Root beer

So, I'm making Root Beer.  There's no way to say that and sound clever or cool; you just have to say it.  The only possible way to do it economically would be to go hunting, digging, and gathering for all the ingredients in the forests (which we are a little short of in south central KS) and dig up sassafras root, and 10 other ingredients that we don't have, with the exception of Dandelion Root, which I happen to have plenty of around here.  That would be very expensive in time, instead of very expensive in money buying all the different ingredients.

Lets just say, that if I would have "invested" the same money that I put into Root Beer ingredients into actual Root Beer; I would have never had to buy Root Beer again- EVER! Enough said about that, I'm not here trying to convince anyone of the merits of making it yourself; if anything, I'd try to steer people away from it.  Not to mention, I'm sure if you've grown up drinking commercially manufactured Root Beer, I doubt very much that it tastes anything like something made with real roots.

But the good news is it is really quite easy to make, after I spent literally 3 hours pursuing the internet scavenging the ingredients (Concentrates are cheap too!  But, noooo, not good enough for this dummy) to get everything I needed.  For my own reference, here is the recipe:

homemade root beer recipe

YIELD: 2 quarts 

PREP: 20 mins

COOK: 3 to 4 days (fermentation) 

READY IN: 23 mins 

Seasoned with sassafras, winter green, sarsaparilla and eight other herbs and spices, amassing the ingredients for this classic homemade root beer recipe can prove challenging. I recommend purchasing from Mountain Rose Herbs which stocks even the most obscure wild-crafted and organic herbs and spices. (note from Dan: not so much...)

Ingredients 1/4 cup sassafras root bark 

1/4 cup winter green leaf 

2 tablespoons sarsaparilla root 

1 tablespoon licorice root 

1 tablespoon ginger root 

1 tablespoon dandelion root 

1 tablespoon hops flowers 

1 tablespoon birch bark 

1 tablespoon wild cherry tree bark 

1 teaspoon juniper berries 

1 cinnamon stick 

1 cup unrefined cane sugar 

1/2 cup ginger bug or fresh whey or 1 packet kefir starter culture Instructions 

1.  Bring two and one-half quarts filtered water to a boil and stir in sassafras, sarsaparilla, wintergreen, licorice, ginger, hops, juniper, birch and wild cherry bark. 

2.  Reduce the heat to a slow simmer and simmer the roots, berries, barks, leaves and flowers for twenty minutes. 

3.  After twenty minutes, turn off the heat and strain the infusion through a fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with cheesecloth into a pitcher. Stir unrefined cane sugar into the hot infusion until it dissolves and allow it to cool until it reaches blood temperature. 

4.  Once the sweetened infusion has cooled to blood temperature, stir in the ginger bug or fresh whey and pour into individual bottles (preferably flip-top bottles which are easy enough to find online) leaving at least one inch head space in each bottle.

 5.  Allow the root beer to ferment for three to four days at room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator for an additional two days to age. 

6.  When you’re ready to serve the root beer, be careful as it, like any other fermented beverage, is under pressure due to the accumulation of carbon-dioxide, a byproduct of fermentation. Open it over a sink and note that homemade sodas, like this one, have been known to explode under pressure. Serve over ice.

I got this recipe from Nourished Kitchen, LLC.  

There are much less complicated recipes out there, though.  But, I didn't want to pick my recipe just because it was "easy" (a "four-lettered word" in my childhood home) so I picked the hardest, instead.  It really was simple to make; it fills the house with a very heady "Rootish" smell.  If you know what fresh ginger and fresh sassafras smell like, imagine it brewing in your kitchen for most of the evening.  Pretty fun!

The tough thing is that most of the reason (excuse?) I do this sort of thing is that "it is for the kids."  To have something fun to do with my kids.  The problem is; however, that this totally didn't happen last night.  The interest level of making Root Beer doesn't hold a candle to the level of fascination that, say, watching their uncle obsessively play "Temple Run" on the iPad does.  On top of that, if they happen to follow their little noses into the kitchen, they get barked at because I'm already irritated because I'm having to elbow Wifey out of the way because she has the nerve to be attempting to prepare my all time favorite meal for me while I am making Root Beer.  (before, during, and after supper.)

Now that I think about it; Jeez, what a jerk.  Sometimes I really impress myself with what a selfish jerk I am.  Blogging about it this morning makes me rethink my experience, and makes me realize it was probably a super crappy experience for everyone but me.  I guess I might spend a good share of the rest of my life bitter and alone after everyone leaves me, but at least I'll know how to make real Root Beer! In the future, I'll maybe try a little more intentionally to include the kids, and not do it on top of Herself making me supper.  Especially if she's making me Curry!!