Make your own · Birch beer
Brew it like Premium Philadelphia Recipe Birch Beer
A starting-point batch to brew something in the spirit of Premium Philadelphia Recipe Birch Beer — steered toward its own profile. Treat the amounts as a base and adjust to taste.
Makes about 1 gallon (roughly 10 servings).
Ingredients
- 1 gallon cold water
- 2–3 Tbsp birch beer extract
- about 1.75 cups sugar, to taste
- 1/4 tsp champagne or ale yeast (to bottle-condition) — or skip and force-carbonate
Steps
- Heat about half the water; dissolve the sugar, then stir in the extract or aromatics and any tuning additions below.
- Steep off the heat to taste, then strain out any solids.
- Top up to one gallon with cold water and cool to room temperature.
- To carbonate: bottle with a pinch of yeast and ~1/4 tsp sugar per bottle, cap, and leave at room temp 2–4 days until fizzy — then refrigerate (open carefully). Or force-carbonate and skip the yeast.
- Chill well and serve over ice.
To taste like Premium Philadelphia Recipe Birch Beer
- Stir in 1 tsp pure vanilla extract — and a splash of cream just before serving — for the creamy note.
- Simmer a cinnamon stick and a few cloves with the base, then strain.
- A single drop of wintergreen oil sharpens the birch edge — go very easy, it’s potent.
- Steep a little sassafras-free bark blend for the woody, lightly bitter backbone.
What you’ll need
Supplies from our store, matched to this recipe.
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