Makes 4 liters. Note: Fermented with yeast-may have slight alcohol content.
Some of us can’t stop thinking about really good root beer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. To make your “brown cow” even more enticing, try home-brewing your own root beer. We found that the recipe tastes a little too molasses-y. We preferred a variation with half sugar and half molasses.
INGREDIENTS:
¼ oz dried sassafras root bark
¼ oz dried birch bark
¼ oz dried sarsaparilla root
1/8 oz dried licorice root
1″ piece unpeeled thinly sliced fresh ginger
1 split vanilla bean
4 qts filtered water
2 cups molasses
1/8 tsp active dry yeast
DIRECTIONS:
- Place the herbs in a medium pot with 2 qts filtered water; bring to boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 2 hrs.
- Strain root-infused liquid through cheesecloth-lined sieve into a very clean plastic container. Discard solids.
- Add 2 qts filtered water, stir well, and let cool to 75 degrees.
- Wash four 1-liter plastic soda bottles with hot, soapy water. Rinse well and air-dry.
- Stir molasses and yeast into root-infused liquid; cover and set aside to let ferment for 15 minutes.
- Using a funnel, pour into bottles, filling to within 2″ of top but no higher. Screw lids on tightly; ferment at room temperature for 12 hrs. Chill 2-5 days. After 2 days, root beer will taste strongly of molasses; 5 days will yield a milder beverage.
- When ready to drink, open bottles very slowly, easing caps open little by little, to let any excess gas escape gradually.
- Serve over ice or with vanilla ice cream.
