Water Street Brewery Root Beer Recipe

Make the flavored syrup

Combine 10 cups water, granulated sugar (1.5 cups), and brown sugar (0.5 cup) in a large saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently until the sugars fully dissolve (about 5–7 minutes).

Add molasses (2 tbsp), root beer extract (3 tsp), vanilla extract (1 tsp), and wintergreen extract (1/4 tsp) to the simmering syrup. Stir to incorporate and simmer gently for 2 minutes to meld flavors.

If using whole/dried aromatics (sarsaparilla root, anise seed, allspice berries, orange peel), add them to the pot now. Reduce heat to low and simmer very gently for 10 minutes to extract flavor. Taste and adjust: add up to another 1 tsp root beer extract or 1/2 tsp vanilla if you want a stronger profile. Remove from heat.

Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a clean container to remove solids. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator until cold (at least 1 hour). The finished syrup yields a concentrated draft-style root beer base.

Mix and serve draft-style

For a draft-style root beer similar to Water Street Brewery, mix 1 part chilled root beer syrup with 2.5–3 parts cold club soda or sparkling water. For the above quantities, a good starting ratio is 2.5 cups syrup to 7.5 cups club soda (adjust to taste). Pour cold club soda into a pitcher or individual glasses over ice if desired, then slowly add the chilled syrup to preserve carbonation. Stir gently once.

To make a root beer float, add one scoop of vanilla ice cream to each glass and top gently with the mixed root beer. Garnish with a mint sprig or maraschino cherry if desired.

Keep leftover syrup refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. When carbonating by keg or soda siphon, use the same syrup-to-sparkling ratio and carbonate according to device instructions.