Doug's Homemade Root Beer

We have a fun Halloween tradition (thanks to my family) of enjoying some good old fashioned homemade root beer, Chili, and doughnuts together. I usually put Doug in charge of the root beer, and this year is was amazing!!! Sometimes it can be tough to find the root beer concentrate (I found at Winco) and dry ice (I had to go to two stores and most of the people I talked to didn't know you could actually make it at home.) Hope you enjoy this spooky goodness- the dry ice is half the fun! My girls were completely captivated! (Also- we had a ton left over, which isn't exactly a bad, except for our "beer" belly's :) but we thought next time we would half or quarter the recipe- three gallons is a lot! :)

Doug's Homemade Root Beer
6-8 cups white sugar (taste it- it's a good excuse!)
3 1/3 gallons cold water
1 (2 ounce) bottle root beer extract
4 pounds dry ice (the more you get the more fizz to try more)

In a large cooler, mix together the sugar and water, stirring to dissolve sugar completely. Stir in the root beer extract. Carefully place the dry ice into the cooler, and cover loosely with the lid. Do not secure the lid, as pressure may build up.
Let the mixture brew for about an hour before serving. Leftover root beer can be stored in one gallon milk jugs.