Make Your Own Root Beer

Brew your own root beer at home! Make up to four gallons of delicious, old fashioned, naturally carbonated root beer at home in your own soda bottles!

What’s Included: Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of 2 gallon soda flavor extract
• 1 packet champagne yeast
• 1 funnel
• 2 design it yourself bottle labels

What’s Needed to make about 1 gallon of soda:

• Ingredients: 2 cups of sugar (A mixture of white and dark brown sugar is tasty—especially for root beer. Or, experiment with honey, maple syrup, or molasses to achieve your favored sweetness)
• Utensils: 2 Plastic soda bottles with original screw caps— you will need two 2-liter bottles or four 1-liter bottles 1 container (1 gallon milk jug or a water pitcher) 1 mixing spoon 1 small bowl Measuring spoons and cups 1 3-quart pot or saucepan 1 cooking thermometer (optional)

IMPORTANT ADULT SUPERVISION IS REQUIRED. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED FOR CHILDREN UNDER 3 YEARS OF AGE. PLEASE READ ALL WARNINGS AND TIPS THROUGHOUT THE INSTRUCTIONS.

Step 5: Add the yeast to your soda. Now add the dissolved yeast to the soda mixture. Mix well.

Step 6: Bottle your soda. Using the funnel, fill your bottles. Don’t overfill—pour to about 1 to 1.5 inches below the top. Seal tightly with the bottle caps. (Be sure they are tight to create the pressure needed for carbonation. Tip the bottles to their sides to check for leaks.)

Step 7: Carbonate your soda. Store the bottles upright at room temperature (optimal carbonation range is 68-80 degrees F). Leave the bottles alone for 2 days, then begin checking them once a day. Carbonation could take from 2 days up to 2 weeks. When the bottles become firm to the touch, move them to the refrigerator. Chill the soda for at least a day and then enjoy your creation!

TIPS: Air temperature will aect carbonation time — if it is warmer, your soda will carbonate sooner than if it is cooler. When it is ready, you should still be able to push the sides of the bottles in a little bit. If the bottles are rock hard, it will be over-carbonated and may taste off

HEADS UP: IF A BOTTLE IS BULGING, HAVE AN ADULT CAREFULLY AND SLOWLY OPEN THE BOTTLE TO RELEASE THE OVERCARBONATED PRESSURE. THE CONTENTS OF THE BOTTLE MAY NEED TO BE THROWN OUT.

Step 8: Design your label. Use the enclosed labels to design your own private brand. Place the labels on the bottles (you may want to add the date you bottled the soda). Store any leftover yeast and extract in the refrigerator and use it up within a month.

You are a soda chemist!

Step 1: Clean your bottles and caps. This is a great way to reuse soda bottles and caps, but you’ll need to be sure they are clean and sanitized. Wash with dish soap and warm water, rinse with diluted bleach (1 tsp. bleach mixed into 4 cups of water), rinse thoroughly with warm water, then air dry completely. (You may want to do this step the night before you start the project.)

HEADS UP: USE ONLY PLASTIC BOTTLES AS THEY HAVE A BIT OF GIVE FOR THE CARBONATION PROCESS. DO NOT USE GLASS BOTTLES.

Step 2: Heat water.

• You will need warm water to mix your soda. Start with a gallon of fresh cold tap water (or some people prefer spring water). Pour the water into your pot and heat it to 98 degrees. The thermometer is handy here, but if you don’t have one, heat the water so it’s warm to the touch.
• Use the funnel to transfer the water into your jug or pitcher.

Step 3: Dissolve the yeast. Pour 1/2 cup of water into your small bowl. Add 1/4 teaspoon of yeast and stir to dissolve. Set aside for later use.

HEADS UP: USE RECOMENDED AMOUNT OF YEAST (1/4 teaspoon per gallon of soda). OVER YEASTING COULD CAUSE THE BOTTLES TO EXPLODE.

Step 4: Mix your soda. Add 2 cups of sugar (or your chosen sweetener) to your pot or saucepan. Pour the remaining water over the sugar while gently stirring. Add 1 tablespoon of well-shaken soda extract. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Sample your mixture. Add more sugar if you want a sweeter soda or a little more extract if you want a stronger soda.

How did it get carbonated?

You’ve just created your own chemical reaction—whenever two or more substances meet each other and something happens, it’s chemistry! In this case, yeast met sugar and BAM! you have carbonation. Yeast is a microscopic organism that feeds on sugar. When it consumes the sugar it transforms it into the energy it needs to grow and reproduce. This is what creates carbon dioxide, or the fizz, in your soda.