by Tyler Foster

Have you ever wondered how to make your own homemade root beer? Well, look no further, because PCM’s Mr. Matt Henning brews his own. He is more commonly known for being a science teacher at PCM, but Henning does many things in his free time, like making root beer.
“I have been doing this for around seven to eight years, and I started just because I heard of someone doing it,” Henning said. “I thought to myself, hmm, maybe I would really love to do that.”
To make root beer, you will need the following ingredients: One carbon dioxide pressure tank, root beer flavoring, sweetener (sugar or honey) and water.
“The flavoring is a small bottle that’s good for about five gallons of root beer, and all you need to do is add water and sweetener in the tank. For every five gallons of root beer, you will need roughly a pound of whatever you decide to use as sweetener. You could go with honey, but I don’t, because honey is getting too expensive, which is why I normally use sugar, even though I think honey tastes better. However, if you do use honey, make sure to boil it first, because honey naturally has bacteria in it,” Henning said.
To mix it all together, you will need to shake the bottle well. Then, turn on the tank to around roughly 70 PSI. The process from beginning to end will take a few days. Most of this time is spent waiting for the carbon dioxide in the tank to dissolve; at this point, the root beer should be ready to drink.