Root beer is a slightly fermented sweet beverage made from plant roots (hence its name). Here’s an easy recipe to make your very own homemade probiotic-rich root beer using ginger bug, or fermented ginger!
Indigenous peoples of Canada have long enjoyed root-based beverages using plants such as sassafras, valued for its culinary and medicinal qualities.
Europeans, in the XVIᵉ century, began adding soda to create the fizzy soft drink we know today.
Root beer as we know it today was created in 1876 by the American pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires. He wanted to call it “root tea“, but decided on calling “root beer” to make it more appealing to the Pennsylvania mining worker population.
Pharmacists promoted the health benefits of the root beer and it therefore became very popular in North America, especially during prohibition.
The recipe is very easy to prepare and requires only a few days of fermentation. The most difficult is to find the necessary plants and herbs. This is why we now offer a specifically made Root Beer Blend in our online shop!
Fermented Ginger Root Beer Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 L non-chlorinated water
- 40 g root beer blend
- 200 g sugar
- 180 ml ginger bug
- 30 ml molasses
- 15 ml vanilla extract
Steps
- Boil 500ml (2 cups) water in a large saucepan.
- Add the root beer blend.
- Put the heat on low and cover for 60 minutes.
- Remove from the heat.
- Add sugar and mix until dissolved.
- Add the remaining water until it reaches 3 litres of liquid. Your liquid should still be warm.
- Add ginger bug, vanilla extract and molasses.
- Mix well.
- Filter with a nut milk bag or coffee filter.
- Bottle it in pressure-resistant bottles, and keep them closed tightly shut at room temperature to start the second fermentation.
- After 24 hours, test the fizziness by opening a bottle slightly, then closing it immediately.
- If it's fizzy enough, put the bottles in the fridge to stop the fermentation.
- If it's not, keep your bottles at room temperature and retest the next day until it's sparkling enough.
We chose to ferment this sassafras and sarsaparilla recipe using a ginger bug, but you could very easily adapt it to flavour a water kefir or a kombucha.
Enjoy your delicious homemade ginger root beer with some ice cubes!
Get Started!
- Fermentation equipment
- How to make your own ginger bug
- Try our other fermented drink recipes
