Greetings All ! I live in New Zealand and simply love Root Beer - why ? I tried it ! Down here an Australian company called Bundaberg makes a nice one but although they use several roots, sarsaparilla flavour is used instead of sassafras root. I would dearly love to have a sassafras tree of my own. The question, - any sassafras tree seeds or shoots or cuttings in New Zealand i can get a hold of ?? I tried real Root Beer while in South Carolina a while ago - Wow, that was flavour ! All the Best, Roly. [EDIT] removed email address

Welcome, Roly! Sassafras is native to North America, and I haven't heard of it being grown elsewhere. You can buy seedlings here - you might even be able to get them shipped to NZ, but it might be easier to get a bottle of sassafras extract. Also, if you become a member here, you will automatically receive an email when someone responds to your posts.

To prevent spam, I removed your email address.
_________________
Bottoms up!
Kevin Guske

So heres a tribute toast with root beer in hand to you and the many mugs of suds along your happy trails. --Charles Wysocki, artist and root beer fan, 1928-2002

kguske wrote:

Welcome, Roly! Sassafras is native to North America, and I haven't heard of it being grown elsewhere. You can buy seedlings here - you might even be able to get them shipped to NZ, but it might be easier to get a bottle of sassafras extract. Also, if you become a member here, you will automatically receive an email when someone responds to your posts. To prevent spam, I removed your email address.

Hi Kevin, Thanks for the reply. Yes i know it could be tricky but was hoping that someone in NZ was already growing Sassafras for this purpose; and this would be a good way to make the contact. I would settle for a bottle of extract meanwhile however. I will check up in the health food shops and see what i turn up. Whats involved in becoming a member and what would be expected of me?

Thank's again, Roly

Good idea - and good luck.

It's really just registering for access. To become a member, just Only registered users can see links on this board! Get registered or login!. You fill out a short page with your user ID, password, and email address, then receive and email with a link to verify your email address.

Nothing else is required or expected - you can check out our Only registered users can see links on this board! Get registered or login! to see that we won't use or give your information to anyone.

After registering, when you visit the site, it uses a cookie to remember you so you won't have to log in. Then, your posts will automatically have your name and you will automatically receive an email when someone responds to your post. You won't have to check the site to find out if someone responded.

Good luck - please let us know if you find something locally.

Greetings Kevin,

I sense i may have struck a bad note with my comment about artificial Root-Beer extract. I apologise for being rude and critical about what is likely the only extract available on the market.
The problem is i am 63 years old and need to keep sugar down. I have one Aussie Bundaberg Root-Beer each week but if i can get some genuine Sassafras, i could then experiment until i got a more or less 'Organic' mixture. I expect there is some real Sassafras around somewhere; the trick will be getting it out here. I don't believe for a moment that it is toxic as reported, as i have read a report on it by Sally Falon. I reckon i should be able to have a Root-Beer at least once a day!
Any leads on bootleg or moonshine Sassafras would be welcome!
Hope you can assist a little.

Again, Sorry for any offence,

Roly (New Zealand)

Hi, Roly!

Definitely no offense taken! I just haven't had a chance to investigate... The problem is that it's illegal to sell natural Sassafras in the US. So, we'd need to find someone that sells the natural extract. I checked one place, but couldn't find the details. I have a couple of bottles at home - I'll check to see if they are natural or artificial and let you know...

Hi again Aruzinsky,
Yes, checked that out and it looks real. Be worth a go anyway. They do a minimum order of US$50 so will probably get some other essential Rootbeer oils
like licorice, sarsaparilla, vanilla, caramel etc - (providing they come as oils too).
Ta, Roly, NZ.

Hello again Aruzinsky
Thank you for the valuable info. I tried some of my new rootbeer concentrate in milk today - yuk !
Tasted terrible. I hope i can do better with standard
recipie but the agent where i got it said basically -
just add water and CO2. I think i'm not going to like it - smells too "sharp" and tastes "chemical".
Not at all like musty tree-roots that i'm looking for.
Got a feeling that the real thing will be the only thing. Australian Bunderberg is actually very nice.
They use (as listed) - Water, Sugar, Sarsaparilla Root, Vanilla Bean, Ginger Root, Licorice Root, Molasses, Sarsaparilla Flavour, Caramel, Yeast, Preservatives (211,202), Vitamin C.
I have discovered that "Sarsparilla" can be made of anything that resembles the flavour and smell.
While you told me of one chemical agent, the girl at Suttons advised me it was "Propylene Glycol, red#40, blue#1". Sounds like antifreeze doesn't it ?
The agent i got mine from told me that different manufactures make it from different things. Hmmm.
I can see this is going to be a long road but i'll just
keep truckin'. Will let you know what's in this stuff if i ever find out ! Bottoms Up, Roly NZ.

