Real Root Beer - Anyone Done It?

I have a few questions about this one if there is any help available please feel free.
Here's the Recipe:

Real Root Beer

5 gallons, partial mash

Ingredients:

2 lbs. crushed mild ale malt
1 lb. dark crystal malt, 120° Lovibond
0.25 lb. black malt
0.25 lb. chocolate malt
3 lbs. unhopped dark dry malt extract
0.5 lb. dark unsulphured molasses
4 oz. maltodextrin powder
1 oz. Cluster hop pellets (7% alpha acid), for 60 min.
0.5 oz. sassafras bark
0.5 oz. sarsaparilla bark
1 oz. dried wintergreen leaves
0.5 oz. shredded licorice root
pinch sweet gale (optional)
pinch star anise (optional)
pinch mace (optional)
pinch coriander (optional)
dash black cherry juice (optional)
10 to 14 g. dry ale yeast
2 oz. lactose powder
7/8 cup corn sugar
0.5 cup spice tea (pinch wintergreen, sarsaparilla, licorice root)
corn sugar for priming
Step by Step:

In 1 gal. water mash crystal, black, chocolate, and mild ale malts at 155° F for 60 minutes. Sparge with 1.5 gals. at 170° F. Add 1 gal. water to kettle and bring to a boil. Add dark dry malt, maltodextrin, and molasses. Stir well to avoid scorching. Add Cluster hops and boil 60 minutes. At kettle knockout steep your spice combination (in a mesh bag) as wort cools. Pour into fermenter and top up to 5.25 gals. Cool to 75° F and pitch ale yeast. Ferment seven to 10 days at about 70° F, rack to secondary, and condition at 60° F for two weeks. Prime with corn sugar, add strained spice tea (1/2 cup boiling water over spices for at least a half hour), and bottle. Age two to three weeks cool (55° F).

I avoided the all the optional ingredients but the star anise and doubled the sassafras bark to avoid sarsaparilla bark.  Still looking for wintergreen leaves (can't find those things anywhere but online or in liquid form and I don't wan't that) and have lactose powder on order.  I have two fat sticks of licorice root weighing like 1.5 oz and a 15 oz bottle of molasses.  The recipe calls for a half pound of molasses but I think I'm gonna put all 15oz in there hoping for a higher alcohol content.

Here are my questions:
When do I add the lactose powder?
How do I shred the licorice root appropriately?
Can I use a big ass tea bag for the spices and just dump out what's in there and fill and re-seal?
Also the sparging thing is a little unclear to me.  I have one 4.5 gallon cooking pot so how do I pull that off?

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks and Cheers!
-Eric

Sorry,
I converted it to all grain.
It was good though.
I didn't use the sugar.

Kevin