Home made root beer

In my family, no summer party (or eagle scout court of honor for that matter) is complete without home made root beer. No matter your feelings on root beer (personally, I'm not a fan of the canned and fountain stuff) you'll love the sugary sweetness of root beer brewed in your own backyard.

Here's what you'll need.
1 bottle root beer extract (Harmon's sells Hires brand...it's the best)
5 gallons of water (in a five gallon container with a spout)
5 pounds of sugar
10 pounds dry ice

Mix the sugar, the water, and the extract together. Break the dry ice up on the ground and start adding big chunks. When it starts to bubble over the lid - stop adding ice and let the stuff do it's thing. When the bubbles slow down, add another batch of dry ice. You'll end up using almost every smidge of the dry ice. If you're by a swimming pool, throw the left over ice into the pool, it will drive the kids crazy.

Continually sample your root beer concoction to make sure that it's brewing nicely.

And, if you have some left over, send it home with your party guests or make Popsicles. Home made root beer Popsicles and the best in the whole world.