Early American Root Beer From Scratch (Naturally Carbonated!)

[@thestickerfarm1254]

I am in my 80’s. My mother and grandmother made root beer around Thanksgiving as a holiday treat thru Christmas. They used recycled glass beer bottles. Since we lived in northeast, cases of bottles were kept in the cold root cellar. Us kids did the capping using our hand press capping matching. It was a fun family activity and a holiday tradition and treat. Grandma always said wrap a heavy towel around the bottle when taking it out of the case, keep it wrapped while opening it, just in case you get a rare bottle that exploded. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[@dianejohnson9904]

We made root beer also when I was a child. Still have the bottle capper and old pop bottles we used. With a small bottle of root beer flavoring, sugar, and yeast, I can still make some!

[@thestickerfarm1254]

@@dianejohnson9904 in the old days my mom would get the root beer extract from the neighborhood druggist. He would also make extracts which were medicinal. My neighborhood was made up of mostly immigrants from Eastern Europe. They brought so many traditional skills and traditions with them. You should make some old fashioned root beer since you have the equipment. It would be fun to wow your friends and family.

[@PokeMaster-B-Dawg]

Tell me more!

[@valeriemacrae8441]

Thanks for sharing great family experience

[@cianmoriarty7345]

I bet grandma had one of them pop which was why she was so careful!

[@JosephDiveley]

5 to 8 sassafras leaves can boiled in water can let off a steam that can stop an asthma attack if you are ever lost in the woods with someone who has asthma and ran out of inhaler.

[@LegacyWildernessAcademy]

That's interesting I've never heard that before.

[@a.b.gibson6521]

Cool tip!

[@LimitedState]

Them: Help, I am having asthma attack, can't breathe.. need help fast... Me: Hey no problem, just relax and wait near a water source while I find a sassafras tree and acquire some leaves.. Hey do you by chance have a pot that you can possibly start to boil some water in?.... it'll speed up the process.. Them: THIS ISN'T A SURVIVAL GAME!!! (*dies*)

[@mikuspalmis]

Probably worth making a tincture.

[@animula6908]

The chances of that seem lower than civilization collapsing and all of us having to invent ways to replace industrial health products. 😂

[@gdebree1]

WhenI was a little boy living in Indiana I would go out into the woods , collect sassafras roots to make tea for my family. As a juvenile living in Arizona I made Mormon tea from manzanita leaves. When I was a man living in the sierra’s of California I made bark tea from Jeffery pine . All environment s have fun food to enjoy

wow!

[@Kenneth-i9p]

I’m 73, my mom used to make sassafras tea for us. My brother and I would dig up the roots and wash them for her. You have got me thinking about making some for myself. Thanks

[@a.b.gibson6521]

Give it a try!

[@Cragmortis]

I wish I lived in those times.

[@johnslugger]

*Don't tell the Government. Saferal OIl is illegal since 1972 because of the "hippy craze" and getting high from high doses.*

[@lharchmage6908]

You forgot the burdock root, molasses and nutmeg. Oh and regular active dry yeast from the grocery store works great. Also you can take the bottles after carbonated and place them in a pot of 160f water for 3 minutes it stop the carbonation and can be stored at room temp.

[@hearttraveler1548]

I understand that the original root beer was made from many medicinal plants: , hops, Sarsaparilla, Licorice, Birch Bark, Juniper berry, ginger, Wintergreen leaf,Dandelion Root, Wild Cherry Tree Bark, Cinnamon The flavor of traditional root is virtually nothing like what most think of as root beer Thanks for the video

[@boikman]

The dishwasher works pretty well for killing yeast, too! I used to use the dishwasher to bottle-pasteurize hard cider when it was at the desired sweetness, never had any bottle bombs

[@lharchmage6908]

@@boikman hmm never thought of that. Thanks will try it.

[@ironhell813]

Fact: birch beer is Irish and British and used to be made with birch burdock and oil of bergamot and was a British drink before the yanks claimed they made it from sassafras.

[@IronDruids]

@@boikman Do you have to decarbonate them? I would guess heating up a carbonated drink would make it explode.

[@-Duck-53]

I'm from the south east and we always call those the "fork, knife and spoons leaves" from the sassafras tree they grow in my mom's woods

[@emeraldfox7175]

In S.e.Louisiana we call the leaves,turkeys foot

[@terrychase3969]

My dad said it was a mitten with two thumbs

[@jamilifunk6199]

I've been fermenting for decades and just use a stromg vinegar mix to clean my bottles. I've never used bleach before. If you want to make your own yeast, starter, grab a handful of fresh pine needles place them in a pint jar, fill it with water, add about 2-3 tablespoons of sugar. Mix it well. I about 2-3 days, the culture will be active as the yeast on the pine needles will start comsumimg the sugar. For a gallon of sassafras tea with sugar added off course, use a cup of this starter. In 2 days it will be quite fermented. You can also use kombucha, water kefir, dandelin root culture, etc to make a sparkling probiotic rich brew. Cheers mate!

[@matthewmyers4500]

Liked your reply and knowledge share, thanks

[@Staggababe]

Didn't know you could make yeast from pine needles! Really helpful considering I live in a conifer rich state. Much appreciated.

