If I was a planner, which we all know I'm not, I totally would have made some beer.
I looked around a bit and it seemed to be fairly simple. You'll need:
an empty 2 liter bottle
1 c sugar
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon root beer extract
1/4 t yeast
water
To start, place a funnel in the top of the bottle. Add sugar and yeast.
Add in about 3 cups of water and mix well.
Finally fill the bottle to almost the top. You'll want to leave about 1" to 1 1/2" headspace. Tighten cap and let sit at room temperature until you can no longer squeeze the bottle. Depending on what kind of yeast you're using, it could be 6 to 48 hours. I used Red Star Quick Rise yeast, so it took just about 6 hours for the bottle to be ready. See all the carbon dioxide bubbles formed by the yeast?! That's how this root beer gets the carbonation.
When you can't squeeze the bottle anymore, refrigerate over night. Now it's ready to drink!
If root beer isn't your drink of choice, what about ginger ale?
To make ginger ale, you'll need:
2 T fresh grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon yeast
juice of one lemon
1 c sugar
water
Pour sugar and yeast into bottle. Swirl around. Mix the ginger and lemon juice together to make a slurry.
Add slurry to the bottle. I used a kabob skewer to push it through my funnel.
Add water and shake bottle until mixed. Let it sit out at room temperature until you cannot squeeze the bottle. Refrigerate over night. Enjoy!
13 comments:
I just want to know if it tastes like A&W? I remember getting a frosty mug of A&W when I was a kid. What a treat! Thanks for the tutorial. :-)
We always made root beer from Hires Root Beer Extract. It was sensational especially with homemade vanilla ice-cream for floats. I make a lot of ginger beer here in the Caribbean. Very easy and thirst quenching.
My hubby adores root beer! I would love it if you shared this, and/or whatever else you want, on my bloghop - Makin' You Crave Monday, over at MrsHappyHomemaker.com!
I've never made homemade rootbeer - or any soda - but I'm going to try it now :) So glad to see such a variety of recipes at the Iron Chef Challenge!
I love Root Beer! I have never tried making it though. Thanks for the tutorial. I am stopping by fromt he Made By You Monday linky. Thanks for sharing your idea :)
Hi, I'm a new follower. I found you on What's Cooking Wednesday Blog Hop. Hop over and
say hi if you get a chance Jennifer from Just Wedeminute--
Ok, that is one of the coolest things ever! I didn't know you could make your own rootbeer!!!! My kids are going to go crazy for this recipe, I'm going to have to post it on my blog and will of course link and give credit to you.
I've got ginger beer on my bucket list! I can't wait to give it a try and you've inspired me to get busy!
Can't wait to try both these recipes! Thanks for sharing and for the wonderful tutorial! Blessings, ~Lisa @ HappyinDoleValley
Wow, homemade root beer! I'm having a cowboy birthday party next weekend and was planning on buying this but, I might be making it instead! Where do you purchase the root beer extract?
Wow..this is new to me! Thanks for sharing these, they seem easy too!
What a sweet pair of recipes! Great tutorial! Please consider sharing with my readers at http://sassafrassalvation.blogspot.com/2011/12/sasss-sunday-salvation-show-4.html
Christmas blessings!
We just tried this recipe and while it created a lot of nice bubble, it didn't have a sweet flavor. The yeast was almost overpowering in flavor and (worst yet) in smell. I am wondering if the 1C of sugar is enough for an entire 2 liter? We followed the instructions exactly, and tried it after 8 hours, lots of bubble, bad taste. Then we put it in the fridge to wait a few days more, still not a good taste, even more bubbles. We'll try the ginger variety to see how that turns out, next.
Jen-We used 1 cup and liked it, but I'm not a huge fan of super sweet drinks either. I'm sure you could adjust the amount of sugar to your liking. Thanks for the feedback!
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