So, yeah. The tap-a-draft is toast. It doesn't hold pressure at all. :(
However, my friend Dave Louw who got me into this hobby in the first place, has a spot open in his kegerator and has offered to carbonate this batch for me, since I a) already have it made and b) already have it commited to a Holiday party.
Since his gear is "real", it's 5 gallons. Batch 4 is a 1.5 gallon batch. So, I'm making more to add to batch 4. Hence, batch 4.5. The total is about 3 or 4 gallons
1oz Sassafras root bark
1oz saspirilla root bark
4 star anises
2 vanilla beans, scrape the guts
3c orange blossom honey
4qt boiling water
3qt(ish) ice (what was left over from the 8lb bag I got for batch 4)
The usual procedure:
put roots and anises in grain bag. scrape guts of beans, put guts and husks, and grain bag, in 4qt boiling water. steep for 20 minutes. add honey, boil for another 5. Add ice to cool down. pour batch 4 into sanitized keg. pour batch 4.5 into keg. Cap keg and take to Dave to carbonate.
Notes:
- After adding the honey, I started smelling a burning smell. I can't tell if it came from the root beer, or from under the pot. The batch doesn't TASTE burnt, but I wasn't fully able to identify the source. Our stove isn't the cleanest its ever been, so this doesn't really worry me.
- I added ingredients for a 5 gal batch, and it was my intention to make a full 5 gallons. Tasting the batch once it made it to the keg, however, I decided to keep it at the roughly 3 gallons it was at. I figure its easier to add water to it later than it is to take it out.
I want to give Mad Propz to Dave Louw for saving my butt on this.
Seriously. Anyone want to buy me a mini-fridge, 5 gallon keg, 5lb CO2 tank, and assorted fittings, spouts, hoses and what-not to make me a _REAL_ carbonation system? It's about $300, assuming you can find a cheap ($100 or less) mini fridge.