[@hyperguyver2]

Amen! Bleach is something that has absolutely no place in homebrewing because of how difficult it is to remove the traces of it from the equipment, which in turn negates the entire reason you're sterilizing.

[@jirikurto3859]

@@Staggababe I use pine needles to poke people and I wouldn't dare sacrifice one just to make yeast.

[@Arcahnslight]

​@@jirikurto3859Vlad?

[@tammydillander8992]

My mother in law used to make sassafras tea

[@jacobclark89]

I'm dying to try some, I haven't had any sense I was a kid ,

[@barbgardiner5719]

I Love sassafras tea with just a touch of honey!

[@barbgardiner5719]

@@jacobclark89I get mine at a small locally run health food store.

[@RoyatAvalonFarms]

Great video. I'd recommend to use StarSan or similar for sanitizing bottles instead of chlorine bleach. Bleach works, but has an unpleasant residue. StarSan does not have such residue. Keep the great content coming. I appreciate that you made this so simple of a process by demonstrating it out in the woods. ❤

[@grndzro777]

Or just a bit of iodine tincture. Let them air out a bit and then use.

[@beltfedTODDRULZ]

Shout out to all the Beer Brewers!!! And Star San is awesome

[@ParleyPCat]

Starsan is great, no rinsing and you don’t have to wait for it to dry. Never have had a bad batch.

[@whitehorse1961]

+1 for Star San

[@neileyre6019]

Star San is the way to go! It’s basically phosphoric acid which is a great sanitizer. The low concentration in the water does the job and works amazingly well. Put some in a spray bottle and it is your best friend when brewing/ fermenting.

[@catherineromero1862]

My Dad told me they used to make homemade root beer when he was a kid in the 30’s -40’s. They saved beer bottles which were used to make it. Once the preparation was poured into the bottles and sealed with corks, they laid the bottles down flat in the grass and waited…. Sometimes a bottle would pop its cork 😅

[@neolithicnobody8184]

From what I'm told, when I was a newborn, I was given Sassafras Tea sweetened with fresh Honey in a bottle to ease Colic. That was an extremely long time ago. It's still my favorite Tea all these decades later, and even though my Wife doesn't drink it, she drinks what I use it for, Hard Root Beer. When we bought our house 18 years ago, it was in the Fall and the leaves had already dropped. There were several huge Maples, love my Syrup lol, and several other big trees, no big deal. The following Spring, I was surprised when I realized one of the biggest ones was a Sassafras. I've seen some big ones in my lifetime, but this one and the one 2 houses down were the biggest I've ever seen. The one from the neighbor was cut down in 2015 after a massive Ice Storm. When they ground the Stump, I stocked up on the Motherload of Roots!!! And what you said about the exploding bottles, THAT AIN'T NO LIE!!!! The first time it happened to ME, I thought it was a drive-by shooting in the Boondocks. Even my Daughter was ducking for cover. That's when we found out we had a really bad MESS to clean up. lol The house smelled of Root Beer for a week, but I'm not complaining. lol Live and Learn, it comes with the territory. 👍

[@byrdsdoityourselfgarage7330]

You’re lucky to be alive! Raw honey is known to give infants botulism poisoning. My dad taught me how to make sassafras tea when I was a kid. Now I want to make root beer!❤

[@LittlePieceOfHeaven.65]

@@byrdsdoityourselfgarage7330 We all survived given honey . Same with real Root Beer not that crap they are selling now. Don't believe everything they tell you !

[@superdave54811]

Long ago, back in the 1970s, a very elderly woman known as Aunt Mamie made sassafras tea for me. She brought out a brown paper bag with dried roots and boiled them. She strained, sweetened and refrigerated it. And that was the best. I loved it.

[@mikesic.280]

Fun fact...if you drink enough of sassafras tea/root beer, you will sweat sassafras. It will stain white shirts orange and give you a nice sassafras scent.

[@robertrhodessr3664]

Thanks for this side note! I appreciate the heads up.

[@ambermartin2931]

Lol, wow. I drink too much coffee and my white shirts are brown. Definitely need a detox and drink less coffee.

[@emeraldfox7175]

​@@ambermartin2931😂😂😂😂 absolutely luv lol

[@TheKnifed]

Fun fact.. if you eat enough garlic and it begins to taste spicy, you will stink like garlic for the next 2 days and nobody will want to sleep next to you at summer camp.

[@johnr3603]

will it work on a spouse😅?

[@AlexBeckleysRVs]

Campden tabelets are much safer and easier than bleach.. great video ❤

[@ryanmcrae3593]

I'm really enjoying these videos. There's a ton of sassafras on my property. I always enjoy late season mowing. The smell of the persimmons and chopped sassafras leaves is absolutely heavenly.

