Herbal Root Beer

One of the rewarding things to do when working with herbs is making your own drinks. Soda's included. Here is the recipe I use when making Root Beer.

What you'll need: 

-2 Tablespoons Sassafras root 

-2 Teaspoons Sarsaparilla root 

-2 Teaspoons Burdock root 

-2 Teaspoons Licorice root

-1 Gallon water *(if on city water, you might want to use filtered or bottled water. I've been told the chlorine and other chemicals in city water affect the brewing process.

-1 1/2 cups of brown sugar or about ½ of that if using honey

-1/8 teaspoon brewers yeast (can use bread yeast as well) +¼ cup lukewarm water

- Bottles to equal 1 gallon (these can be the beer brewing bottles, a gallon jug with a sealable top, or a similar type container.)

Make your syrup:

Put 1⁄2 gallon of water in a large pot. Add your roots. (Feel free to play with the types and amount of root you use)

Bring the water to a boil.

Turn down to low and allow to simmer for about 4 hours. Stir in your sugar or honey and allow it to dissolve.

Remove from heat. Taste what you’ve created. Does the root beer taste strong enough?

If not, you can add more roots and simmer longer, or let it sit for a while. When it tastes right, strain and pour it into a gallon jar.

Activate your yeast: with a ¼ cup of lukewarm water, pour in the yeast, stir, and allow to bubble (this usually takes about 15 minutes)

Make sure your syrup is not hot at this point. You can add some of your remaining ½ gallon of water to accomplish this, but be sure to leave enough room for your activated yeast. When cool enough (around room temp -100*), add your activated yeast mixture. Stir well. (Top off with the rest of your water as needed)

Cover with cheesecloth and allow to sit out on your counter. Leave the brew to sit for 3-7 days, stirring well daily. The longer it sits, the more it will ferment, and the more of the sugars will be consumed. If you want a sweeter soda, stop the fermentation earlier.

For my root beer, I only let it sit until it started bubbling (about 3 days). Taste your soda to see if you like it. If so its time to bottle.

To bottle the soda, strain it and then pour it into your bottles and cap. Leave the bottles to sit out overnight (or longer if it's not bubbly enough). The fermentation process will continue in the closed bottles. Don't leave them out too long or you could wind up with a geyser when you open the bottle (long enough, the bottles can explode).

When it bubbles, refrigerate it to slow the process.

Ready to drink when they're cold.

Enjoy.

Books I use in soda making:

-Homemade Root Beer Sods & Pops by Stephen Cresswell 

-The Complete Soda Making Book by Jill Houk

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