Let's Make Our Own Root Beer!

Hi everyone! 

I know. It's been a minute. Between planning for the end of the year prep work and some personal trips, I've been scrambling to keep up. 

Things are moving along quickly, and I'm wrapping up my Chemistry curriculum. We just finished our Organic Chemistry Unit, and I always struggle to find a fun, school-approved lab (because making drugs and alcohol in school is frowned upon). But what I CAN make that meets my organic chem requirement is Root Beer. 

I've tried making root beer in the past, and either didn't have the ratios right, or the conditions were off, and it failed, to the disappointment of the students and me. This year, I tried another method. I broke down and bought the Mr. Root Beer Kit off of Amazon, and was actually surprised at how well it worked out. The kit provides bottles, flavoring, syrup, and yeast, you have to provide the sugar, water, bowls, and measuring tools. 

We followed the steps included in the kit and discussed each component of the step and how it connects to the fermentation reaction we had analyzed in the previous lesson. The students were able to connect the kit to the equation they analyzed, and then ask questions. They were also able to construct predictions about what would happen over the course of 1-3 days, which is the length of time it takes for root beer to ferment. 

We began the lab on a Thursday, and students were able to make their initial observations on day 0, day 1 (that Friday), and then when we returned to the classroom on Monday. I put the root beer in the fridge before leaving work on Friday, in fear that it might be TOO long to sit in my warm classroom over the weekend. 

We tried the root beer on Monday, and all agreed that it was time to check as the bottles were firm with carbonation production, and the lid contraption they have showed there was definitely carbonation production. The results were shockingly good, and the kids were able to reflect and witness the process of fermentation in a real-world example. 

So, if you're looking for an easy, kid-friendly experiment, I suggest trying this as a hands-on, fun, drinkable lab/ activity!