The Chef

Restaurants

Meals

Drinks

Root Beer Recipe

Name: Mitla Cafes Root Beer Recipe
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 10 cups water; 1 cups granulated sugar; 0.5 cups brown sugar (light or dark, packed); 2 tbs sarsaparilla root (dried); 1 tbs sassafras root bark (dried) or 1 tsp safrole-free sassafras extract; 1 tsp dried wintergreen leaves or 1/2 tsp wintergreen extract; 1 tsp dried birch bark (optional) or 1/2 tsp birch extract; 1 tbs dried licorice root; 6 each whole allspice berries; 1 tsp whole coriander seeds; 1 each whole star anise; 0.5 tsp vanilla bean or pure vanilla extract; 1 tbs fresh ginger, sliced; 1 tbs lemon zest (from 1 small lemon); 0 to taste ice; 6 cups club soda or carbonated water (chilled); 1 tsp optional: molasses (for depth); 0.25 tsp optional: yeast for fermentation (champagne yeast)

Inspired by Mitla Cafe

Time1h

Serves6

Make Root Beer Recipe in just 1h . Get the full recipe with step-by-step instructions at pekinthechef.com.

Was this page helpful?

Help improve this recipe for others.

Send this recipe to your inbox.

We'll email it straight to you - plus weekly cooking inspiration.

Ingredients

Some product links may be affiliates. If you buy through them, you're supporting the site and Pekin may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Root Beer (makes about 6 servings)

10 cups water

1 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cups brown sugar (light or dark, packed)

2 tbs sarsaparilla root (dried)

1 tbs sassafras root bark (dried) or 1 tsp safrole-free sassafras extract

1 tsp dried wintergreen leaves or 1/2 tsp wintergreen extract

1 tsp dried birch bark (optional) or 1/2 tsp birch extract

1 tbs dried licorice root

6 each whole allspice berries

1 tsp whole coriander seeds

1 each whole star anise

1/2 tsp vanilla bean or pure vanilla extract

1 tbs fresh ginger, sliced

1 tbs lemon zest (from 1 small lemon)

0 to taste ice

6 cups club soda or carbonated water (chilled)

1 tsp optional: molasses (for depth)

1/4 tsp optional: yeast for fermentation (champagne yeast)

Method

Make the root beer concentrate (syrup)

Combine herbs and spices

In a medium saucepan, combine 4 cups of the water with sarsaparilla root, sassafras root or sassafras extract, wintergreen, birch (if using), licorice root, whole allspice, coriander seeds, star anise, sliced ginger, and lemon zest.

Simmer

Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, reduce heat to low and simmer gently, uncovered, for 20 minutes to extract flavors. Stir occasionally.

Strain

Remove from heat and let cool slightly (5–10 minutes). Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a heatproof bowl or measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids.

Sweeten

Return the strained liquid to the saucepan. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, and (if using) molasses. Heat gently over low heat, stirring until sugars dissolve. Do not boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract (or split vanilla bean and scrape seeds in) and birch/wintergreen extracts if you used extracts instead of dried herbs. Taste and adjust sweetness—this is a concentrated syrup, should be noticeably sweet.

Cool

Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature. If you plan to carbonate immediately with club soda, chill the syrup in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before mixing. If you plan to naturally ferment for fizz, cool to about 75°F (24°C) before adding yeast.

Optional natural fermentation (light carbonation)

Prepare for fermentation

If you want a lightly fermented, naturally carbonated root beer, add 1/4 tsp champagne yeast to the cooled syrup. Stir to combine thoroughly. Use sanitized PET bottles or flip-top bottles (do not use glass if fermentation may overpressurize).

Bottle and ferment

Mix the syrup with the remaining 6 cups of water to dilute (taste; you can adjust 1:5 syrup to water ratio). Fill bottles, leaving 1–2 inches headspace, seal, and let sit at room temperature for 24–48 hours, checking pressure frequently after 24 hours. When desired carbonation is reached, refrigerate immediately to slow fermentation.

Safety note

Monitor bottles carefully—overfermentation can cause bottles to become dangerously pressurized. Refrigerate as soon as carbonation is right and consume within 1–2 weeks.

Assemble and serve (non-fermented quick method)

For immediate serving, mix 1 part chilled syrup with 4–6 parts chilled club soda or carbonated water to taste. A good starting ratio is 1/5 (about 3 tablespoons syrup to 1 cup club soda); adjust sweetness and intensity as preferred.

Fill glasses with ice. Pour the diluted root beer over ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel or a sprig of mint if desired.

Storage

Store unused syrup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. If fermented, store refrigerated and consume within 1–2 weeks.