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!
