Finishing the latest batch-a few tips.

So, all 28 bottles of the most recent batch of root beer are gone.
The soda was incredibly tasty and a huge hit with the family. It can really be best described as a sweet beer with the slight hint of root beer barrels at the end. I suspect that if my sinuses had not been congested for the majority of the 8 days we were drinking the batch I would have been able to taste more of the root beer flavor.
Then again, there are several things that could have gone wrong, based on my previous experiences.
The first(and usually the most likely culprit) possibility is that the bottles sat at a warmer temperature than I expected and the yeast was over-active. I assumed my apartment was averaging at the mid-high sixties range, but in reality could have been closer to the mid-seventies. In this case(if you know for sure the temperature of your soda), the easiest solution is to transfer your batch from the "warm" location to the fridge. "Over-active" yeast carbonates more quickly then "regular" yeast, and as such it tends to consume more sugar, produce more carbonation, and more alcohol(usually homemade soda comes out with a 0.5 % alcohol yield, and over-active yeast will bring it closer to 2-3%, not yet the same level as beer by any means, but if it's that high of a content you've lost most of your sugar and have very little flavor remaining(beyond the yeast's flavor itself). Since the batch this time turned out very sweet and still carried a little bit of the flavor extract with it, I'd guess I could have done two things to remedy the problem.
First of all, I could have transferred up to half a day sooner-I waited from Friday night around 9 p.m. until Monday morning around 11:30 a.m. If I had put it in the fridge at 2 a.m. or even as earlier as 9 p.m. the previous night, I could have still a had a tasty soda with sufficient carbonation. You can avoid exploding bottles by arresting the process sooner, but you can also arrest the process TOO soon and end up with flat soda.
Secondly, I could have waited the right amount of time(about 2.5 days(62.5 hours)), but having left most of the batch in the cardboard box it was stored in may have taken too long to cool down enough to arrest the yeast-which of course would mean it actually continued to carbonate for up to 12 hours longer than I had originally intended.
When I first started making my own homemade soda a few years back, someone asked me why I wasn't just brewing beer. Well, there's two reasons behind that. Most importantly, I'm not really a beer drinker. There's a few select beers I thoroughly enjoy, and a few that I can drink in the right circumstances, but for the most part I just don't enjoy it at all. I enjoy all kinds of soda, and am constantly seeking out new ones to try out.
Second of all, after beginning my journey through the process of making a homemade soda, I discovered that it's much more difficult. There are tons of resources available for the homemade beer brewer. There are dozens(or even hundreds) of kits on the market, libraries of books dedicated to every aspect of getting a good beer, and there's a very large community out there to support you if you need the help. When it comes to making soda, however, there are only a few specialty books that I have run across. In addition, most books that have homemade soda recipes act as guidelines. They tell you how to make everything as long as all conditions are normal and run nearly perfect. There's no support for how to deal with any variables during the process. Making a homemade soda is much like perfecting a dish, it takes time, and practice. There are a lot of tweaks to be made, and a lot of things to be considered. It's a chemical reaction, and not a very easily controlled one at that. Since I found there to be a lacking support channel for homemade soda makers, I figured another thing I should focus on with this blog is discussing the potential downfalls and how to avoid them, or at least how to make them work for you.
On a parting note, I will also bring up that homemade soda produces a much more solid level of carbonation in your soda that I had forgotten about until recently. Because the carbonation is throughout the soda in a "natural" fashion, the carbonation holds for a long while. How long? Well, while we were in the process of moving my wife opened a bottle of soda on Sunday evening. She took a few drinks and forgot about it. We went about our moving routine, and upon returning to the house Tuesday afternoon, I picked up the unfinished bottle, took a sip and was amazed at the level of carbonation still left. It had the same "sting" of a freshly opened bottle, and when I poured out another bottle that only had a sip or two left in it from elsewhere in the house it fizzed the whole way out and left a streak of bubbles lingering towards the drain in the sink. So, an opened, uncapped bottle of homemade soda left in a 65-75 degree house for nearly 2 days was still kicking ass in the carbonation department. Try getting that from a store-bought soda!

Tasting the new batch...

