Homemade Root Beer
Not only is homemade root beer fun to make, but it's also so much more flavorful than anything you can get at the store! Feel free to tweak this recipe to appeal to your tastes. We're going to try a bit more cinnamon, vanilla, and orange zest next time.
Servings: 16 12-ounce bottles
Calories: 146kcal
Ingredients
- 7 quarts filtered water divided
- ½ teaspoon brewer's yeast
- 4 tablespoons licorice root you can buy licorice root tea bags and open them up
- 8 star anise pods crushed
- 12 whole cloves crushed
- 4 cinnamon sticks broken in half
- 4 vanilla beans sliced in half lengthwise
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
- 20 allspice crushed
- Zest of one orange or ¼ cup lime or lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons wintergreen leaves
- ¾ cup molasses
- 1 ¾ cup packed brown sugar
Instructions
- Take ½ cup of the water and heat in a small saucepan until boiling. Remove from heat and let cool until around 80°. Stir in the yeast and set aside to allow to bloom.
- In a large stock pot, combine the licorice root, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla beans, nutmeg, allspice, orange zest, wintergreen leaves and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Stir in the molasses and brown sugar until dissolved. Continue to cook for another 15 minutes. Remove mixture from heat, cover, and let steep and cool for at least an hour, or until the temperature reaches around 80°F.
- Strain the mixture over cheesecloth, and discard the roots and herbs. Stir the yeast mixture in to the root beer mixture. Transfer to bottles, and allow to carbonate at room temperature for 36-72 hours, or until the desired carbonation is reached (check every 12 hours). We like to keep the bottles in a closed cooler just in case one of them gets a little too overzealous with carbonating and explodes.
- Once the root beer is carbonated enough, transfer to the fridge to chill and slow carbonation.
Nutrition
Serving: 12ounces | Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 0.4g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Sodium: 34mg | Potassium: 281mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 1mg
