Make your own root beer?

Summer is the time for it. Do any of you make your own root beer? If you do, do you have any tips for products or methods?

My buddy gave me some that he made, it was horrific! I could only get a few sips down before I had to quit. He must have had a terrible recipe or something because it tasted like a bottle deopt.....

I found this last year but still haven't attempted it.

http://www.chow.com/recipes/10681-chow-root-beer

http://www.chow.com/food-news/53532/how-to-bottle/

When I was growing up Dad would sometimes make and bottle Root beer. It was a fun treat and had a different taste (it was ok). I believe it was a Hires root beer extract. I tried to make a batch when I was in college and had a mess. We made a 5 gallon batch and bottled it. The first couple of bottles were ok and then we went on Christmas break and forgot about it. When we came back the carbonation in the bottles got to be too much for the bottles to handle and they started to explode because of the pressure. We had a sticky river of root beer to cleanup. We used the same bottles that we brewed beer in so the bottles were correct but the sugar and the yeast created too much pressure. So the lesson learned is “Make sure you drink the bottles root beer and do not let it sit around”. All in all it was a fun thing to do.

When I was a kid, my father would occasionally buy one of the small bottles of Hires extract and brew some up. Did not like it then but sure wish I could try a bottle or two today.

Same as some of the posts above...Hires extract as a kid. Would love to find some of that now and make it.

Oh man, I love Hires. Do they even make it any more?
There was this corner store down the street we'd go to and pick up the glass 750ml (I think?) bottles of Hires.

maxman said:

Oh man, I love Hires. Do they even make it any more?

Click to expand...

They do!

I've never tried to make root beer but many homebrew stores carry the extracts for it.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/miscellany/soda

I have.. but since I found Goose Island Root Beer I don't bother doing my own!