Title: Chuck's Homemade Ozark Rootbeer (15 Gal Recipe)
Categories: Polkadot Faylen Beverages Brewing
Yield: 15 Gallons

2	oz	Birch Beer Extract
10	oz	Root Beer Extract
1	lb	Honey
1	c	Blackstrap Molasses
1	c	Grade B Maple Syrup
1		Gal Sugar (approx 8 lb) Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a keg, add water to fill keg, carbonate, drink. Some comments regarding the recipe:

I thought the molasses taste was a bit harsh, I will try regular molasses next time and perhaps use a little less as well.

I will try substituting 2 oz of sasparilla extract for 2 oz of the rootbeer extract.

In any case, you can mix the ingredients to your taste.

This recipe produces a strong tasting rootbeer with about half the sweetness of most commercial rootbeers (warning: you will want to clean your draft lines after dispensing this root beer, it leaves a flavor behind). It was extremely popular with the underage college crowd because the rootbeer was served just like draft beer.

You can obtain the extracts in 2 oz bottles at most homebrewing shops. In addition, you can buy bulk extracts through restaurant suppliers, the one brand I know of is 'Universal'.

While I artifically carbonated my rootbeer (for both legal & practical reasons) you could ferment it to get carbonation. There was an alcoholic rootbeer at the Great American Beer Festival, I talked with the brewmaster who made it, and it is similar to my recipe, but with the addition of a substantial amount of malt extract to increase the fermentables. His rootbeer was in the 6% alcohol by weight range, and tasted very good on it's own, but didn't go well with drinking lots of regular beer.

* The Polka Dot Palace BBS 1-201-822-3627. Posted by FAYLEN By fatfree-request@fatfree.com on Jun 16, 1997

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