Everything about Root Beer totally explained
Root beer, also known as
sarsaparilla, is a carbonated
beverage originally created from
sassafras. Root beer, popularized in North America, comes in two forms:
alcoholic and
soft drink.
Ingredients
The soft drink version of root beer is generally made using extracts or flavored syrups diluted into
carbonated water. It isn't as widely popular as other soft drinks, such as
cola or
ginger ale, and constitutes only 3% of the U.S.
soft drink market.
The
alcoholic version is made by fermenting a solution of extract and sugar with yeast. Typically this will yield a beverage with about 0.4% alcohol, compared to more than 4% for most regular
beers.
Root beer extract may contain a variety of flavors. Bark from the roots of the
sassafras tree was the typical flavor in root beer historically, and is the primary flavor most individuals associate with the beverage. It is slightly red at times. Sassafras bark was banned by the
FDA in 1960 because of the
carcinogenic properties of its constituent chemical
safrole. A safrole-free variety is now used, with some claiming that it has a weaker flavor than the pre-1960 variety.
Acacia is also used.
There are hundreds of root beer brands in the
United States, produced in every
U.S. state, and there's no standardized recipe. The primary ingredient, sassafras, is complemented with other flavors, common ones being
vanilla,
wintergreen,
cherry tree bark,
liquorice root,
sarsaparilla root,
nutmeg,
anise,
molasses,
cinnamon and
clove.
Homemade root beer is usually made from concentrate, though it can also be made from actual herbs and roots. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic root beers have a thick and foamy head when poured, often enhanced through the addition of
yucca extract.
Traditional use
Root beer was a traditional beverage and herbal medicine. Throughout history, the beverage was often mildly alcoholic. As a medicine it was used for treating cough and mouth sores.
Commercial root beer was developed by
Charles Elmer Hires in 1866. Hires presented root tea powder at the 1876
Philadelphia Centennial exhibition, and in 1893 he began selling bottled, carbonated root beer. His choice of a name seemed unfortunate at the time, as the word "beer" drew the wrath of the
temperance movement. However, Hires had his product tested by a laboratory, and trumpeted their conclusion that root beer contained less alcohol than bread.
Hires's root beer became the "Temperance drink"—among other slogans.
There was an upsurge in the popularity of root beer in the United States during the period of
Prohibition as local breweries resorted to brewing non-alcoholic beverages. Root beer was at its most popular in the period during and after prohibition, and has since declined in popularity as the
soft drink market has been taken over by brands such as
Coca Cola,
Pepsi and
Dr Pepper. Today, root beer is often mixed with ice cream as a root beer float.
In Popular Culture
Root beer is the favorite beverage of the comic strip character
Dennis The Menace. Dennis is known to have a private stash of root beer, revealed in strips where he's ill with cold or influenza — diseases for which the treatment includes "lots of liquids" — much to the exasperation of his mother to whom liquids mean water (which Dennis can accept) and orange juice (which he hates).
Snoopy (the beagle of
Peanuts), in his persona as WW1 Flying Ace, is also known to enjoy root beer. In
The Secret of Monkey Island, root beer is used as a
ghost-vanquishing agent (and is said to go well with vanilla
ice cream) and, indeed, is the instrument of the demise of the game's main enemy.
Partial list of brands
- 1919
- A-Treat
- Abita - Louisiana regional brand, made with local cane sugar
- A&W Root Beer — Cadbury-Schweppes
- Barq's — Coca-Cola
- Barrelhead — Cadbury-Schweppes
- Bawls G33k B33r
- Berghoff
- Bickfords Sarsaparilla (Australia)
- Blumers
- Boylan Bottling Company
- Bundaberg Root Beer — Australian brand of brewed drinks
- Carter's
- Cruz Blanca Root Beer (Costa Rica)
- Dad's Root Beer — Hedinger Brands, LLC
- Dog n Suds
- Dr. Fitz's
- Fanta
- Faygo
- Frostie Root Beer
- Frostop
- Frozen Run
- Goose Island
- Grandpa Graf's
- Hank's Root Beer
- Henry Weinhard
- Hires Root Beer
- IBC Root Beer — Cadbury-Schweppes
- Jones Soda Root Beer
- Mug Root Beer — PepsiCo
- Point Premium Root Beer
- Ripsaw Root Beer - Michigan regional brand, made with cane sugar. Bottled by The Fletcher Street Brewing Company in Alpena, MI.
- Natural Brew Hand Crafted Draft Root Beer contains sweet birch, licorice root, sarsaparilla, cinnamon, clove, anise, wintergreen, and vanilla
- Old Dominion Root Beer
- Saint Arnold Brewing Company - Texas regional brand, made with cane sugar(External Link
)
- Sarsi — Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc.
- Shasta
- Sioux City Sarsaparilla
- Snapple
- Sprecher Root Beer
- Stewart's Fountain Classics — Cadbury-Schweppes (Winner, 2006 World Cup of Root Beer)
- Jackson Hole Brewing Company
- Thomas Kemper
- Tommyknockers
- Triple XXX
- Vess
- Virgil's Root Beer — Reed's, Inc.
- Zuberfizz
Further Information
Get more info on 'Root Beer'.
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