Homemade Root Beer Recipe

This recipe is based on the Old Fashioned line of soda extracts. It is up to you the brewer to experiment with different combinations of sugars in order to perfect your own personal recipe. The type and quantity of sugar used will change both the flavor and texture of the finished product. My recipe for Jim's Really Good Root Beer can be used with any of the dark colored soft drinks. Light colored drinks and fruit drinks can be made with the same recipe by changing the dark sugars to white sugar. Any sugar can be used to prepare your sodas. For example I like to use honey in my ginger beer and molasses in sarsaparilla.

Jim's Really Good Root Beer

Recipe for one gallon. Please read instructions before starting.

Equipment

Mixing Spoon
6-8 Quart kettle
Kitchen Funnel
Measuring spoons & cup
2-3 gallon Pail
Unscented Bleach
A clean one gallon plastic milk jug
8-16 oz. PET Beer bottles

Ingredients

1 Cup White Table Sugar
1½ Cup Dark Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Malto Dextrin
1 tablespoon Root Beer Extract
¼ teaspoon Champagne Yeast
1 Gallon of Cold Water

Clean all equipment with soap and water. Rinse very well.
Prepare a sanitizing solution in a clean utility pail by mixing 2 teaspoons of unscented bleach with 2 gallons of cold water. Soak all equipment including bottles and caps in this solution for at least 10 minutes. Remove your equipment and rinse it well with hot water.
Fill a one gallon container with cold water. Now remove 1 cup of water from the jug and discard it. All of the water required for the recipe is now in the gallon container. Measuring the water in this way will save time and prevent you from adding to much or to little water later.
Place 4 cups of water from the container into a kettle and begin to heat it. It is not necessary to bring the water to a boil. Heating this small amount of water will help dissolve the sugars and will make a better soft drink.
Add the white sugar, brown sugar and malto dextrin to the kettle and stir until the sugars are completely dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved turn off the heat.
Add 1 tablespoon of Root Beer Extract to the mixture and stir it in.
Add the remaining water to the mix and stir well. Check the temperature of the mixture by carefully touching the outside of the pan. It should be cool to slightly warm. It may be necessary to allow the pan to sit covered for a short time in order to cool.
Open the packet of champagne yeast by cutting off a corner. Measure out ¼ teaspoon of yeast and add it to the sauce pan. Close the yeast packet by folding over the open corner and sealing it with tape. Store the remaining yeast in the refrigerator for the next batch.
Stir the mixture until the yeast is completely dissolved. You are now ready to bottle your root beer.
See Root Beer Bottling for more information.