was the closest I've experienced to over the counter root beer to date.  It isn't the flavor I like in root beer, I prefer creamy and rich, but the fact is we're getting closer and closer to understanding what each element does to the overall flavor.  I think the flavor I'm not enjoying in this batch is the molasses.  If the same flavors are there after carbonation, I'll experiment with dropping the molasses from the mix in the next batch.

Because we were using a liquid yeast we had to change the method of incorporation.  I strained the mixture through cheese cloth and back into the stock pots.  Instead of putting the yeast directly into bottles, it was incorporated into the mix while still in the stock pots.  I used a submersion blender to mix it in and then filled up the bottles with the mix.  The carbonation process took about a day longer than it has in the past.  I don't know whether this is due to the type of yeast, the method of incorporation, the amount of yeast used, or the fact that the yeast was a bit past its best by date.  Further experimentation is required.