Twice runner up at the Maltose Falcons Octoberfest.

In one gallon water, boil malts, gypsum, Burton salts and citric acid for 15 minutes. Add 1/2 boiling hops and boil for 30 minutes. Add remaining boiling hops and continue to boil for an additional 15 minutes. Add aromatic hops and boil for 5 minutes. Allow to cool then sparge through cheesecloth with approximately 4 gallons water.

Allow to cool to about 90˚ F before pitching yeast. Starting SG: ~ 50.

Ferment out to a final SG of ~14. Rack the beer to leave behind the yeast deposit. Dissolve finnings in 1 cup of the gently heated beer then stir it into the racked beer. Allow to stand for approximately five days.

To prime, take 2 cups of the beer and gently heat. Add dextrose, stirring until dissolved. Stir back into the beer then bottle immediately.

Allow the bottled ale to stand for about three weeks in a cool place before opening.

Add first eight ingredients to one gallon water and boil for 1-1/4 hours. Add aromatic hops then boil 15 minutes longer. Remove from heat, strain through cheesecloth and sparge grains with about 4 gallons water. Allow to cool before pitching yeast. Prepare the yeast to pitch by adding it to a small amount of cooled wort and water and letting it stand for about an hour. Pitch yeast when the wort has cooled to about 80˚F.

Original SG: 61 2 72˚ F.
Rack into secondary when SG reaches 40
Ferment out to an SG of 30.
Rack again, add finnings and allow to stand for at least a week.
Prime and bottle in the usual way.
Age for three weeks.

The amount of carbonation is greatly effected by the temperature; if it's too warm the soda is hyper carbonated and if it's too cold it is flat.

Our grandfathers brewed beer with cane sugar during the prohibition and would lose most of their bottles to explosions due to heat. Of course since they couldn't buy beer at the time the consequences were worth the cost just to have ANY beer.

Champagne yeast is preferred to the bakers yeast commonly used in home sodas because it has a lighter, less "yeasty" flavor and will not create as much carbonation.

Start the yeast by dissolving it in a cup of water heated to about 98˚F. Try not to allow the water to be much hotter or it will kill the yeast. The purpose is to "wake up" the packaged yeast so it can go to work quickly. Allow the yeast to stand for about 15 minutes in the warm water.

Heat about a gallon of water and stir in the cane sugar and ginger Beer extract. You do not need to boil this water, only heat it enough to thoroughly dissolve the cane sugar. Once all the sugar has gone into solution add enough water to bring the volume to four gallons. Stir in the yeast solution when the temperature is about 90˚ F and bottle in sterilized plastic soda bottles.

Store bottles on their side at room temperature for about 4 days then move to a cooler, dark location for about two weeks. If you refrigerate before serving don't let it get too cold or it will seem flat. As with ales, there will be some residual yeast so pour it slowly and carefully to avoid pouring too much yeast into your glass.

Zatarain's Root Beer Extract

Root Beer World

Brewers Rendezvous / Soda making supplies

The Homebrew Company

Ginger Beer extract bottled by Rainbow Flavors, Inc.