Home made root beer doesn't taste right

I have been trying to make some home made root beer using Watkins root beer extract and it seems no matter how I make it it doesn't taste right at all, I'm starting to give up on making home made syrups. First i tried making it like it says on the back of the box, which their measurements seemed odd to me, especially for how much syrup is needed compared to seltzer. I mix it with water then force carbonate the whole thing, that didnt taste right, so I tried a recipie using a cup of brown sugar, cup of normal sugar, a cup of water, and 2 tablespoons of the extract, that didnt taste right wither. It seems no matter how i make it it simply taste like really sweet seltzer with an aftertaste of rootbeer, rather than just like rootbeer. I have heard of maltodextrine but have not tried it, would it help or is watkins just a terrible root beer extract? Please help this is very frustrating.

Sounds like you need to use more extract or try a different one.

yeah I am not sure, it just seems that Watkins isn't that great. Funny thing is when you buy it the box just says Root Beer extract, and when you open up the box and look at the bottle it actually says IMITATION Root Beer extract. Maybe I will try McCormick next time.

Try Zatarains root beer extract. Beats Warkins and McCormicks to smithareens if you are wanting to use commercial product. I grabbed my 4 oz bottles off eBay, free shipping and they were less than buying when I was in Louisiana.

thanks for the tip, I will check it out.

So I tried out the Zatarans concentrate and the flavor works better however it is a bit to strong with the licorice flavor for me
><

Keibatsu said:

So I tried out the Zatarans concentrate and the flavor works better however it is a bit to strong with the licorice flavor for me
><

Click to expand...

Then you might like the McCormicks. My family always liked that one.