Before commercial soda companies existed, root beer was brewed at home and sold at pharmacy counters as a blood purifier. Each root here was a specific pharmacological choice, not a flavoring one. This version uses safrole-free sarsaparilla in place of the original root bark banned by the FDA in 1960.
Ingredients (makes 1 gallon)
- 2 oz dried sarsaparilla root (or safrole-free extract)
- 1 oz dried burdock root, 1 oz dried dandelion root
- 1/2 oz dried ginger root, 1/4 oz dried licorice root, 1/4 oz dried hops
- 1 vanilla bean, split
- 1 cup raw cane sugar or blackstrap molasses
- 1 gallon filtered water
- 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (or 2 tablespoons ginger bug)
Method
- Combine sarsaparilla, burdock, dandelion, ginger, and licorice root with the water. Bring to a gentle simmer 30 minutes.
- Add vanilla bean and hops in the final 10 minutes.
- Strain through cheesecloth, discard solids.
- Stir in sugar or molasses while warm. Cool completely below 75°F (24°C).
- Add yeast, stir gently, and bottle in swing-top bottles, leaving 1 inch headspace.
- Ferment at room temperature 24 to 48 hours until lightly carbonated. Refrigerate immediately.
Sarsaparilla was prescribed as a blood purifier and liver tonic in the 1800s; burdock as a standard alterative. Many Amish families brewed nearly identical formulas from roots gathered along fence lines.
This recipe is one of twenty in The Forgotten Apothecary — our full digital cookbook of pharmacy-counter tonics, switchels, oxymels, and healing syrups.