I've brewed a batch with my kids from a simple extract kit that has you add sugar. It was fair to bad... I need to work on it. I'm not sure what percentage you can count on, alcohol wise, but just knowing there is yeast and sugar involved it has to have some. The key is to allow the yeast to eat just enough sugar to carbonate the drink. As soon as it has, refridgerate the stuff to dormant the yeast. I don't know much but hope that helps.
Root beer will have a small percentage of alcohol if you use yeast to carbonate it with.
So if that is a concern you have two options.
1.) Bottle your root beer into 2litter bottles and use a carbonater/home made carbonation cap to carbonate them.
2.) Keg it.
Step #1 is normally the cheapest and for the most part pretty easy if you purchase the carbonater caps. But I would build them rather than purchase them.
Step #2 is the easiest. I fill the keg with water, carbonate it and then add the sugar and root beer extract. Shake the hell out of it and you are good to go.
As far as what extract is good, I've only used Gnome (for both my root beer and my cream soda) and have been very, very happy with it!
There will be some minute alcohol, but if it's done right, it won't be noticeable. I made some birch beer with the kids and ended up with exploding bottles, and looking back at it, probably a fair amount of alcohol. I liked it. Well, the flavor was ok, but it was fun.
Doing it again, I'd do it differently. For one, I now have a co2 system, so I can keg it. Second, I'd probably try Gnome kits. The one I used wasn't as good as I expected, and the cream soda we made was pretty bitter too.
Just remember to keep it cold and you won't have to worry about alcohol.
Second question, what is the legal limit for open bottle alcohol content in my jurisdiction XD I'm sure it'll take gallons of this stuff to hit the alcohol present in one beer, the cops might not care or might not know though if I'm driving down the street with a soda bottle.
Also I got some rootbeer from the market today and it tasted kind of like bread. o.o;
Open container? I doubt the soda would be tested unless you BAL was over the limit & you tried to use "It's just root beer." as a defense.
I make a keg of birch beer occasionally. I rarely see it for sale.
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Root beer?
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