Anybody ever made their own root beer?

I have been thinking of giving this a try, and was wondering if anybody has done this before and could offer some tips.

You can find simple instructions with a quick google search, and it is actually really simple and requires only a few pretty basic ingredients the only one which is maybe not readily available is the root beer extract, but you may by able to find that at a health foods store... Otherwise you can just get that online.

Anyways, anybody done this before?

I remember Mama Bear's experience with homemade root beer (wherein she cleaned much of it off her ceiling) I haven't seen her around here much recently, but you can probably contact her through her website or search the threads here if you're interested in her experience.

Yah, I have read that you have to be very careful else it will explode on you due to the carbonation pressure buildup! Gotta watch that closesly.

SWMBO is a Biology instructor and she makes root beer every year with her students. I'm always the one who has to go on the hunt for the RB extract. Last year I bought 5 or 6 bottles when I finally found it!

It's pretty good stuff.

Made plenty of Ales and Stouts but never any root. One of the items that I use to keep the fermenter exploding is a bubbler. It's the little plastic thing on top. Lets gas escape but nothing else in.

.40

my grandparents used to make it all the time. They usually had one bottle blow out of about 4 dozen bottles. Usually shot up and hit the ceiling. Just don't overfill the bottle and you'll be fine- or get some nice kolsch bottles (they have their own built in stopper which is stronger than a plain old bottlecap). I can't imagine that it'd be hard at all to make this stuff. The grocery stores used to sell a hires kit, but I haven't seen one around for a long time.

I remember when I made some with my grandparents.

explosions explosions explosions

+1 on the bubbler. When I made it in flip top bottles I would leave then in the spare bathrooms tub covered with a tarp in case one went nuclear.

Ive thought about it so that I could have something on tap for kids but I use the 5 gallon corny kegs and I hear the seals and serving line have to be replaced after kegging rootbeer because the smell doesn't go away.

If you can't find the supplies locally, two very reputable online sources are www.northernbrewer.com and www.morebeer.com.

I used to make it all the time as a kid. It was good, but, like many things, doesn't taste like the stuff out of a can. The flavor is, i guess more authentic. My friends and I always drank it because we thought it tasted just a little bit too grown up to not have any alcohol in it I seem to remember preventing bad things from happening to them ie blowing up, by using dark bottles and letting the magic aging process happen in the fridge (we had another fridge in the garage). You might want to do some research on the fridge part because I might have my processes backwards. Dark glass bottles make better results and you can get them really clean which is crucial.

Never done it, but I'm more than happy to help you drink - er, safety test - yours if you do!

castlecraver said:

I remember Mama Bear's experience with homemade root beer (wherein she cleaned much of it off her ceiling) I haven't seen her around here much recently, but you can probably contact her through her website or search the threads here if you're interested in her experience.

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I remember that post too! http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=26012&highlight=beer

I think Sue is pretty experienced with brewing. She is probably pretty busy with the move and opening her store. Bet she'd be happy to offer advice if asked.
Sue

We made some once. It was a kit by Hires and we made it about 40 years ago. It was very different tasting but very good indeed! I still remember the taste. Thanks for the reminder. I am going to have to get going on a batch with the grand kids.

Take Care,
Richard