What are the ingredients for root beer?

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.

What is the best yeast for homemade root beer?

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.

How long does homemade root beer last?

If you carbonate bottles in 2L bottles, we advise drinking them within 1 week . If the bottles are stored in the fridge longer than that, the risk of over-carbonation increases & alcohol content can increase, making the root beer taste 'off.

Is sassafras still used in root beer?

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. The vine was banned by the American Food and Drug Administration for commercial food production in 1960.

What is a good substitute for sassafras?

Thanks for any tips! Supposedly, the flavor of sassafras can be approximated by a mixture of citrus fruits, spearmint, and wintergreen . Another website suggests wintergreen, anise, cloves, lemon oil, and orange oil.

How to make a beer at home?

Brew Pour 10 liters of fresh, cold water into the 10 gallon plastic pail (carboy). ... In your largest pot, bring seven liters of water to a boil. Add one can of malt extract. ... Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, pour contents into the carboy. More items...

What makes root beer have its flavor?

The primary flavor found in any old-fashioned homemade root beer recipe is sassafras, a deciduous tree in North America. The characteristic sweet flavor comes from the tree's roots , giving us the name root beer. Now, the primary flavor we associate with root beer is wintergreen, not sassafras.

Is Dr Pepper a root beer?

No. Dr Pepper is not a root beer . It's not an apple, it's not an orange, it's not a strawberry, it's not a root beer, it's not even a cola. It is a drink with a unique blend of 23 natural and artificial flavours.

What's the difference between sassafras and sarsaparilla?

Both beverages are named after their distinct differences in ingredients when they were first made. 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.

What is root beer sweetened with?

Modern sweeteners include aspartame, corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, molasses and most commonly, sugar . Many brands of root beer contain sodium benzoate as a preservative. Most are caffeine-free but one or two contain caffeine.

Homemade Root Beer Recipe (2024)

I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on my homemade ginger ale recipe, so I also wanted to share another favorite at our house: homemade root beer.

This root beer recipe uses the same beneficial culture as the ginger ale: a homemade ginger bug. Homemade root beer is also simple to make and has all the flavor of conventional root beer without the harmful ingredients.

Herbs for Homemade Root Beer

The herbs used in homemade root beer, mainly sassafras and sarsaparilla (as well as wintergreen), have some controversy surrounding them. These herbs contain safrole, which was once found to cause cancer in mice. I personally do not feel that there is a risk when consuming sassafras root in its whole form, as this article from Nourished Kitchen explains:

Wintergreen leaf, though almost always an ingredient in most traditional root beer recipes, replaced sassafras as the prominent flavor in root beer during the 1960s when a study conducted on lab animals implicated safrole, a naturally occurring polyphenol, in liver cancer. Of course, the lab rats were fed massive quantities of safrole – the human equivalent of consuming about 32 twelve-ounce bottles of root beer a day. After the study was released, the FDA required commercial soft drink makers to remove sassafras from their brews. Of course, cinnamon, nutmeg and basil also contain safrole but this seemed to escape the attention of the FDA.
Interestingly, while massive quantities of safrole caused liver cancer in lab animals, it seems that small doses may actually play a protective role for humans. Some studies indicate that safrole may actually stimulate the death of cancer cells, particularly oral cancers though it may also do so in lung and prostrate cancers.
Wintergreen, already an ingredient in root beer, offered a flavor profile strikingly similar to that of sassafras, and made a ready replacement. Most root beers made today contain neither sassafras nor wintergreen and are instead made with artificial flavors. Even wintergreen extract, the preferred flavoring for many home brewers, is difficult to attain and typically is made with propylene glycol – a petrochemical.

As with all herbs, it is important to consult a doctor, health care practitioner, or herbalist before consuming any herb, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or have a medical condition. I personally stick with homemade ginger ale or homemade Dr. Pepper when pregnant.

How to Make Homemade Root Beer

As I said, I am comfortable using sassafras and wintergreen in this recipe. While a variety of other herbs were sometimes used in traditional recipes (including sarsaparilla, burdock, anise, licorice, astragalus, and others), I’ve found that the same flavor can be accomplished with only a few herbs. This simplified version is much more budget friendly as many of these herbs are hard to source and expensive. The rest of the herbs can be used if desired, and 1 Tablespoon of each could be added. In many places, sassafras can be wild-sourced, but I would recommend checking with a qualified herbalist or horticulture expert before using any plant.

Before beginning, it is important to have the culture ready to go. I use a homemade ginger bug in this recipe as it gives both the flavor and carbonation, though any type of natural culture could be used.