Homemade Root Beer Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient in root beer? ›

What Is Root Beer—And What Is It Made Of? The main ingredients in root beer are pretty much the same as any other soda: water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel coloring, and flavoring, both natural and artificial. However, root beer's unique flavor comes from sassafras, a tree root native to the United States.

One traditional recipe for making root beer involves cooking a syrup from molasses and water, letting the syrup cool for three hours, and combining it with the root ingredients (including sassafras root, sassafras bark, and wintergreen).

Best Extract for Homemade Root Beer

I won't dissuade you from using widely-recognized brands out there, but I will tell you that my favorite extracts are Watkins root beer extract or Zatarains root beer extract. Both of these extracts are extremely delicious and have an intense but well-balanced root beer flavor.

A neutral ale yeast, like Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) are generally recommended. “From my beer-making experience I'd say you want a low attenuation, low temperature tolerant yeast so it doesn't have a lot of impact on the flavor,” Indrehus says.

Safrole was found to contribute to liver cancer in rats when given in high doses, and thus it and sassafras or sarsaparilla-containing products were banned.

Sarsaparilla was made from the Sarsaparilla vine, while Root Beer, roots of the sassafras tree. These days, Root Beer recipes do not include sassafras as the plant has been found to cause serious health issues.

Colonists used Sassafras and Sarsaparilla roots—among other local plants—to brew a type of small beer they (unimaginatively) named root beer. Generally, colonists did not drink root beer to get drunk.

CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CARAMEL COLOR, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVE), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, QUILLAIA EXTRACT.

The sassafras tree is incredibly fragrant and its roots are the backbone of root beer's original flavor. Before the sassafras root made its way into traditional root beer, it first gained popularity for its medicinal properties.

Item Details. Root Beer flavoring is an old fashioned favorite that blends the flavors of vanilla, molasses, licorice, and anise into a delightful taste.

Does Mccormick make root beer extract? ›

Oz. Naturally and artificially flavored. Gluten free.

You simply mix up the root beer flavor or soda flavoring, sugar and water, chill the keg and the force carbonate by rocking or shaking the keg under about 30 lbs of pressure until you get the desired level of carbonation.

Sugar is required for yeast to generate carbon dioxide which carbonates the beverage. No sugar, no carbonation.

Brewing root beer at home seems complicated, but it was actually a pretty simple process. Basically, you just make a big batch of tea using roots and spices, add a sweetener and yeast, and then let it carbonate by sitting at room temperature for a few days.

Alcoholic fermentation begins after glucose diffuses into the yeast cell. The glucose is broken down into 2, 3 carbon molecules called pyruvic acid. The pyruvic acid is then converted to CO2, ethanol, and energy for the yeast cell. It is the carbon dioxide produced by the yeasts that give root beer its "fizz."

People used to drink sassafras tea. However, sassafras tea contains a high concentration of safrole, which was about 4.5 times the permissible dose. Thus, in 1976, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sales of sassafras tea. Moreover, the FDA prohibited the use of sassafras as food additives.

The safrole in sassafras root bark and oil can cause cancer and liver damage. Consuming just 5 mL of sassafras oil can kill an adult. Sassafras can cause sweating and hot flashes. High amounts can cause vomiting, high blood pressure, hallucinations, and other severe side effects.

Other: Sassafras has been cultivated since 1630 for its leaves, bark, and wood. The plants are used for tea, oil, and soap. The heartwood is orange-brown and course-grained. It is used for purposes requiring lightwood, such as boat construction, because it is soft but durable.