How to Make Root Beer From Sassafras
Root beer's spicy-sweet flavor comes, in large part, from sassafras and other barks like sarsaparilla. Some recipe call for wild cherry, birch or licorice. Track down these uncommon ingredients at heath food stores, natural grocers or via the Internet, to make an authentic root beer. Brewing takes a few hours, but you won't be able to drink the root beer for two to three days, so plan ahead. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 2-liter soda bottles
- Dish soap
- Sponge
- Sanitizing solution
- Dish towel
- Pot
- Molasses or sugar
- Active dry yeast
- Fine mesh strainer
Instructions
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1
Gather all the ingredients for your root beer. While sassafras is one of the major flavoring ingredients, many recipes also call for molasses, sarsaparilla, wintergreen or birch bark.
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2
Read over your recipe before you begin, so you understand how long the ingredients need to steep for, how much your recipes makes and other recipe-specific details.
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3
Wash your soda bottles in hot water, using dish soap. Rinse them.
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4
Prepare a sanitizer rinse following the instructions on your sanitizer. Sanitize the pot you will use for the root beer.
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5
Measure the water needed for the recipe into your pot. Add the sassafras and other herbs. Place the pot on the stove, and bring the water to a boil.
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6
Let your mixture steep for the recommended amount of time, per your recipe.
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7
Sanitize your soda bottles and caps, using the sanitizer solution, and place them on a clean dish towel while you brew the root beer.
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8
Add in molasses or sugar, if called for in your recipe. Also add the active dry yeast, which will carbonate the mixture. Stir thoroughly.
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9
Strain the mixture by pouring it through a fine mesh strainer, to remove the sassafras and other ingredients.
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10
Fill your soda bottles with the root beer, leaving 2 to 3 inches of head room at the top. Screw the lid on each bottle.
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Leave your root beer out at room temperature for 12 hours, so the fermentation can start. After 12 hours, move the root beer to the refrigerator. Refrigerate for two to five days, and remove the soda bottles when you are ready to drink.
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Tips & Warnings
As your root beer ages, the sugar converts into alcohol. Leaving your root beer for five days will create a mildly alcoholic beverage, so serve this earlier if you're giving it to kids.
