Appalachian True Root Beer

angelica

Brewed 10 September 2017 in Plummer’s Hollow.

A hopped alcoholic root beer with mostly wild-harvested roots and herbs and a bock-ish grain bill. It hit my sweet spot.

The one European native here is angelica, about which the Wikipedia wisely observes:

Like several other species in Apiaceae, its appearance is similar to several poisonous species (Conium, Heracleum, and others), and should not be consumed unless it has been identified with absolute certainty.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
4 gal 60 min 18.2 IBUs 11.2 SRM 1.079 1.020 7.9 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pale 2-Row - US 9 lbs 75
Vienna - US 1.5 lbs 12.5
Caramel/Crystal 60 - US 1 lbs 8.33
Carapils - Dextrine Malt - US 8 oz 4.17

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Hallertau 1 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 4.5

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
aniseroot (Osmorhiza longistylis), whole fresh roots 3.00 oz 0 min Primary Other
wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), whole fresh rhizome 2.00 oz 0 min Primary Other
sassafras root shavings, fresh 1.00 oz 0 min Primary Other
sweet flag (Acorus calamus), dried roots 0.50 oz 0 min Primary Other
angelica (Angelica archangelica), dried roots 0.25 oz 0 min Primary Other
staghorn sumac heads, frozen then thawed 14.00 Items 0 min Secondary Other
horsebalm (Collinsonia canadensis) heads, dried 0.50 oz 0 min Secondary Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Fermentis Safale S-04 75% 64°F - 69°F

Notes

An alcoholic root beer with hops, for the the gruit-averse. Add roots in muslin bag near end of boil to sanitize, then keep in primary for a week. (I don't have the right equipment or conditions for lagering, so I use an ale yeast, but the grain bill and hops are modeled after doppelbock.)


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