Has anyone successfully used an artificial sweetner as an adequate sugar substitute in making root beer.

I tried making a 2 liter of root beer using Sweet 'n Low instead of sugar and using the ratios suggested on the box. Big mistake. It the root beer tastes more like my coffee than anything else now.

So I'm wondering now how much artificial sweetner I should use for a batch of root beer. Anyone care to weigh in on this one?

I hope that you are not trying to carbonate with yeast. Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of yeast metabolizing sugar. Artificial sweetyeners won't work for this purpose. However, if you carbonate using a seltzer bottle or similar apparatus, there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to use artificial sweeteners.

The active ingredient in Sweet 'n Low is saccharine which is probably the worst tasting sweetener available.

Bear in mind that artificial sweeteners sold directly to consumers are usually adulterated with inactive fillers. Sometimes these fillers have undesirable effects. However, you can buy relatively pure aspartame in the form of tablets.

No, I have a force carbonation system, so the sweetner is purely for taste. However, it's my opinion that what Sweet 'n Low says is 1/4 cup Sugar replacement is definitely not true.

I may try aspartame for my next batch. I prefer Splenda, but the cost is a little prohibitive for me to try just yet.

I'll continue experimenting, but I was wondering if anyone has had some success with a good artificial sweetner equivalency.