Customer Reviews

Homemade Root Beer, Soda & Pop

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed reading this book, not too complicated it just gets down to business without a lot of technical detail. It seemed to cover just about all of the details a first time brewer would need to brew up some very interesting drinks. One reviewer says it doesn't tell you where to get supplies, true but the book does give some idea and addresses can change with time anyway. Most of the ingredients and implements needed you'll find that you already have or can easily obtain at any time. My only complaint concerns the carbonation process, the author says when it is right refrigerate the drink, he is vague about what that point in the process is. I think I found it with careful reading.

I got this book as a gift from a friend who knows how much I love pop. Let me tell you- this is a gift that keeps giving! I have tried all the recipes and it is EASY to make delicious fizzy drinks that taste better than most commercial versions and cost less in the long run.

I especially love the birch beer, and so does everyone who has tasted the batch I made. I also like the molasses switchel and the fruit smoothie an awful lot.

Now that I know the basics, I have modified several recipes to make them sweeter or fizzier or fruitier, according to taste. I have also been bold enough to make my own celery tonic and, believe it or not, a very invigorating tabasco pop.

Get the book, bring over your buddies, and have a pop party!

Haven't had a chance to try the recipes in the book yet, but there's much more here. Little tidbits of interesting soda pop info I've never seen in other books, like: Whats the difference between root beer and sarsaparilla? Or: Does cream soda really have cream in it? Fascinating stuff for anyone interested in how everyday things like soda pop evolved to become the things we take for granted today.

This was a really great book, with neat information about the history and recipes of root beer. It provides good information for brewing your own root beer in easy-to-understand language. It is entertaining and great for the beginner or advanced root beer lover.

Cresswell helps the reader brew up healthy and flavorful beverages from such ingredients as cherry juice, ginger root, and grated apples. Root beer, sasaparilla, they're all here. Really fun to read, humorous at times, and lots of great drawings. Recommended for families looking for fun projects, for homebrewers who want to add to their repertoire, and those who like soft drinks but would like healthier alternatives.

This book is full of information about the history of soda and root beer. It is also full of fun recipes that are easy to make. There are resources with places you can buy any ingredients you can't easily find. The pictures only add to the text and are very pretty.

It is well worth the money if you enjoy doing fun things with your family or like experimenting in the kitchen.
Enjoy.

I homebrew beer and wine, so perhaps I'm not the target reader for this book, but I found Cresswell's book to be very light on specifics - especially in regards to flavors. I was particularly frustrated encountering such lines as, "This is one of many ingredients on my list to try," (yarrow leaves, page 91). Really? And you're the author of the only currently-published book on making soda? Shouldn't you familiarize yourself with a particular ingredient before you suggest its use?

There is interesting historical information in this book, and some recipes that look like they will be tasty, but as other reviewers have mentioned, many of these recipes are useful only for those east of the Appalachian mountains, because many of the necessary roots and herbs are not available fresh in the Western USA. This is a disappointing oversight on the part of the publisher, who should've pressed the author to do a bit of research to make this a more useful volume.

This is an awesome book. It takes some work to get all the ingredients but that is what the internet is for isn't it? So far I have made six of the recipes with my 11 year old niece. They all have turned out very well.

I bought this bok knowing very little about soda making, but I had some experience with brewing beer and wine. This book was very informative for a beginner. explained the whole process and gave some great recipes. its written in very easy to understand language. The only complaint I have about the book is that I wish it would have had a better section on where to get supplies. Finding all the various roots and extracts you need for the recipes in the book will probably require most people quite alot of time on google.

Of course that's not saying much. I have failed to grow up in a great many ways. I can tell you however that this book is short, but filled with well documented and basic recipies. If you are curious about making your own homemade soda, then you need this book. It is the "primer". You can digest the whole book in a sitting and proceed to customizing the recipie's with confidence. I keep it close at hand these days, because the fun activity with my boys and me, this summer, will be experimenting in the kitchen with this great, simple, and historicly signifigant project.

Buy this book, and have a "ball". We did.