I agree. And for the most part, Asian groceries don't carry sodas, they've got other drinks like aloe, sugar cane juice, or any number of weird regular fruit juices.
So I'm altering my Pete's Ass-Kicking Root Beer Recipe tonight.
It is now "Pete's Further Ass-Kicking Root Beer: Now With 50% More Asses Kicked"
1.5 oz sassafras root bark 1.5 oz sasaparilla root 3/4 oz licorice root 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg 3/4 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 tsp allspice 3/4 tsp ginger 1/4 tsp ground cloves 12 juniper cones (berries), lightly crushed 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 3 tbsp cocoa nibs, coarsely ground 3 cups honey 1/2 cup molasses (NOT blackstrap) 4 oz raisins 4 lbs demarara sugar 4 tbsp maltodextrin 2 whole vanilla beans
5 quarts water
Start by pouring 5 quarts of cold water into a large stockpot and note the level of the liquid on the pot. Add everything up to and including the cocoa powder to the water - do not add any of the sugars yet. Bring the water/spice/root mixture up to a boil, and boil for 30 minutes.
After the 30 minutes, add everything else except the vanilla bean, stirring to dissolve. Bring the mixture back up to a boil and hold for ~30 minutes. or until the level of the boiling liquid is roughly back to where it started.
Once you've hit that mark, remove the pot from heat. Split and scrape out the insides of the two vanilla beans, and put them in the pot of hot syrup. Allow the vanilla bean to steep as the syrup cools for about an hour.
Filter the syrup through cheesecloths to remove as many particulates as possible. Store in mason jars or ziploc bags, and dilute at a rate of 1:3 or 1:4 syrup:water. You can use seltzer if you want immediate carbonation, or you can be a nutjob like me and carbonate the stuff naturally with champagne yeast.
Not much of a soda drinker, but I at times may have some ginger ale, or if there's Kola Román at my house (red cola soda... Only available here), I'll mix it with some Coke. That way, it tastes a bit like cherry cola, only better.
I did, but I don't think it managed to ferment correctly, even after several days, so I unfortunately didn't get to try it with any real carbonation, which was upsetting. The taste was certainly strong and super bold, but I don't feel like I can really accurately rate it since I wasn't able to drink very much of it.
Does anyone know if that Asain grocery stores carry Asain sodas?
I don't know any Asain groceries. If you live in the NYC area, I know several Asian Groceries, however. Melon soda and weird flavors of CocaCola are all that I can come up with, though. Most soft drinks are not carbonated, like Qoo and Calpis. Japanese people by and large don't like root beer. Dr. Pepper has been a little more popular with nerds because of anime tie-ins lately, but regardless, the most you will typically get is Cola-type. There was a weird grapefruit soda called "Mets!" Rym recommended against getting it because "halfway through, it would start sucking."
Tim, just order from Galco's. They have every type of soda on earth and ship nationwide!
This! Though I'm not sure that everything they have is listed on their website, so if you're looking for something specific that you don't see there, I'd suggest giving them a call.
I was gonna chime in and profess my love for Postobon Manzana, but then after skimming through the thread I realized I did exactly that exactly one year ago. Considering that, I will now profess my love for the second greatest soda of all time: Oh yes.
Though it sucks that I still haven't found a place in Manhattan that sells Colombian soda.
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Goose Island is BrewDog's The End of History.
It is now "Pete's Further Ass-Kicking Root Beer: Now With 50% More Asses Kicked"
1.5 oz sassafras root bark
1.5 oz sasaparilla root
3/4 oz licorice root
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp allspice
3/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
12 juniper cones (berries), lightly crushed
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 tbsp cocoa nibs, coarsely ground
3 cups honey
1/2 cup molasses (NOT blackstrap)
4 oz raisins
4 lbs demarara sugar
4 tbsp maltodextrin
2 whole vanilla beans
5 quarts water
Start by pouring 5 quarts of cold water into a large stockpot and note the level of the liquid on the pot. Add everything up to and including the cocoa powder to the water - do not add any of the sugars yet. Bring the water/spice/root mixture up to a boil, and boil for 30 minutes.
After the 30 minutes, add everything else except the vanilla bean, stirring to dissolve. Bring the mixture back up to a boil and hold for ~30 minutes. or until the level of the boiling liquid is roughly back to where it started.
Once you've hit that mark, remove the pot from heat. Split and scrape out the insides of the two vanilla beans, and put them in the pot of hot syrup. Allow the vanilla bean to steep as the syrup cools for about an hour.
Filter the syrup through cheesecloths to remove as many particulates as possible. Store in mason jars or ziploc bags, and dilute at a rate of 1:3 or 1:4 syrup:water. You can use seltzer if you want immediate carbonation, or you can be a nutjob like me and carbonate the stuff naturally with champagne yeast.
There was a weird grapefruit soda called "Mets!" Rym recommended against getting it because "halfway through, it would start sucking."
Considering that, I will now profess my love for the second greatest soda of all time:
Oh yes.
Though it sucks that I still haven't found a place in Manhattan that sells Colombian soda.
Best citrus soda.