[@skyval7926]

Wow , that sounds like such a great smell !!! ❤

[@lyndaniel3369]

It is my understanding that Vitamin C tablets will neutralize chlorine bleach. Apparently, it is used in the swimming pool industry. If you have a bathtub full of chlorinated tap water, how do you dechlorinate it? A 1,000 mg (one gram) tablet of Vitamin C will completely dechlorinate a bathtub full of tap water without significantly making it acidic. Water supplies, instead of using ascorbic acid, use sodium ascorbate which keeps the pH neutral. Some swimmers take a spray bottle of tap water and add a Vitamin C tablet (crushed to dissolve quicker), and then spray themselves and their hair to remove the chlorine effects.

[@blusuntzu]

I would try cleaning everything with vinegar. I avoid using bleach as much as possible.

[@reibersue4845]

I'm still looking for sasafras, but I have 2 comments to male based on this video. I make mead and found a product called star san. Its a sanitizer used in mead and wine making as well as on stainless in the dairy and food industry. No rinsing, just swish around the bottle once you dilute it and pour over your equipment. Then leave on a drain board till you are ready to bottle. 2nd is, and I dont know if you covered this already, i make a white pine needle soda. In half gallon mason jars i fill with about 1/4 full of pine needles (more or less to taste), add about 1/2 cup sugar (more or less to taste), use yeast or I add about 1/4 cup of ginger bug I keep in my fridge and let sit 2 or 3 days. Once it is fizzy, I steain and transfer to the fridge. Slightly citrusy, definitely piney and I add a squirt of lemon juice to bump up the citrus, when I pour a glass.

[@LegacyWildernessAcademy]

Thanks for commenting, great info!

[@chickadee2cor411]

@@reibersue4845 sounds delicious! 😋

[@kevinroberts781]

​@@LegacyWildernessAcademyDon't shake up the yeast. The first 24 hours the yeast actually uses up the oxygen. It uses it from the liquid and the air. On the second day you can shake it

[@whitehawk4099]

Might have to try something like that. Sounds very good.

[@jameswood231]

No Pine Sol for me, please!😮

[@jonsparano6937]

Thanks for noting that dried powder is different and we'd need 20G. 👍

[@owenblount7334]

I mean water content wise you might want to use a little less powder

[@owenblount7334]

But it could be balanced out by the powder maybe being a little less flavorful so you might not have to reduce the amount

[@williammcleroy558]

Just go ahead and send me a bottle or three... 😂

[@NOMAD3030]

I appreciate that you're making this kind of content. I can't wait to forage in the foothills of smokey mountains.

[@RamonaLisa71]

I made your recipe and experimented with sassafras and didn't check the fizz on the second day( big mistake),and when I opened my first bottle on the third morning root beer went everywhere even the ceiling of my kitchen 😂! Needless to say my brewers yeast is very strong!I'm putting them in the fridge hoping that the rest will calm down enough so I can enjoy the beautiful taste because all the root beer shot out of the first one.If not I'll just make a second batch and only let them sit for one or two days! Thank you for this awesome recipe!

[@cianmoriarty7345]

Ale yeast or worse champagne yeast is massively overkill for soft drinks. They are both selected to survive high alcohol levels without dying. We need one with an very limited capacity to survive alcohol. That way we could actually make stable carbonated bottles as is done for beer and wine and have them with enough leftover sugar so they are sufficiently sweet without enough alcohol to blow your head off. Some naturally fermented and not fortified wines and even beers now exceed 18%! Sometimes not having bottles burst by stopping fermentation, particularly with beer that's a matter of finishing to dryness while venting to atmosphere, then sealing after adding a small measured amount of sugar. The sugar is completely consumed but there's only enough to carbonate not explode the bottle. Other times with sweet wines it's a matter of hitting an alcohol concentration that deactivates whatever strain of yeast they are using. That way there can be residual sweetness without continued fermentation. Over the centuries we've selected for higher and higher alcohol concentrations where that happens. But for soft drink even bakers yeast even is too strong for an ideal yeast for this application, it can easily do over 3%: we need one that dies when you hit 2% or something like that. So your bottles are never over a couple percent, can remain sufficiently sweet and never pop. Such a yeast isn't available because manufacturers all want plenty of alcohol. I've often thought I should select just such a yeast from the wild, breed it if need be. I know it can be done by simple selection. Maybe one day I will.

[@Backdaft94]

So 2 tips...make 1 of your bottles a plastic soda bottle, instead of opening it just give it a squeeze when the bottle is hard your ready. 2 if youre going to store it for more than a week, pasturize the bottles to prevent explosions. If left too long bottles will explode in the fridge

[@SasukeUchiha-ql5jg]

Now able to identify this after your older videos, the leaf smell was truly mind blowing when I found some

[@LegacyWildernessAcademy]

That's awesome to hear! Thanks for watching!

[@barbgardiner5719]

I lived on the bayou in Louisiana for awhile and had Wild Sassafras trees on the property. I was truly amazed at the 3 distinct different leaves!

