Make Your Own Quality Root Beer

Brewing up a batch of your own root beer isn't as hard as you might think

. The keys to a successful batch of root beer are completely sanitized equipment, a good extract and excellent ingredients, and a little patience.

Your equipment will consist of a large pot that can hold five gallons of water, a long spoon for stirring, a burner large enough to accommodate the pot, a thermometer, a food-grade five-gallon bucket with a lid, and bottling supplies from a brewing supply store, including a bottle-filler.

Gather your ingredients

First, you will need a good, high-quality root beer extract from a brewing supply company, which will both taste and work much better than anything you can find on a grocery store shelf.

Next, decide on what sweetener you wish to use. Regular table sugar, or sucrose, is fine, but you might want to experiment with corn syrup (which will impart a lighter taste to your final product, a reason why some beer brewers prefer it); fructose, which is also used by brewers to lower calorie counts (fructose is sweeter than sucrose so you can use less); non-sugar sweeteners like aspartame; or honey, molasses, brown sugar or malt extract (maltose). Your sweetener choice is up to your tastes and budget.

Then, test your water. If you don't like how your municipal water from the tap tastes, feel free to use bottled water. Just make sure you are not using distilled water.

Purchase a package of ale yeast for the best fermentation results.

Brewing

Make sure that all the pieces of equipment you are using are absolutely sterile in order to maintain safety and flavor. It's best not to use bleach, as this can adversely affect the taste of the root beer. Instead, use a good food-grade cleaner and rinse everything thoroughly.

Following the instructions on the root beer extract, dissolve the sweetener to the water and add the extract. Pour the mixture into the five-gallon bucket and cool it until it reaches 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the package of ale yeast, cover the mixture, and let it sit for about 12 hours. During this time, the yeast will begin feeding on the sugar, resulting in a massive amount of foam and carbonation. When the foaming begins to subside, it's time to bottle the root beer.

During the bottling process, expose the liquid to the air as little as possible to prevent unwanted bacteria from ruining all your hard work. Use the bottle-filler to fill the clean and sterilized bottles, capping them off as they're filled. Refrigerate the bottles and surprise your family and friends with delicious, old-fashioned root beer at your next BBQ.

by: Art Gib

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