Time for a second version to test out and see how it is.  This one is lighter on the roots and includes more herbs for flavors.

• 1 gallon water
• 1 tablespoon sarsaparilla root bark
• 1 tablespoon sassafras root bark
• 1 tablespoon birch bark
• 3 star anise pods
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger
• 1/2 tablespoon dried spearmint
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/8 teaspoon yeast

what to do:

1. Combine water, sassafras, sarsaparilla, birch, mint, star anise, ginger, and vanilla in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, and reduce to simmer for 10 minutes. The remove pot from heat, cover, and let steep for 2 hours.
2. Strain the root beer tea through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth into large pot. Add the brown sugar and molasses. Stir until mixture is integrated, then cover.
3. Let cool to 75°F, then stir in yeast and let it sit for 15 minutes. If you don’t let it cool you can kill the yeast when you add it to the root beer.  Fill up some cleaned and sterilized plastic bottles with mixture, leaving 2 inches of space at top. Screw on caps. Keep bottles at room temperature for 36 hours, then open a bottle slowly and carefully to see if it is carbonated (or squeeze to see how firm the bottle is).
4. Place bottles in the refrigerator for 2 days before drinking. This will allow the yeast to drop to the bottom of the bottle.

rating for this batch:

• Color: Nice dark color,  just a little lighter then commercial root beer
• Aroma: Smells great, not as rooty as batch one i tried
• Flavor: Delicious, I should have made a bigger batch
• Rating: This is the best so far.  5/5

This is going to be a keeper recipe.  Staci thought it was good and she only tried it while it was still warm and not carbonated.  Next will need to be a big batch, bottle them to carbonate, and then heat pasteurize so they don’t blow up on me. My 7 year old might even like this one.