[@JayCWhiteCloud]

Overall, Mathew, this was highly informative and excellently delivered. Here are some key points that you may find useful though there are quite a few more from the traditional perspective of means and methods like the many different traditional additives to authentic rootbeer. While some traditional recipes might mention "sugar," it was never the refined sugar shown in this video, nor do I believe it resembles what you've been using, as suggested by the color of your root beer. Modern root beer, although enhanced with artificial colors, captures the authentic shades of the original root beers and amber sarsaparillas that my Arkansas family has been producing for over 150 years, which we fondly enjoyed in our youth. Achieving the true essence of authentic root beer is impossible with modern refined sugars; they simply cannot replicate the original flavors. Only by using traditional sweeteners like molasses, honey, maple syrup, and raw organic "browned" cane sugar can you unlock those rich colors and complex and nuanced flavors. Traditional sterilization methods differ significantly from what you've presented in this video. It primarily involves boiling water and inverting the container until the decanting process. Relying on industrial chemicals not only wastes money but can also impart unwanted flavors to the vessel. The yeast featured in the video is widely used by DIY enthusiasts exploring various "how-to" techniques today. However, this approach deviates from traditional methods. There are numerous ways to capture and cultivate "wild yeast" species. A popular method found in regions like the Ozarks and Appalachia involves mixing organic flour, spring water, and a ripe blackberry (or a similar berry). After stirring the mixture thoroughly, it should be loosely covered with a cloth and left at room temperature for 48 to 72 hours until bubbles appear. This "starter" can be maintained and fed indefinitely with proper care. Yeasts play a crucial role in developing the subtle flavors of these beverages. Thanks again for a generally great video and I look forward to viewing more...

[@riapresley5446]

JayCWhiteCloud very very awesome info...it will be awesome if Legacy will make an updated version of his root beer recipe

[@KenJohnsonUSA]

Pretty good video. Sassafras is awesome. I did have some points of concern. Specifically with a sanitization liquid, the "wet time" matters tremendously. That particular bleach solution requires a minimum of three minutes soak time before rinsing. When filling the bottles, you had way too much head space. You want no more than two inches head space. The chances of a bottle bursting increases based on the headspace. While your bottle choice is okay. those bottles will start to fail after 2-3 uses. The bottle capper works better and is cheaper in the long run. When your "soda" is ready, you can stop the fermentation process so that you don't create a bottle bomb. To do this, place a tea towel in a pot, place the capped bottles in the pot where they will not touch (use towels if necessary), place an extra empty bottle (filled with water) in the pot with a thermometer, slowly heat the water up to 165°F, turn off the heat, and let the bottles sit until cool before placing them in the fridge or storing in a cabinet for later consumption.

[@Rosk03]

This was a natural brew till y'all brought out the javex. Come on, really? Aint nothing traditional or safe about that. Just use full on vinegar and rinse...

[@glennwilck5459]

Good tip on how to kill the yeast and stop fermentation tho!

[@rustyshackleford436]

I have a point of concern, how is an empty bottle filled with water?

[@taboomystic]

Does it need to be a tea towel, or will ordinary dish towels be enough?

[@KenJohnsonUSA]

@@taboomystic any towel will work. You just don't want them clinking together and busting since they're under pressure.

[@carolynklenk8467]

My Grandmother Mc Adoo made homemade Root beer from her Sassafras tree!! I still can remember that fantastic taste!! Thanks for sharing!! ❤

[@rafterL78]

Did she dig the root? How'd that work without killing the tree? Please forgive my ignorance on the subject, I thought you were suppose to dig up a small tree. Leaves and twigs maybe?

[@ryanreedgibson]

Grolcsh Beer came in the swing cap bottles. I used to buy the beer in my 20s and kept each bottle. The only part that needs replaced every 4-6 years is the rubber washer around the lid.

[@ironhell813]

You can make the washer by cutting rubber tubes or rubber bands and melting ends together.

[@MichiganDaisy-1111]

Im a northerner...but I'll still watch 😅

[@johnnyboy4654]

Much love from your southern brethren

[@HomeImProveMentHow]

Can you I 13:07 dig up the roots any time? Or Do you have to wait till after spring or winter??

[@karrskarr]

Awesomeness! A must watch! Thank you!

[@LegacyWildernessAcademy]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks!

[@josephdonais4778]

As a kid in the 70s northeast, I'd always be in the woods and on the lookout for Sassafras, Staghorn Sumac, Winter Green and a variety of others.

[@eyesofthecervino3366]

Ooh! What's the sumac good for?

[@josephdonais4778]

@@eyesofthecervino3366 Staghorn Sumac, the Sumac with the hard red velvet seed spikes can be put in cheese cloth to soak for a few hours, pull the Sumac and add a little sugar for something akin to pink lemonade.

[@eyesofthecervino3366]

@@josephdonais4778 Oh, that's so cool! I think I've even seen some growing around where I live.

[@josephdonais4778]

@@eyesofthecervino3366 find it on the fall, before the birds get to it.

[@josephdonais4778]

@@eyesofthecervino3366 get it before the birds do. 😉

[@jaybailleaux630]

Very similar to wine making. Made wine with Welches concentrated grape juice using 1 gallon glass milk jugs. Used a balloon for a cap for expansion of gases. I loved the stuff in my childhood. It was a family culture of my Sicilian relatives . We drank wine and beer in moderation often with a meal and near bedtime.

[@tombiggs4687]

My dad was in the US Navy during WWII. His bunkmates "liberated" raisins and sugar from the cook's supplies, brewed up tubs of wine under their bunks, hoping superior officers wouldn't see (or smell) the brew.

