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Root Beer RecipesYou Will Enjoy Experimenting With Old-Time Root Beer RecipesThese home brews evolved into the familiar soft drinks now known as root beer, ginger beer and sarsaparilla. And the rich, sparkling flavors of these refreshing non-alcoholic beers are still popular today. Good homemade root beer is foamy in the glass and has a very pleasant and truly unique flavor -- fresh, yeasty, sparkling, and with just the slightest hint of alcohol. It tastes great! Using the old-fashioned root beer recipes, you will get to experience the wholesome and delicious soft drink your great-great-grandparents once enjoyed as children. And once you taste it, you will love it.
Root Beer RecipeThis old-fashioned root beer recipe is taken from "The Book of Knowledge and Sure Guide to Rapid Wealth" published by Hurst & Company, New York, in 1873.For 10 gallons beer, take 3 pounds common burdock root, or 1 ounce essence of sassafras; 1/2 pound good hops; 1 pint corn, roasted brown. Boil the whole in 6 gallons pure water until the strength of the materials is obtained; strain while hot into a keg, adding enough cold water to make 10 gallons. When nearly cold, add clean molasses or syrup until palatable -- not sickishly sweet. Add also as much fresh yeast as will raise a batch of 8 loaves of bread. Place the keg in a cellar or other cool place, and in 48 hours, you will have a keg of first-rate, sparkling root beer. Root Beer RecipeThis vintage root beer recipe is taken from the book "Lee’s Priceless Recipes: A Valuable Collection of Tried Formulas and Simple Methods, Etc." by Dr. N. T. Oliver, published by Chicago: Laird & Lee, Chicago, circa 1895.For each gallon of water take hops, burdock, yellow dock, sarsaparilla, dandelion, and spikenard root (all bruised), of each 1/2 ounce; boil 20 minutes; strain while hot; add 8 or 10 drops of oil of spruce and sassafras mixed in equal proportions. When cool enough put in 2 tablespoonfuls of yeast; molasses, 3/8 pint or white sugar, 1/2 pound gives the right sweetness. Root Beer RecipeThis vintage root beer recipe was published by the Fleishmann Yeast Company, circa 1915, and it later appeared in numerous publications.1 cake compressed yeast; 5 pounds sugar; 2 ounces sassafras root bark [Note: it is not recommended that the sassafras root itself be eaten in any form]; 1 ounce hops or gingerroot; 2 ounces juniper berries; 4 gallons water; 1 ounce dandelion root; 2 ounces wintergreen. Wash roots well in cold water. Add juniper berries (crushed) and hops. Pour 8 quarts boiling water over root mixture and boil slowly 20 minutes. Strain through flannel bag. Add sugar and remaining 8 quarts water. Allow to stand until lukewarm.  Grandma Recommends...
 
Making your own soda pop is a real achievement, and it's so very easy when the little secrets have been mastered. Simply follow the old-time root beer recipes, adjusting the quantities when needed, and don't be afraid to experiment. Soon, with patience and a bit of practice, you will become an accomplished root beer maker.Note: Roots, barks, essences, yeasts, and bottling supplies for making homemade root beer can best be found at local homebrew shops, but if none are available in your area, try the NorthernBrewer.com website. My First Batch Of Root BeerWriting this page reminded me of the first time I made homemade root beer. I placed the capped bottles under the bed in the spare bedroom to carbonate, and I totally forgot about them. A few evenings later my wife and I were watching television in the living room, when suddenly we heard a loud POP!Starting with the kitchen, we looked in every room, but could not discover the source of the puzzling sound. The next evening we heard the same loud POP again, and then seconds later another POP! We were totally baffled. Suddenly, we remembered the root beer. What a mess! Nearly a dozen bottles had spewed their yeasty, sugary contents all over the bottom of the bed and the floor beneath. The moral to this sticky story: Always secure your bottled soda pop in a "covered" box and don't forget where you put it. TOP of Root Beer Recipes RETURN to Soft Drink Recipes HOME to Dessert Recipes
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When the old fashioned soft drink recipes call for flavoring syrups, you can save yourself time and money by using Rio brand syrup concentrates from the Prairie Moon Company. I highly recommend them.