- Non-Alcoholic Drinks
Homemade root beer is earthy, bold, and sweet all at the same time.
By
Marcia Simmons
Marcia Simmons
Contributor
Marcia Simmons is the author of DIY co*cktails: A Simple Guide to Creating Your Own Signature Drinks (2010).
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Updated September 20, 2022
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In This Recipe
What's Available to Buy?
Why DIY?
Some Uses for DIY Root Beer
Why It Works
- Sarsaparilla, sassafras, and birch barks can be hard to track down, but the actual brewing process is simple.
- Besides some common ingredients key to root beer's flavor, you can change up the recipe and customize the concoction to your taste.
Until I was 13, I was convinced that root beer was alcoholic. I couldn't believe that my otherwise responsible dad would offer me sips of his root beer. Being a quite conservative child, I would always refuse. Then one day I heard the woman behind the counter at Swensen's ice cream parlor explain to another similarly deluded kid that root beer was just a soda. So I ordered my first root beer float and was immediately smitten. There was something a little naughty about the bold flavor that turned me into a root beer fanatic.
Many of the most delicious drinks got their start as medicinal tonics, so it's no surprise that the first commercial root beer was developed by a pharmacist in the late 19th century. I'm not sure if root beer is cleaning my liver or adding color to my cheeks, but I do feel better when I drink it. Perhaps root beer was a gateway beverage to the hard world of co*cktails and spirits. But I'm not complaining.
What's Available to Buy?
Root beer in general isn't hard to find, of course, but some of the regional or small-batch brands can be tricky to track down. No two root beers are alike, so some will be cloying and sweet while others will be crisp and dry. Brands like Faygo and Barq's are on the stronger, more "rooty" side, while A&W and Henry Weinhardt's are on the sweeter, more "vanilla-y" side.
Why DIY?
While there's a big beautiful world of root beer variety out there, root beer lovers tend to be pretty opinionated about what makes a good root beer. And really, there's no better way to express that love than to handcraft your own root beer, specifically calibrated to your taste. You'll need to track down a couple of obscure tree barks, but the actual brewing process is simple—just a little boiling and waiting.
Aside from being fun to say, sassafras and sarsaparilla are the roots that have the flavor we typically associate with root beer, but there's also a whole cast of roots, spices, and herbs that make up this bubbly treat. No two recipes are alike, but other common ingredients include licorice root, vanilla, star anise, and wintergreen.
I like my root beer earthy and with some bite, so I included some birch. If you like it sweeter, you could skip that or go with more vanilla. Before you add the yeast, the recipe is extremely tweakable, so you can taste the syrup to get an idea if you'd want to change up the recipe. I use plastic bottles just in case there's an explosion, but many people use glass bottles in a temperature-controlled (and safely enclosed) space. Homemade root beer has a slight alcoholic content (somewhere in the 1% neighborhood).
Use It!
Besides drinking your homemade root beer over ice or in a float, there are a lot of creative ways to use it. Dark rum, root beer, and a little lime makes a variation on the that I like to call the Dark & Stormier. Root beer makes a great glaze on pork, especially for slow-cooked or barbecued ribs.
August 2012
Recipe Details
DIY Root Beer Recipe
Prep2 hrs 30 mins
Cook15 mins
Active40 mins
Fermentation Time60 hrs
Total62 hrs 45 mins
Serves16 servings
Makes1 gallon
Ingredients
1 gallon filtered water, divided
1 tablespoon sarsaparilla root bark (see notes)
1 tablespoon sassafras root bark (see notes)
1 tablespoon birch bark (see notes)
4 sprigs chocolate mint (see notes)
3 star anise pods
1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup molasses
1/8 teaspoon ale yeast
Directions
Combine 2 quarts water, sassafras, sarsaparilla, birch, mint, star anise, ginger, and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let steep for 2 hours.
Strain liquid through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth into a large pot. Add remaining 2 quarts water along with brown sugar and molasses. Stir until mixture is integrated, then cover.
Let cool to 75°F (24°C), then stir in yeast and let it sit for 15 minutes. Fill plastic bottles with mixture, leaving 2 inches of space at top. Screw on caps. Keep bottles at room temperature for 36 hours, then open a bottle slowly and carefully to see if it is carbonated enough. If it is, then go on to step 4. If not, reseal the bottle and let rest for another 12 to 24 hours until desired carbonation is reached.
Place bottles in the refrigerator for 2 days before drinking. You can store refrigerated root beer for about 1 month.
Special Equipment
Fine-mesh strainer, cheesecloth, 1-liter plastic bottles, instant-read thermometer
Notes
Sassafras root bark, birch bark, and sarsaparilla root bark are available at some homebrew and herb shops. You can also order them online from Lhasa Karnak. Ale yeast can be found at homebrew shops, or you can order it online.
Home-brewed root beer has a slight alcoholic content (around 1%).
If chocolate mint is unavailable to you, substitute spearmint.
Be sure to sanitize the plastic bottles before use.
| Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 98 | Calories |
| 0g | Fat |
| 25g | Carbs |
| 0g | Protein |
Show Full Nutrition Label
×
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 16 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 98 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 0g | 0% |
| Saturated Fat 0g | 0% |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium 18mg | 1% |
| Total Carbohydrate 25g | 9% |
| Dietary Fiber 0g | 1% |
| Total Sugars 24g | |
| Protein 0g | |
| Vitamin C 1mg | 3% |
| Calcium 49mg | 4% |
| Iron 1mg | 4% |
| Potassium 185mg | 4% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