[@beltfedTODDRULZ]

A small piece of coiled tubing can work well with a plug to make a water trap. Gases go out and oxygen doesn't get in and oxidize the beer

[@brunopadovani7347]

​@@tombiggs4687My dad and his fellow soldiers did the same thing in Korea.

[@freakyflow]

Did not even know untill now that Southern Ontario Canada has Sassafras trees ..I have done Spruce beer from Birch water And spruce buds. I love root beer ! Thanks for the video

[@PackthatcameBack]

And whatever you do, do NOT do this in square bottles. I tried making some homemade ginger beer a few years back and used one of those, and within 8 hours of sitting on my counter it exploded like a grenade. Luckily no one was in the room at the time, but still. Don't be stupid like me - use proper bottles for your soda making and you'll be fine.

[@Lambz242]

First and great tutorial 👍

[@georgeparrault9945]

Vinegar is a good sterilizer.

[@ducktapepilot]

Love this! Great to see a channel dedicated to wild foods and medicines in the south east! My mom's grandmother was a Choctaw and she would make her and her siblings drink sassafras tea whenever they were sick.

[@Heartwing37]

You’re doing God’s work young man!

[@biddibee3526]

How? I’m curious how he’s doing God’s work. Sincerely curious

[@georgeburns6512]

@@biddibee3526educating others. God works in many different ways brother.

[@cazdoodle7737]

Jesus is Lord ❤

[@chetisanhart3457]

God gave us nature, and he is teaching about nature. That is certainly God's work.

[@chrissipe3206]

Really appreciate your channel king! 👑 I already made Mimosa flower tea and even smoked it already in an herbal blend 💨 and the effects were amazing. I have a recommendation for your videos if you end up reading this. Going out of your way to make it like if you were in the wild (lots of video time shown making a fire, etc) isn’t really what I want to see. But showing exactly how you go from digging up the root, and processing it into shavings like that is exactly what I want to see, but you left that part out. I might not speak for all the audience, but I imagine a lot of us are here with the intention to possibly harvest something we commonly see in the wild and process it using basic kitchen tools in a kitchen environment. With that in mind, I think slight tweaks in how you edit your videos will make for better videos for more people and help you achieve your stated mission. I think the format of other cooking shows where you show less of you speaking directly to the camera, and more having that audio layered over footage of you doing the work like shaving the roots would work much better. Much love and respect! 👑🙏💛

[@TimTimTomTom]

Agree, and he should specify inner, or outer root bark, as that matters a lot. But yes, process from digging to the boil would be useful for most.

[@chriskasprzyk6235]

That was in the linked first video.

[@stacystepp7914]

He already has a video on everything you just described wanting. You should check it out:)

[@csmith6483]

It’s easy to stop the fermentation. Just bring the bottles up to 140 F in hot water to kill the yeast. You can then store them indefinitely.

[@tombiggs4687]

Informative and well-presented, thank you. I'm 66 and even when I was a kid, major brand root beers were already being made without sassafras. I remember I wasn't a big fan of root beer then, but then I tried a smaller local brand and loved it - clearly they were using sassafras. We do get sassafras trees up my way in PA, not too many, but I love the way they smell when I pick a leaf and bruise it. Not enough of 'em to harvest for their roots, I'm afraid, but I will try to purchase some root.

[@jomamackdaddy]

I always used the blue sanitizer tabs that bartenders use in their 3 compartment sinks. Never had a problem with any of the beer I made.

[@joearledge]

"blood thinners" and "blood pressure" medications and issues are very vague and broad terms that encompass a lot of very different things. Someone on an anticoagulant(a category of "blood thinners") does not automatically have BP issues as a direct result of that medication, unless they are hemorrhaging and can't clot properly. So.... what specifically does sassafras do, and by what mechanism of action??

[@AhhZrulz]

Get some Starsan instead of bleach.

[@Facetiously.Esoteric]

Irresponsible fire making with dry leaves everywhere. Because it couldn't happen to you right? SMH

[@ceceliamoffat9818]

Do you have a book because I can't remember all of this.

[@emmitstewart1921]

When I was a boy, I would visit my cousins in West Virginia. They taught me to take the new green twigs of sassafras, strip off the leaves and chew the tips. The tase was quite good, though not as sweet as the roots.

[@wesleyware7815]

How did you get the root bark? Do you have to kill the tree?

[@LegacyWildernessAcademy]

You can kill a small one or dig up a single root from a larger tree.

[@jacquelynsharp9354]

You don't use whole tree root ong

[@sycamore2789]

Sassafras is a very fast growing tree. The one you dig up will be replaced quickly.

[@JP1NYC]

You could.​@@jacquelynsharp9354

[@TimTimTomTom]

@@sycamore2789 Not where I am... they are the slowest growers in the forest here in MI.

[@Derpypikachu-nl7se]

What do you think would happen if you boiled the finished bottles to kill the yeast? Would it ruin the carbonation or just prevent anymore carbonation from forming thus preventing them from bursting?

[@janelrossetto1826]

Great presentation! I'm excited to find or plant this and give it a try. Did you say how long it can keep in the fridge?

