Root Beer
Ingredients
Directions
Bruise the sarsaparilla root and sassafras bark, then boil in 5 gallons of water to extract the flavor.
Strain the mixture into a keg and add the molasses.
Once cool, stir in the yeast.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Sarsaparilla root
- Provides the main earthy, slightly bitter flavor extracted by boiling.
- Sassafras bark
- Adds the characteristic sassafras aroma and flavor extracted by boiling.
- Wintergreen leaf and stem
- Adds a sharp, minty aroma and flavor to the brew.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and provides sugars that the yeast ferments.
- Yeast
- Ferments the sugars, producing carbon dioxide that gives the drink its fizz.
The step that matters
Cool the liquid before adding the yeast. Yeast is killed by high heat, so the boiled mixture must be cool enough before it is stirred in. Adding yeast too early can stop fermentation entirely, leaving the root beer flat.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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