Hello again Aruzinsky
Thank you for the valuable info. I tried some of my new rootbeer concentrate in milk today - yuk !
Tasted terrible. I hope i can do better with standard
recipie but the agent where i got it said basically -
just add water and CO2. I think i'm not going to like it - smells too "sharp" and tastes "chemical".
Not at all like musty tree-roots that i'm looking for.
Got a feeling that the real thing will be the only thing. Australian Bunderberg is actually very nice.
They use (as listed) - Water, Sugar, Sarsaparilla Root, Vanilla Bean, Ginger Root, Licorice Root, Molasses, Sarsaparilla Flavour, Caramel, Yeast, Preservatives (211,202), Vitamin C.
I have discovered that "Sarsparilla" can be made of anything that resembles the flavour and smell.
While you told me of one chemical agent, the girl at Suttons advised me it was "Propylene Glycol, red#40, blue#1". Sounds like antifreeze doesn't it ?
The agent i got mine from told me that different manufactures make it from different things. Hmmm.
I can see this is going to be a long road but i'll just
keep truckin'. Will let you know what's in this stuff if i ever find out ! Bottoms Up, Roly NZ.

Greetings,
We will never agree on all things but that's ok too. I do however agree that high fructose corn syrup is enemy No1. Probably anything is better than that!
My health problem is high cholesterol according to my doctor. There is an excellent health website with a search engine and all, for finding all manner of topics called <mercola.com>. I'll leave this health subject alone now in case we get clobbered by the site moderator!
I am getting a little book with all the different food flavourings and colourings by their allocated number. That will be interesting. If i find any things that pertain to Rootbeer in particular i will post them.
Meanwhile - keep well - Roly - NZ.
P.S. - Just sipping on a 4oz glass of Bundaberg R.B. - N-I-C-E

Roly,

if you want to have some fun, try making a natural Kiwi root beer. (I don't mean use kiwi fruit... well you know what I mean.)

"Root" beer is a pretty generic name. Americans used sassafras tree root since it is aromatic, tastes good, has tonic qualities, and grows like a weed.

Root beer is basically sweet, yeast-brewed root tea. Try some native roots. One you may look for is called American Spikenard over here. It grows in New Zealand and is Aralia racemosa. It is a common ingredient in traditional root beer recipes in America.
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Other things to use include:
Yellow dock root (Curly dock) (Rumex crispus)
Burdock root (Arctium species)
Anise seeds (Pimpinella anisum)
Fennel seeds (Foeniculum vulgare)
Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza species)
Sarsaparilla root (Smilax species)
Spikenard or "Wild" sarsaparilla root (Aralia species, including the one above)

Look in a flora for your area to see if any grow around you. Make certain no species are listed as toxic however.
Also, go visit an herbal/health food store, and look through the roots to see what you can find. Indian and oriental shops might have things, too. Then just experiment using some of the methods in the home brewing forum.

One word about essential oils. Many are produced for external use to be mixed with massage oils. They may contain things you would not want to ingest. Make sure the oils are food grade. I was advised not to ingest Oil of Wintergreen by the shop clerks where I found it. They said it was not intended for food use, but for use in massage and aroma- therapy. Anything from a flavoring company should be OK, such as the safrole-free extract.

Parsa

Roly,

Yes, I'd like to get your little book. Where did it come from? As you said, if you find anything related to root beer, you might want to post it.

BTW, in America, sassafras grows in the east, but the different sarsaparilla species mostly came into the USA from Mexico. That's why the root beer in the Old West of America was often sarsaparilla. Sassafras, I have to say, has a superior flavor and odor, but sarsaparilla is one of the better root additives to root beer recipes. Other roots may add a bit to flavor and taste, but are mostly for tonic purposes.

I started a root beer extract thread in the Brands section of the forum. You may want to brew with an American style root beer extract to see how it tastes in comparison to all the sarsaparilla varieties in NZ.

Parsa

mtoolmn wrote:

Hi! The essntial-oils.org site seems to be offline. Anybody find another source??

The site seems to be under construction.

About 7 months ago, I placed an order with them which was never filled, but, at least, my credit card was not charged. They were not responsive to my first e-mail inquiries, but eventually said that my order was ready to ship, but a few items were out of stock. I gave them instructions for substitution. No news since then. What a shame! They have, by far, the largest selection of essential oils on the internet. Maybe, they just don't want to bother with small orders?

Anyway, a source would have to be in a country other than the USA, and I don't know any.

Hi, Roly here, I got an email notification alerting me that a post had been made on my page. I can't spot anything new but it could be the moderator checking me out to see if I'm still here. Well, I is! I have still not got into brewing even though a very kind person sent me some real stuff. Still buying Bundaberg at the Supermarket (cheaper there) and only dream of the real thing (and have a sniff of it now and then). Might do something this summer. I posted all the details on the little book a while ago but it never made it to the page?? - Well, 1.05 am and off to bed I go! Bye - Bottoms Up ! - Roly - N.Z.

Hello there, you can get Sassafras seeds from the Agroforestry Research Trust in the UK- £1.45 for a dozen seeds. Not sure if they will ship internationally, but it's worth asking. Their website is http://www.agroforestry.co.uk/.

Sam