[@LegacyWildernessAcademy]

About a month or you begin to run the risk of the pressure building up and exploding

[@cherylbishop7657]

Hi using baking soda and vinegar, instead of bleach is a good option. ( l am highly allergic to bleach and glycerin) GOD BLESS YA'LL

[@mattharvey8712]

Bravo......u do great stuff......make beer out of it......u can be million club.......cheers

[@TheMongo1357]

New FAN here Sir!!! My Granny used to make me a cup of Sassafras tea and half a pink grapefruit for breakfast! I am a Native Floridian and very interested in learning everything I can about my native medicinal plants! Did I mention I absolutely LOVE Rootbeer? Lol Great video!!!

[@yugimuto9763]

Next time you make a fire try putting a caveman style ring of rocks around it, it'll keep it from spreading where you don't want and also trap the heat and help your water boil faster

[@yugimuto9763]

Also please don't bleach your jars or bottles before storing food in them. Boil them.

[@mathewpennington7049]

Great job Matthew. Thanks for sharing

[@LegacyWildernessAcademy]

Thanks for watching!

[@JunoBrannick]

I would like for you to explain to me in a little bit more detail on why you wash that stuff off with chlorinated water but then rinsed it with tap water and touched everything with your hands

[@underourrock]

Use starsan for sanitizing food contact materials. It is simply an acid than has no off taste. Rinsing undoes the sanitizing. With starsan you don't need to rinse it.

[@HenryCabotHenhouse3]

To stop fermentation so they can be left unrefrigerated, pasteurize them. Put them in a 130 F water bath (use an immersion circulator) for 3 hours. That will bring the internal temperature high enough for long enough to kill all the yeast but shouldn't bring it so high as to cause them to explode. Then you can store them in the root cellar for a good while without them overpressurizing and move them to refrigeration as needed. One should also be able to use the immersion circulator to standardize the ferment time. Set the temp to 98 F and let them ferment in water until the proper carbonation level is reached, record the time it took, turn up the temp to 130 F for a few hours to pasteurize. One can then repeat this process for each subsequent batch without having to test multiple times. At the time recorded for the first batch all subsequent batches will either be done or not carbonated at all. If one has a circulator that is time programmable, for batches after the first one simply set to 98 F for the ferment time, then 130 F for 3 hours, then off and no need to worry about forgetting and suffering an explosion. This would probably be best practice for crimp cap bottles.

[@HardinProuductionsOriginal]

Pastuerizing them will also kill all the nutrients in them. Don't do that. This is stupid and idiotic

[@RobMacKendrick]

I've never made root beer, but I make many different types of kvass, which from what I've seen in this video is basically the same. You can use sourdough starter for yeast. I normally add about a teaspoon of good, vigorously-working sponge to 2 litres of kvass. It imparts a tangy flavour to the product that's generally welcome. If you make subsequent batches from the lees of the last one, you end up breeding a yeast that's precision-engineered for your recipe and works very efficiently and aggressively. Wine yeasts leave a vaguely soapy flavour I don't relish. I also make wine and beer, but I avoid those yeasts for kvass. ("Russian root beer", basically.)

[@wasd____]

Don't use bleach to sanitize. Use a no-rinse brewing sanitizer like Star-San. Rinsing with plain water after sanitizing effectively undoes bothering to sanitize in the first place. Also, in those batches you rushed and killed the yeast, they're not a loss. If you accidentally kill the first add of yeast due to high temperature, you can just add more yeast later to restart fermentation. The live yeast will eat the dead ones and use them as nutrients, so if anything, your fermentation will only be even better. Sounds gross to us, but yeast don't care and it won't cause any problems for the final product. Nature always recycles. Also, don't be finicky over measuring out tiny bits of yeast from those brewing packets. Just put the whole packet in. There's very little economy in trying to "save yeast for later" given how cheap those packets are, and you only risk contamination by reusing yeast later from a previously opened packet.

[@LegacyWildernessAcademy]

Thank you, all great advice.

[@Babypapayaproductions]

I love this channel!

[@LegacyWildernessAcademy]

Thanks for watching!

[@capnspicy5565]

Ya know, for an educational video, you really dropped the ball, there is a natural way to stop at the desired fermentation. Just so... Um, you know... so the kids don't get drunk or lose an eye when the bottles turn into bombs. Yeast doesn't follow our rules, That is an insane amount of sugar with an active carbonation, yeast will catch you off guard, what your doing is a cold crash, but I have seen yeast time and again that wont slow down when chilled. I know what it says on the package and in books, but, yeast can't read.

[@capnspicy5565]

Right, I forgot to educate you... Pasteurization, It is named for the French scientist Louis Pasteur, who in the 1860s demonstrated that abnormal fermentation of wine and beer could be prevented by heating the beverages to about 57 °C (135 °F) for a few minutes. Killing the yeast, There's more to it, but you know how to google right?

[@SaxonRanger94]

“I don’t use plastic” …Based

[@farceadentus]

Mmmmmm Love me some Root Beer. Thanks for sharing bother!

[@COAL-CRAWLERS]

You should have left it in the gallon growler and used an airlock.

