Halloween is coming, which means creepy costumes, too much candy, pumpkin spice everything and wonderful parties. And what Halloween party would be complete without a big cauldron of bubbling brew? Here’s a recipe that I’ve been perfecting for witches brew root beer, guaranteed to be a hit. Make it in a cauldron or a punch bowl if you don’t have a cauldron. But seriously, if you’re going all the way, you really should get a cauldron. Nothing impresses your friends like a big ol’ cast iron cauldron bubbling with root beer, except for the flavor of this root beer.
Ingredients
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Directions
Add sugar, honey, vanilla, root beer concentrate, spices, and 4 cups of water in a pot and bring to a rolling boil while stirring.
Reduce heat and let the mixture boil on low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add to cauldron with the rest (28 cups) of the water.
Crush half the dry ice and add to the cauldron, stir the mixture until the dry ice is largely disolved, this adds the primary carbonation
Add second pound of dry ice as a single or several large blocks. This will bubble for the duration of the party and help maintain the carbonation level
WARNING Do not seal a lid on your root beer while dry ice is bubbling, it will explode, trust me…
IBC holds a very special place in my root beer reviewing life. It was probably the third that I ever tried, and could be found at the local Walmart in 6-packs of 12 oz bottles, 24-packs of 6 oz bottles, and single 32 oz bottles. My friends and I would snag the latter occasionally after bowling trips and buy the 24 packs for parties sometimes. It was also, during the great sadness in the summer of ’98, that taught me that all gourmet root beers are not created equal. At that time I was drinking several bottles of root beer a day to drown my sorrows. As IBC was much cheaper than the Henry’s I’d usually drink in such occasions, I started getting it as well to relieve the budget. Over the course of several weeks, I could clearly see that there was a difference between the two, and in this case you’d get what you paid for. 
I was trawling through Google Maps trying to find breweries in the greater Puget Sound area and I discovered that BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse not only had their own draft root beer, but a location in Redmond where I live. How’d I miss that? I’ve been gallivanting across the nation in search new brews and there was one right in my own backyard? In my defense, it only opened a few months before I discovered it so it’s not like I missed it for that long. It was only two weeks after the discovery that I got the whole family there for dinner on a Saturday night. The place was very, very crowded and busy. I hoped it was worth the wait. 
