Hey everybody I am new to the hobby of home brewing my own root beer. I am very eager to develop a recipe that is more palatable than those i have tried thus far. I have tried some out of the books that are available on Amazon "Homemade Soda" etc. and I continue to run into the same issues. My brews tend to come out on the earthy side which is ok , but my biggest two issues are 1) my brews seem to come out bitter, and 2) they are very linear in taste. So i am here in an attempt to reach out and collect some advice from the experts here in the forums. Does anyone have a good recipe that delivers a nice brew that is made from scratch? (without the use of oils) Something a bit more complex than a sassafras, birch, and lemon zest recipe? is there a way to avoid a bitter finish on the brew? thanks for your help in advance fellows...

1. What makes you think that root beer made directly from herbs isn't supposed to be bitter?

2. What do you suppose are the reasons that other people use essential oils and flavor compounds to make root beer?

3. What does "linear in taste" mean?

How about making a batch from extract.

Roger