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.

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Servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Put the sassafras root bark, wintergreen leaf, and cinnamon, coriander, and allspice if using, in a large pot on the stove.

  • Add the filtered water.

  • Turn the heat on high and bring to a boil.

  • Reduce to medium low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

  • Strain through a fine, mesh strainer or cheesecloth to remove herbs.

  • While still warm, add the sugar, molasses, and vanilla and stir until dissolved.

  • Let cool until warm, but not hot.

  • Add the lime juice and then then ginger bug or other culture and stir well.

  • Transfer to grolsch style bottles or jars with tight fitting lids and allow to ferment for several days at room temperature.

  • Check after two days for carbonation. When desired carbonation is reached, transfer to refrigerator and store until use.

  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Homemade Root Beer Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 73

% Daily Value*

Sodium 15mg1%

Carbohydrates 8g3%

Fiber 0.1g0%

Sugar 6.4g7%

Protein 0.1g0%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

If desired, the following can be added to the original boil but they are not needed: 2 cloves, 1 Tablespoon licorice root, 1 Tablespoon grated ginger root, 1 Tablespoon hops flowers, 1 teaspoon of anise or fennel

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Homemade Root Beer Recipe (2)

Homemade Root Beer Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients for root beer? ›

What Is Root Beer Made Of?
  • Carbonated water.
  • High fructose corn syrup.
  • Caramel coloring.
  • Sodium benzoate.
  • Citric acid.
  • Natural and artificial flavors.

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.

What two flavors make root beer? ›

Some describe root beer as an 'adulterated sarsaparilla' because it contains a mix of flavour enhancing ingredients. Most brewers choose to add vanilla, wintergreen, liquorice root, nutmeg, acacia, anise, molasses, cinnamon, clove or honey to their recipes.

How is craft root beer made? ›

Traditionally, brewers made the drink by fermenting an herbal decoction made with sassafras bark, sarsaparilla root, and other herbs with sugar and yeast to make a naturally bubbly, probiotic soft drink. In this way, it joins the ranks of other traditionally fermented drinks such as kvass and tepache.

What was the first recipe for root beer? ›

In 1870, an unknown pharmacist toying with a handful of roots, berries and herbs, came up with a recipe for root beer which consisted of juniper, wintergreen, spikenard, pipsissewa, sarsaparilla, vanilla beans, hops, dog grass, birch bark and licorice.

How is root beer made now? ›

Today, most root beers contain neither sassafras nor wintergreen, as it is not very shelf-stable. Now, they are typically made with artificial flavors instead. Modern root beer is made as a syrup that is then diluted and either force-carbonated or lightly fermented to add the sparkle.

How much alcohol is in homemade root beer? ›

Ale yeast can be found at homebrew shops, or you can order it online. Home-brewed root beer has a slight alcoholic content (around 1%). If chocolate mint is unavailable to you, substitute spearmint.

What is the spice in root beer? ›

Root beer is a sweet North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree Sassafras albidum or the vine of Smilax ornata (known as sarsaparilla, also used to make a soft drink, sarsaparilla) as the primary flavor.

What is the alcohol to the yeast in root beer? ›

From the fermentation process, the root beer contains between 0.35 and 0.5 % alcohol. Comparing this to the 6% in many beers, it would require a person to drink about a gallon and a half of this root beer to be equivalent to one 12 ounce beer.

Why was sarsaparilla banned? ›

Safrole was found to contribute to liver cancer in rats when given in high doses, and thus it and sassafras or sarsaparilla-containing products were banned.

What flavor is sassafras? ›

Native Americans used sassafras leaves as a fresh spice, like bay leaves, in soups and meat stews. The delicate flavour is described as spicy and earthy. Depending on the palate, notes of vanilla, liquorice and/or aniseed are present.

What are the 23 flavors in root beer? ›

However, Dr Pepper superfans have done their best to crack the code, and according to Mashed, the best approximation of the flavors is amaretto, almond, blackberry, black licorice, caramel, carrot, clove, cherry, cola, ginger, juniper, lemon, molasses, nutmeg, orange, prune, plum, pepper, root beer, rum, raspberry, ...

How did pioneers make root beer? ›

The colonists did not have barley or other grains for brewing at first, so they used the ingredients that were available: berries, bark and roots. The alcohol was the preservative. The beer was boiled and brewed like tea to blend the flavors and kill the germs. It was then cooled and fermented with yeast.

How do you carbonate homemade root beer? ›

Carbonation can be introduced into a liquid (water, beer, root beer etc.) by chilling the liquid and applying carbon dioxide (CO2) gas under pressure and forcing CO2 to dissolve in the liquid.

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? ›

Sarsaparilla drinks often were made with only sarsaparilla, instead of the mélange of flavors common to root beers, making it perhaps taste a bit more medicinal than refreshing. But sassafras is also medicinal; it induces sweating, and was used to treat hangovers and morphine addiction.

Is sarsaparilla the same as root beer? ›

The modern versions of root beer and sarsaparilla are nearly identical, the difference lies in the combination of ingredients and brewing technique. Each brand has a unique combination of ingredients and techniques to ensure a satisfying sip.

References

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