Bad recipe HELP

[Bobbop89]

2 cups of molasses
1 gallon of water
1 oz wintergreen leaves
2 oz sassafras root bark
2 tablespoons powder yeast

Heat water and molasses to boiling.* Let cool to body temperature (around 100 degrees).* Add herbs and sprinkle yeast over the top of the must.* Let ferment from 12 to 24 hours at room temperature.* Strain, then bottle and refrigerate.


This is a recipe I found online I wanted to try it because I recently found and picked quite a few teaberry leaves (wintergreen) and I couldn't find sassafrass to harvest so I chose 2 oz of sugar birch bark and the mollasses seems extreme could you cut it in half and substitute the other half for sugar. And I dont like how the recipe is worded I want to bottle and ferment not ferment openly. Please help and refine these directions please I'm only a rookie when it comes to this. It just sounds wrong to me.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

You could substitute sugar for molasses without much trouble and there is no problem with bottling before any fermentation takes place. I'm wondering if whoever made this recipe felt like the beginning of fermentation allowed more flavor to be extracted from the herbs. I don't know if that's accurate for such a short fermentation, but whatever.

I'd bring the water to a boil, add the herbs and let them soak for a while, then strain and add the molasses and yeast last and then bottle.

 

[Bobbop89]

I just finished it and that's what I did it is very sweet and smells like Barqs root beer its almost at 98 degrees now so ill be adding the yeast soon.