Homemade Root Beer is THE BEST. Sweet, ice cold, with a light fizz. Such a delicious fun treat! best part? It literally takes minutes to make. Whip some up for a spooky halloween with dry ice, make a fancy cold drink for holidays or even just for popcorn and movie night.
INGREDIENTS FOR HOMEMADE ROOT BEER
- SUGAR
- SPARKLING WATER
- ROOT BEER CONCENTRATE OR ROOT BEER EXTRACT
- (DRY ICE IF YOU WANT IT TO SMOKE)
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ROOT BEER EXTRACT AND ROOT BEER CONCENTRATE
The difference between the two is root beer concentrate has a much much stronger flavor than root beer extract, so you need considerably less contcentrate. In our recipe testing we needed 1 tbs of root beer extract for 1 liter of sparkling water whereas we only needed 1 teaspoon of root beer concentrate to 1 liter of sparkling water.
WHERE DO I FIND THE ROOT BEER FLAVOR?
If you are buying in the store you can find the root beer by the spices and extracts. You can also find a bunch of different versions online! I got this root beer extract on amazon.
DO I NEED TO USE SPARKLNG WATER?
NO! You can use club soda, seltzer water. Just make sure it is not flavored bubbly. You also do not have to use any carbonated water at all. Ice cold water will do great too1
HOW TO MAKE ROOT BEER
- ADD YOUR SUGAR
- ADD ROOT BEER EXTRACT OR CONCENTRATE
- ADD SPARKLING WATER
- STIR TOGETHER
PROTIP: To help keep some of the bubbles, mix only a portion of the sparkling water with the sugar and root beer. Stir until the sugar is dissolved (about a minute) then combine the root beer with the rest of the sparkling water. Just give it a gentle couple of stirs. The more your stir the less carbonation there will be.
SPARKLING WATER COLD OR ROOM TEMP?
IF you are serving your homemade root beer immediately, with no dry ice then you will want to chill your sparkling water before hand. If you are serving with dry ice, keep your sparkling water at room temp.
DRY ICE
Dry ice might seem intimidating to find however, I called my local grocery stores, many of them do carry it! If there is an Kroger store or a Sam's club near you try them! Also, there are ice companies that you can go pick it up from, they usually serve commercial companies- so they aren't well known. A google search should help you locate them in your area.
NEVER TOUCH OR DRINK DRY ICE
This is VERY IMPORTANT! Keep it away from little hands. It will burn your hands and cause extreme damage if accidentally ingested. The best is to serve your root beer in a big caldron, or bowl. Use a ladle to serve the root beer and have an adult help the children.
HOW TO GET THE BEST SMOKEY ROOT BEER
DRY ICE will smoke the best when the root beer is warm, which why it is not recommended to chill the sparkling water if making a spooky halloween drink. You may notice after the dry ice has been in the container for a while it might not be smoking as much here are two solutions.
- Serve the root beer in batches. So when the dry ice has chilled one batch you can add some more room temp root beer to the bowl.
- Break up the dry ice and dont add it all at once. Just put one piece in at a time.
OTHER DRY ICE TIPS
- Never completely cover a container with dry ice. But keeping the root beer partially covered will help keep a little carbonation from the dry ice in the liquid.
- Store in a cooler with a towel covering it.
HOW LONG WILL DRY ICE STORE?
Dry ice does not store. Buy the dry ice the same day you are serving it. Dont place it in the freezer instead, place it in a cooler with a towel over it. Keep it in a cool place if possible. This will help your dry ice last longer.
CAN I MAKE ROOT BEER AHEAD OF TIME!
YES! While dry ice won't be much help ahead of time, you definitely can make the root beer ahead of time. Place it in the refridgerator until you are going to serve it. about 2-3 days ahead of time. With a lid if possible. If you want the carbonation to be fresh however, make it the day of.
WHAT ELSE CAN I USE HOMEMADE ROOT BEER FOR?
- You can never go wrong with the classic root beer float! just add a few scoops of vanilla ice cream and serve!
- Make a homemade gourmet soda bar! Serve your chilled bubbly root beer with some flavored syrups (like Torani) ice and cream.
We have so many fun Halloween Recipes on our blog! Check out my FAVORITE!!
- Homemade Caramel Apples (do a caramel apple bar!! you won't be sorry!!).
- Toffee dip,
- candy corn fruit pizza,
- fall chex mix!
- witches finger breadsticks
- monster shirley temple
- mummy dogs
- witch hat cookies
KEEP IN TOUCH
If you tried this EASY HOMEMADE ROOT BEER or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave us a comment below. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to see what else we’re getting up to!
Homemade Root Beer
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Root beer Concentrate or 1 TBS Root Beer Extract
- 1 Cups Sugar
- 1 liter sparkling water can use regular if you dont want it carbonated
- 1-3 lbs dry ice
Instructions
- Add Rootbeer Concentrate, sugar and water into drink dispenser.
- Stir for 2 minutes or more if not dissolved
- Break dry ice into thirds.
- Place first piece into rootbeer half an hour before serving
- Periodically place remaining dry ice into drink dispenser as it starts it fog less.
- CAUTION do not touch dry ice with bare skin, do not put dry ice into individual cups or allow pieces to fall into cups- you do NOT want it to touch any part of your body!!
Notes
HOW TO GET THE BEST SMOKEY ROOT BEER
DRY ICE will smoke the best when the root beer is warm, which why it is not recommended to chill the sparkling water if making a spooky halloween drink. You may notice after the dry ice has been in the container for a while it might not be smoking as much here are two solutions.- Serve the root beer in batches. So when the dry ice has chilled one batch you can add some more room temp root beer to the bowl.
- Break up the dry ice and dont add it all at once. Just put one piece in at a time.
OTHER DRY ICE TIPS
- Never completely cover a container with dry ice. But keeping the root beer partially covered will help keep a little carbonation from the dry ice in the liquid.
- Store in a cooler with a towel covering it.
HOW LONG WILL DRY ICE STORE?
Dry ice does not store. Buy the dry ice the same day you are serving it. Dont place it in the freezer instead, place it in a cooler with a towel over it. Keep it in a cool place if possible. This will help your dry ice last longer.Nutrition
Ashley says
So yummy! My kids loved the "smoke" and we all enjoyed it with ice cream! Such a fun treat!
Leslie Moss says
I have been making homemade root beer for over 30 years for parties.
we make it for school or church parties in a new garbage can, double or triple the recipe for the amount of people needed. You don't need sparkling water if you are using dry ice. The dry ice will give it enough of a fizz. Just use warm tap water. Thanks for sharing this.
Emily Kemp says
This looks like so much fun, I need to try this for parties!
denise says
My mom made homemade rootbeer, but we never did it with dry ice. She also made homemade birchbeer.