[@uptoolate2793]

I got a very nice foamy head on my root beer by using honey instead of sugar. The difference is remarkable. I wonder how molasses or sorghum would work.....

[@n3bruce]

As a homebrewer there are a couple better options for sanitizing your fermentation vessels and tools,a chlorine bleach can leave lingering odors, particularly with plastics.Iodaphor and Star San are brand names of iodine and phosphoric acid sanitizer that are popular with homebrewers.

[@LegacyWildernessAcademy]

Thanks for the tip!

[@JudeNoneya]

Very nice video. I remember drinking some as a child at a friend's house. It was delicious.

[@empress6491]

Question, my sassafras tree died, can I still use the root? She is about 15 feet tall and was damaged by the weedeater or lawnmower.

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

Of course

[@futurekron]

Awesome tutorial. Now I know how to identify this tree!

[@NateHatch]

Cool fact (pun intended): the refrigeration process doesn't just slow the fermentation process, it also reduces the pressure CO2 exerts on the bottle, so even though CO2 does keep building the molecules are more compressed.

[@RunnerPack]

CO2 dissolves more easily into cold water

[@ARedMotorcycle]

Kind of reminds me of how the deeper you go in water, the more matter, like gasses compress. One gas being the nitrogen in a compressed scuba tank. That's how you get the bends if you don't take a safety stop a few meters from the surface. You need time to let the nitrogen out, otherwise it gets stuck and you get decompression sickness which is supposed to be very painful, and sometimes deadly.

[@wesh388]

Very nice video, thanks for posting. I have heard that it is best to be cautious with it, glad you mentioned it

[@TheRealChetManley]

Find starsan for cleaning bottles and brewing equipment...

[@Blinkerd00d]

I've had homebrewed root beer, and it's absolutely amazing!

[@ronwitek4539]

Youndo know there are two.other oilsnin that root bark that need to be removed uginol and camphor

[@nafex3740]

Great 🌹 information baddy 👍👍

[@MrReman2u]

Your definition of a boil is a lot different than mine.

[@KatWilton]

What kind of yeast do you use? Do you get wine or beer yeast, or do you just use bread yeast?

[@reibersue4845]

He said ale yeast.

[@KatWilton]

@@reibersue4845 Thanks, I obviously missed that ;-)

[@johnwiggwag1789]

Wintergreen leaves are even stronger than sassafras, and birch bark is very strong too, although they all have differences, id like to see someone brew with all 3.

[@shawnkliewer9987]

Better have a good stomach, because, I got sick as hell.

[@hyperguyver2]

Probably from the Bleach if you followed this dudes instructions.

[@GldnClaw]

I thought Obama made it illegal to purchase sassafras in the United States?

[@chris135x]

Obama didn't make it illegal but it was made illegal decades ago.

[@chickadee2cor411]

Thank you for teaching how to make it! This is fantastic ♥️♥️♥️

[@LegacyWildernessAcademy]

Thank you for watching! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@cameroonkendrick6312]

I always wondered where root beer came from

[@janicegelbhaar7352]

Very informative

[@TheSunRiseKid]

Well, I don’t live in the south, but I subscribed anyway! I live in Wisconsin almost as north as you can get, but I see you have other videos that I am interested in😊🌱👍

[@joewoodchuck3824]

I used to make brewed root beer from extract that I sent for. I liked the idea of controlling the amount of sugar and it was economical. My first batch was made with bread yeast from the grocery store as recommended by the extract maker. It was ok, but I reasoned that I might improve the flavor with a substitute yeast since all the other ingredients would still be the same. I suppose that bread yeast was chosen for it's wide availability. So the next extract order came wine yeast meant for montrachet. I chose that one for it's cool name as much as anything else. 😃 The result was much improved flavor of root beer. I had cut way back on the sugar content but it still fermented fine. That was years ago and I haven't made any root beer or barley alcohol beer since as i sadly parted my sizeable collection of large glass crown cap bottles that I had amassed by saving 5 cent deposit grocery store soda bottles. They probably sell for a price I probably wouldn't want to spend now anyway. My beer making was also done creatively. Another time for that. Nichols Garden Nursery where I got my extract and yeast from was still in business the last time I checked, but I'm not sure they still carry that product line.

[@timstafford3675]

No bleach needed just boiling water

[@clinttorris4085]

