Michael Pardus
(12) 12-ounce bottles
Ingredients
- 1 gallon water
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar (adjust to taste)
- 2 tablespoons root beer extract (adjust to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast
Equipment
- Glass or stainless steel container sufficient to hold at least 2 gallons of liquid
- Hand-operated bottle capper–available at home-brewing supply stores
- Home-use bottle crowns–available at home-brew supply store
- Clean, empty glass soda or beer bottles–available from recycling stations at beverage outlets
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon for stirring
- Stainless steel or plastic funnel and ladle
Method
- Dissolve yeast in 1 cup of lukewarm water.
- Dissolve sugar in the 1 gallon of water.
- Add root beer extract to sweetened water.
- Add dissolved yeast to the root beer mixture; stir to combine.
- Ladle liquid mixture into bottles, leaving 1 inch of empty space at the top of each bottle.
- Place bottle beneath capper press. Place one cap on top of bottle opening. Press down on handle of capper until cap is properly sealed onto bottle.
- Remove bottle from capper and wipe clean with damp cloth.
- Place filled, capped bottles on their sides inside of a picnic cooler or other water-tight sealable, container. Store bottles in a cool, dark place for at least 5 days.
Refrigerate before serving.
Caution! Pressure build up inside the bottles during fermentation may occasionally cause bottles to explode. For this reason it is safer and neater to hold bottles in a lidded, leak-proof container such as a picnic cooler or a box lined with a heavy gauge plastic bag.