Journeys in home fermented soda making

So, yesterday I attempted to make lacto-fermented root beer wort.  (the wort is the flavored syrup that will ultimately become the 'flavor' of the soda.  I read about 10 recipes online, and frankly-they almost all call for weird ingredients.  (Juniper berries, birch bark and wintergreen leaf?)  In the end, I sort of created my own with Sassafras, Sarsaparilla, licorice and burdock. (a few things I had around the house) And a few drops of pure wintergreen extract.

Sadly, I think I over cooked it-and brought some of the bitter flavors out of the roots. I find that lemon juice counteracts bitterness.  So to compensate, I added the juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 cup organic, unsulphured molasses and another 1/2 cup sucanant. It smelled incredible, though....like root beer air freshener!

This is the 'ginger bug'. It is basically the soda starter.  After a week of feeding it sugar and fresh ginger, it will be fizzy and bubbly.  Then it is ready to be mixed with the wort.

I will keep you updated as to how this turned out.  I'm not going to give up with one or two failures.  I will endure until I have a delicious, perfect-every-time, recipe for homemade root beer.  I will do it for Jeremy!

 

starting out

Well, it's my first attempt at being a 'blogger.'  I have been told before that I should blog, but frankly-who has the time?
I would like to use this blog to give updates about the kids and family as well as any current projects that are going on in The Richards Home.  I really hope that I gain a following of people who are interested in what we do here.  I like the idea of 'writing it down' to share with others-even strangers! 
Well, that was an awkward start.  I hope I get better at this!