Root Beer Floats

Root Beer floats were something I loved as a kid. Sometimes we went to the A&W Drive-In to get one...those were the best! But, making them at home was fun, too...my son loves the IBC root beer bottles (so do I). Not long ago, while searching for fun "flavorings" for a science project at school, we came across Root Beer concentrate. How cool would it be to make our own root beer!? And from that, make root beer floats! We don't get soda that often in our house...just time to time (that way it's just a treat, not an addiction). If you like root beer, give this a try; it's fun with or without the kids.

This is (basically) the process, on the back of the McCormick Root Beer Concentrate box:

Easy Homemade Root Beer

makes 6 c.

1 1/2 c. water

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Root Beer Concentrate

1 bottle (1 liter) cold soda water, seltzer or club soda

Bring water to boil in medium saucepan. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Add concentrate; stir until well mixed. Pour into a container and refrigerate until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, pour reserved root beer mixture into a pitcher and slowly pour in the soda. Stir slightly to blend. Serve immediately! Yup, it is as easy as that. Now, for double the fun, turn it into Root Beer Floats!!!! I do recommend making it when you're ready to use it all, because it loses it's fizz pretty quickly. I ended up pouring the remainder of what we made back into the club soda bottle and twisting the cap tightly. It lasted until the next day like this. Scoop some vanilla (or whichever kind you like to use) ice cream into a glass. Slowly pour root beer over the ice cream...look at the size of that head! Pop in a straw, and go to town...beware of brain freeze! I also love the way little root beer ice crystals form around the edges of the ice cream and get that little crunch! I'm betting there is probably a way to do this a little more "naturally". Maybe sarsaparilla root or something like that? Has anybody ever made it from scratch-scratch? I would love to know how to do it! Doesn't this make you feel like eating a chili-cheese dog w/ fries, too? Must be the drive-in memories.