Making Home Made Root Beer

Learning to Make Root Beer from Home

As the economy gets worse and people brace themselves for a long recession, more and more people are looking back on the examples of our parents and grandparents to figure out how to become more self sufficient. While this is a good idea, and while I applaud it, it's hard not to notice that more and more people also seem to think that this means giving up every little gift to yourself, or every single "treat" to live bare bones for as long as it takes for things to fix themselves.

Um, no. While there are no doubt millions of people who have to cut back, and while this nation as a whole really needs to change its attitudes about money and credit, it's not like our grandparents didn't have fun or didn't occasionally treat themselves. One small way to do this could be learning how to make root beer. Making homemade root beer isn't nearly as difficult as many people have made it out to be, and it can be a quick and easy way to have a great sweet treat while saving money. An initial root beer brewing kit often only costs around $14, and after that it's sugar, water, and extract. If you get good, you can even replace most of the sugar with honey, molasses, ginger, or something similar.

A single batch tends to make 5-6 gallons, and it's hard to argue with that. In addition, you might just find a way of brewing root beer that makes a better flavor than you can buy in stores. It just really goes to show that while a lot of people are cutting back, being creative can help you learn brilliant new skills, have fun even in rough times, and get a little bit extra for yourself.

So whether you're a MUG or A&W or Barq's fan, try your hand a few times and you may learn to love brewing homemade root beer.