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I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on my homemade ginger ale recipe, so I also wanted to share another favorite at our house: homemade root beer.
This root beer recipe uses the same beneficial culture as the ginger ale: a homemade ginger bug. Homemade root beer is also simple to make and has all the flavor of conventional root beer without the harmful ingredients.
Herbs for Homemade Root Beer
The herbs used in homemade root beer, mainly sassafras and sarsaparilla (as well as wintergreen), have some controversy surrounding them. These herbs contain safrole, which was once found to cause cancer in mice. I personally do not feel that there is a risk when consuming sassafras root in its whole form, as this article from Nourished Kitchen explains:
Wintergreen leaf, though almost always an ingredient in most traditional root beer recipes, replaced sassafras as the prominent flavor in root beer during the 1960s when a study conducted on lab animals implicated safrole, a naturally occurring polyphenol, in liver cancer. Of course, the lab rats were fed massive quantities of safrole – the human equivalent of consuming about 32 twelve-ounce bottles of root beer a day. After the study was released, the FDA required commercial soft drink makers to remove sassafras from their brews. Of course, cinnamon, nutmeg and basil also contain safrole but this seemed to escape the attention of the FDA.
Interestingly, while massive quantities of safrole caused liver cancer in lab animals, it seems that small doses may actually play a protective role for humans. Some studies indicate that safrole may actually stimulate the death of cancer cells, particularly oral cancers though it may also do so in lung and prostrate cancers.
Wintergreen, already an ingredient in root beer, offered a flavor profile strikingly similar to that of sassafras, and made a ready replacement. Most root beers made today contain neither sassafras nor wintergreen and are instead made with artificial flavors. Even wintergreen extract, the preferred flavoring for many home brewers, is difficult to attain and typically is made with propylene glycol – a petrochemical.
As with all herbs, it is important to consult a doctor, health care practitioner, or herbalist before consuming any herb, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or have a medical condition. I personally stick with homemade ginger ale or homemade Dr. Pepper when pregnant.
How to Make Homemade Root Beer
As I said, I am comfortable using sassafras and wintergreen in this recipe. While a variety of other herbs were sometimes used in traditional recipes (including sarsaparilla, burdock, anise, licorice, astragalus, and others), I’ve found that the same flavor can be accomplished with only a few herbs. This simplified version is much more budget friendly as many of these herbs are hard to source and expensive. The rest of the herbs can be used if desired, and 1 Tablespoon of each could be added. In many places, sassafras can be wild-sourced, but I would recommend checking with a qualified herbalist or horticulture expert before using any plant.
Before beginning, it is important to have the culture ready to go. I use a homemade ginger bug in this recipe as it gives both the flavor and carbonation, though any type of natural culture could be used.
Homemade Root Beer Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup sassafras root bark
- ½ tsp wintergreen leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick (or 1 tiny dash of ground cinnamon, optional)
- 1 dash coriander (optional)
- 1 dash allspice (optional)
- 12 cups filtered water
- 1 cup unrefined cane sugar (such as rapadura)
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup lime juice (optional)
- ¾ cup homemade ginger bug (or other starter culture like whey or vegetable starter)
Instructions
- Put the sassafras root bark, wintergreen leaf, and cinnamon, coriander, and allspice if using, in a large pot on the stove.
- Add the filtered water.
- Turn the heat on high and bring to a boil.
- Reduce to medium low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
- Strain through a fine, mesh strainer or cheesecloth to remove herbs.
- While still warm, add the sugar, molasses, and vanilla and stir until dissolved.
- Let cool until warm, but not hot.
- Add the lime juice and then then ginger bug or other culture and stir well.
- Transfer to grolsch style bottles or jars with tight fitting lids and allow to ferment for several days at room temperature.
- Check after two days for carbonation. When desired carbonation is reached, transfer to refrigerator and store until use.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Are you a root beer fan like me? Ever tried to make your own? Share below!
Don’t like root beer (at least commercial root beer) but I might give this one a whirl
This recipe looks amazing! I tried making a ginger bug once but it started growing mold within two days and I have no idea why. I used organic cane sugar but I think it might’ve had something to do with the ginger. Any idea on why it would grow mold?
Thanks… typing while nursing again 🙂
There could have been mold on the ginger or it could have been too hot or contaminated with something in the air. fermentation is definitely an art not a science sometimes…
You can say that again, I’ve had some batches of kombucha that come out perfect. Others with a taste that make me wish I was never born. Kiss your little one for me and I wish you a happy session of nursing 🙂
I remember about a year ago I ask for your advice on what to do about my major. I’m a nutrition major with an emphasis in dietetics and you told me that I should start my own blog about nutrition and whatnot. A year or so later, here I am doing it! Thanks so much for the encouragement and inspiration. What you do is phenomenal and truly inspiring. I admire all that you do. Thanks again.
Awesome… mail me a link and I’ll send you some traffic sometime 😉
Thanks Katie! Where do you get your swingtop bottles from?
Cant wait to make this! Your first two ingredient links aren’t working. Are the root bark and wintergreen dry ingredients or fresh ingredients? LOVE YOUR SITE! Keep it coming.
Dry, unless you can find it fresh in your area…
Your link to the Sassafras Root is broken. Are you using a dried product. I see Amazon has a variety of them.
I just found your blog and FB today – loving it. I’m planning on getting a ginger bug going, then try the ginger ale, then the root beer. Those (sodas) are my favorite evening drink. I’d love to make my own.
Will the bug thrive on coconut sugar? Maybe u could use it in place of molasses? Thanks for the recipe!!
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve got you ginger beer recipe carbonating right now and will probably try this one too. I went to American spice’s website and the sassafras is pretty pricey if ordering more than 2.5 ounces. Do you know how many ounces = 1/2 C of this ingredient? Just don’t want to spend $40 and have to throw it away if I can get away with spending $10-20.
You should be ok with 2.5. Also, try to find a herbalist in your area and see if it grows near you.
I’ve got my “bug” going in the kitchen window, I was going to try the ginger ale, but given how much my kids like root beer, I’m going to try this instead. And may I just add my voice to the chorus of pretty pleases for the Dr Pepper recipe! Pleeeeeeeease post it soon!
Root Beer was one of my favorite sodas before switching to a more natural lifestyle. We now brew water kefir, and I was wondering if there was a way to alter this recipe to flavor the second brew of a batch of water kefir? If so, how much of each ingredient for a quart sized batch? Thanks. 🙂
Yes, you’d have to play around, but you’d still need the sugar for the carbonation and probably in a higher concentration with the herbs since it would be diluted. Let us know if you try it!
You have a typo. It should be “cane” sugar, not “can” sugar.