Homemade Root Beer

Over the weekend, I tried Williams-Sonoma’s version of homemade root beer after shopping in their Destin Commons store.

Source: iSi Twist 'n Sparkle ($49.95) from Williams-Sonoma

My first purchase was the iSi Twist 'n Sparkle which carbonates almost any beverage using CO₂ chargers (the kit comes with three, but you need to buy extra as you can only use each charger once). I also bought an extra set of two bottles since the kit only comes with one.

Source: Root Beer Soda Syrup ($16) from Williams-Sonoma

Next was buying the Root Beer Soda Syrup.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

Once home again, I gave the bottles a good wash before making the root beer concoction. The latter requires thorough chilling before performing the carbonation magic. A few glass mugs were popped into the freezer for drinking the root beer later.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

When everything was ready, I inserted one of the CO₂ chargers in the wand handle and screwed that piece onto the bottle top. It began working immediately as evidenced by a hissing noise indicating carbonation was in process. Lots of bubbles…uh…bubbled (see photo). If you try this, make sure to wait at least one minute after the hissing stops before removing the wand and disposing of the charger.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

And here we are—homemade root beer, yummy!

Purchasing the tools and syrup was an expensive venture—a case of canned root beer would be much cheaper and simpler, but not as much fun.

My friend Janel has a recipe I am going to try soon which calls for much cheaper ingredients. In the meantime, homemade vanilla ice cream is in the works because root beer floats are calling me.