15-Minute Homemade Root Beer

15-Minute Homemade Root Beer is a drink recipe built around quarts cold water, granulated sugar and root beer extract. Plan on 24 1-cup servings and about 15 minutes.

• Yield 24 1-cup servings
• Ready in 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 quarts cold water
• 2-3 cups granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you want it; 2 cups is perfect for us)
• 3 tablespoons root beer extract
• 1-2 pounds food-grade dry ice broken into pieces (use the smaller amount if you want it to dissolve quickly and the greater amount if you want it to foam and bubble while serving)

Instructions

1. In a large pitcher (I use glass), stir together the water, sugar and root beer extract until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Take a little taste to see if you need more extract or sugar.
2. In a well-ventilated area, carefully add the dry ice to the pitcher using insulated gloves or tongs and stir with a long-handled spoon so that the dry ice doesn't stick to the bottom and sides of the container. The root beer will bubble and the dry ice fog will spill from the container (cool!).
3. Continue stirring until it is mostly melted, 10-15 minutes.
4. Ladle into cups, avoiding any large pieces of unmelted dry ice, and serve.

Give it a minute off the heat, then serve it while it is still hot.