So, officially my wife tried the first bottle of cold soda. Problem was, she tried it only 2 days(Wednesday) after we first refrigerated, and minimum is 4 days. It opened with a bit of an overflow from all the carbonation, tasted sweet, yeasty(as homemade sodas tend to do), and very little like Root Beer. There was a hint of the flavor in the aftertaste, but merely a hint.
My wife's reaction? "This tastes like beer, but a lot better. If this is what beer tasted like, I'd drink it all of the time. So I guess it's a good thing that beer doesn't taste like this."
Oh, and yes, she did make some root beer bread. It was incredibly tasty, and maybe I can talk her into relating her experience on her own blog.
So, after telling her that it needs to age a little more, I went back to ignoring the soda for a few days. On Friday(the first day we should have opened it...), I pop open a bottle, and take a whiff...
It's...yeasty. That's the best way to describe it. It's tangy, sweet and slightly sourish. I take a drink-much like it was on the first try, but a little less yeasty then before. My wife has continued drinking it, and the girls have even shared a bottle or two. From our initial 28, I believe we are down to 15. My wife doesn't think it tastes as good now as it did the first few times she tried it, but I only detect more and more of the extract. I know from previous experience with other batches of homemade soda using extract that the longer the bottles sit, the better they are going to taste(up to a point), so the extract will just come out more and more. I just hope that it actually lasts long enough to get to that point.
So, let this be a lesson for all of you potential homemade soda makers out there...the longer you let a soda "age" in the refrigerator, the better it will taste when you get to it(at least a week is best). There's also no accounting for personal taste, however, so if you're more of a yeasty kind of person(as my wife is), you may enjoy it from an earlier point on.
I must go now, my oldest kitchen assistant has just requested breakfast and one of our sodas. I will keep you posted on this batch if it matures a little more. I'll do that if the soda does too.

Review: Moxie Original Elixir

My purchase of this particular soda was a long time coming. I first read about it's continued existence about six or seven years ago. Until that point in history, I had always thought Moxie was a long discontinued brand of soda that was swallowed whole by Coca-Cola or Pepsi's march to supermarket/advertising dominance. Much like Coca-Cola, Moxie was developed in the late 19th century as an elixir with medicinal purposes, and later modified to be a carbonated drink when those imbibements started becoming popular across the nation.

It is also speculated that Moxie may have contained cocaine at one point(much like it's contemporary Coca-Cola), but there's no concrete proof behind this-just the hold-over suggestion to "drink for vim and vigor!".

Anyways, down to my thoughts on the bottle. The packaging is very simplistic and has a very nostalgiac feel to it- the simple orangey red field with a classic looking font(as it should, it's been nearly unchanged for the last century), and a kind, fatherly gentleman pointing at you from above the logo. Pointing as if to say, "Hey champ, cheer up! It's ok if you blew the game, pop'll still love you if you drink this here beverage." It is really all quite endearing. Looking at the bottle calls up memories of my grandfather(who is still with me) and how I envisioned him as a young man, taking a lunch break from building Jeeps for the Allies, walking into the company cafeteria and telling the handsome girl working behind the counter that he wanted a Moxie.

So, not only does it look like your grandfather's soda, it tastes like it as well. That's not a bad thing, but it's flavor is unmistakably something that would have sold as a medicine. However, it's complex, bittersweet flavor is perfect as a soda. I would never have placed the flavor had I not bought a candy stick boasting a flavor I never recalled having before-horehound. Moxie is quite clearly a horehound flavored soda, and it works surprisingly well. Horehound has a rich history as an aid to coughs and colds-it contains a natural expectorant that helps with bronchitis and helps alleviate some asthma symptoms*, I don't know if the soda retains any of these healing properties, but it sure is delicious. I wish I had bought more bottles, as I was very sad when it was all gone. I also wish it was more widely available, and will have to soon go in search of it locally, as the shop I purchased it at was in Seaside, Or-at least a six hour drive. I may just love this enough to drive all that way for it, but I'm also positive it's probably available in Seattle.

As a closing sentiment, I will also relate that at one point in it's history, Moxie was on top. It outsold Coke for quite a few years, and only faltered when they stopped dedicating funds to their advertising campaign.

Packaging- 5/5

It's clean, minimalistic(something I love), and very old-fashioned(not much has changed since the days when Moxie was king). Easily fits in the "iconic" category.

Taste- 6.5/7

It tastes amazing. I can see that it would be an acquired taste though, as it is a complex bitter but sweet. One who doesn't care for bitter might not like this soda at all, but I would definitely recommend they at least try it.

It is not a cola, so don't expect one and you won't be too disappointed.

Aroma- 4/5

At first the medicine-like smell was a little off-putting, but it resolved in a slight hint of anise and maybe a touch of vanilla-not much though.

Overall- 15/17

One of the best sodas I have ever had, hands down. It would have gotten a perfect score on flavor had it not been for the whole "acquired taste" thing. Many people will hate this soda, but those who like it will probably love it. I see there being little middle ground.

*Disclaimer. i am not a medical professional. consult a real physician if you're afflicted with either of these or any other condition.

Buy Moxie Original Elixir