Since i commented that he's doing quite a few things wrong i thought it only fair to explain. I'm not gonna go into deep details because you can Google wine or beer making. Sanitation. He's right about everything needing to be sanitized. But wash/boil your pot and utensils THEN sanitize with bleach but don't rinse. Let them air dry. Temps: That metal pot will loose heat faster than a thick glass bottle. Bottom line if it's warmer than luke warm it can kill your yeast. Pitching yeast: Once under 100°F pitch your yeast and stir or aerate. Yeast undergo 2 metabolic processes. First, they multiple and to do that they need oxygen. So pour it between 2 containers if you have to in order to get air in there. Second, they make alcohol. It's an anaerobic process that doesn't need oxygen. The yeast eat the sugars and piss out alcohol. Bottling: Don't do it until it done fermenting! Leave it in the big jar or pan covered to keep bugs out. Yeast put out lots of CO2 so don't seal it right away! In a week or two after bubbling has quit it'll be ready to rack into bottles. Racking not only gets it into bottles but helps clear up the wine. (Since your not using grain its actual not a true beer. It's a sassafras flavored sugar wine) Your wine should be between 5 and 12% ABV (alcohol by volume) and should have a dry flavor. But don't worry, adding a pinch of sugar will carbonate it and sweeten it up, lowering the dryness. Gonna fast forward cause i feel like I'm writing a damn book. Use a siphon hose to rack the wine into the bottles so you don't disturb the sediment in the big container. Once in the bottles, add a good punch of sugar to each bottle and seal them. The yeast is still there and alive so this pinch of sugar they'll eat will just make carbonation. Be sure to keep it cool or fridged after the first day to avoid exploding bottles. During the first or initial fermentation right after pitching yeast you want to keep the wine between 70° and 90°. And you don't need fancy expensive yeast. Fleischmann or Red Star both work great. Basic bread yeasts. Our grand parents used them or wild yeast. Just Google wine making, it'll teach you what you need to know for root beer, strawberry wine or any other wine you want to make. Real beer made from grain can be a real bitch to make and i ain't getting into that. I've damn near wrote yall a book about this shit. Good luck!😉

[@capnspicy5565]

Um yeah, first things first, he's not trying to make alcohol, he's just adding carbonation, second, just as you like to point out "it's not beer", It's not wine either, wine is made with grapes, third you left out pasteurization, and one hundredth just to hurry this along, your google education shows, all this cleaning is bullshit, even when making beer, it's knowing when to be clean, that is the key, and wine can be higher than 12%... yeah, I'm done, fighting internet misinformation would literally take a lifetime.

[@onemorething100]

@@capnspicy5565 Agree, That comment was wrong.

[@JacknVictor]

I didnt mind root beer when i was younger, but Dandelion and burdock was always my go to as a kid, especially if we were having fish and chips! You rarely see root beer in Britain anymore. Ginger beer, dandelion and burdock, bitter shandy and fizzy lemonade are the only old school pop drinks that i see now. Everyone is in to drinking coke zero and pepsi max and other such horrible saccharin filled crap. I make my iwn cider nowadays. I used to make it the traditional way, but i found a recipe for something called turbo cider, which results in bottles of 8% abv cider within 3 weeks of fermenting and carbinating. A cider which rivals any cider ive ever bought, and even gives champagne and prosecco a run for its money, and only costs around £7.50 ($10) to make over 10 litres. Im not sure on homebrew laws in America, but its fine to make your own here in Britain. Im planning on making some beer and wine for over the xmas period aswell this year, but if i can get all the ingredients, i will try making this root beer aswell. Great video! Ive got a few hundred grolsch bottles with the swing caps that ive had for that long ive had to replace the gasket seals 3 times on them! They are perfect for carbonating in, and i use a dishwasher with baby bottle steriliser in, then boil them in water for 5 minutes and they are as clean as you are going to get.

[@steventaylor8918]

When I was a teen I found a root beer recipe in a magazine that included burdock root, yellow dock root and spices along with sassafras. I made a batch with my brother and we screwed up the fermentation process.

[@swanhill772]

God’s work, I agree. Thank you.

[@nevergiveup-db6fp]

I’m surprise there’s no comments that the bark can cause cancer have you never heard that?

[@LegacyWildernessAcademy]

Yes I've heard that. I cover that in detail in part 1 of this video. There has actually never been a reported case of human cancer from sassafras, and most expert foragers do not believe it to be a real risk. Sort of like how alcohol is carcinogenic but most people consider it safe to drink in moderation.

[@nevergiveup-db6fp]

Dude, thank you for answering my question. I really appreciate that

[@TimTimTomTom]

@@nevergiveup-db6fp It was based on BS propaganda, so they could ban an easy source for making MDA, and MDMA.

[@pellis8985]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I would love to know how it tastes. Can you do a short or a follow up and compare it to the store bought root beer?

[@johnnyhays2942]

Matthew--fyi--when pouring from a full jug--bleach--rotate jug 180 degrees--won't spill

[@GeorgiaWoodsHomesteading]

Checkout Crew Bottles, much easier to clean. I bought so many brewing bottles like you did Matthew, I regret it after finding Crew Bottles. It is so hard to clean the normal brewing bottles if you use fruit to flavor like I do.

[@HomeImProveMentHow]

*From what I understand,* You're supposed to harvest the roots in the winter time? Or it's supposed to be Bad for you, I don't know how true this is, It's something I was Told.

[@johnny.troublemaker]

Pasteurizing isn't that difficult and can keep the carbonation while removing the dangers of exploding bottles

[@GeorgiaWoodsHomesteading]

I use starsan to disinfect when I brew Kombucha and beer. I stay away from bleach, so bad for the body to come in contact with. Which is why I am working on converting my pool to a swimming pond.

[@wrengifts]

You should use a Ginger bug to make root beer. The Ale yeast will continue to multiply and eventually ferment all the sugar and explode they bottles.