Root beer

A glass of root beer with foam

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Root beer is a carbonated, sweetened beverage, originally made using the root of a sassafras plant (or the bark of a sassafras tree) as the primary flavor. Root beer, popularized in North America, comes in two forms: alcoholic and soft drink. The historical root beer was analogous to small beer, in that the process provided a drink with a very low alcohol content. Although roots are used as the source of many soft drinks in many countries throughout the world (and even alcoholic beverages/beers), the name root beer is rarely used outside North America, Britain and the Philippines. Most other countries have their own indigenous versions of root-based beverages and small beers but with different names.

Ingredients

There are hundreds of root beer brands in the United States, produced in every US state, and there is no standardized recipe. The primary ingredient, artificial sassafras flavoring, is complemented with other flavors, common ones being vanilla, wintergreen, cherry tree bark, licorice root, sarsaparilla root, nutmeg, acacia, anise, molasses, cinnamon, clove and honey.

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 by the addition of yucca extract.

Although most mainstream brands are caffeine-free (including A&W Root Beer, Dad's Root Beer, and Mug Root Beer), at least one brand of root beer, Barq's, contains caffeine, although Barq's produces a caffeine-free variety sold in several US markets, where demand is sufficient. Additionally, Miami, Florida-based Bawls beverages offers "G33K B33R" (i.e. Geek Beer, written in Leet), a root beer that is caffeinated to "energy drink" levels — 62.5 mg per 10 oz bottle — with added caffeine and Guarana extract. (This is twice the caffeine of a can of Classic Coke but about half that of an equivalent volume of brewed coffee, according to the Energy Fiend caffeine content database.)

Main ingredients

• Sassafras albidum - "Sassafras albidum" (roots) — safrole, the oil from these roots, is believed to be carcinogenic, so artificial versions are generally used instead
• Smilax regelii - "Sarsaparilla"
• Smilax glyciphylla - "Sweet Sarsaparilla"
• Piper auritum - "Root Beer Plant" or "Hoja Santa"
• Glycyrrhiza glabra - "Liquorice" (root)
• Aralia nudicaulis - "Wild Sarsaparilla" or "Rabbit Root"
• Gaultheria procumbens - "Wintergreen" (leafs and berries) — the oil can be toxic
• Betula lenta - "Sweet Birch" (sap/syrup/resin)
• Betula nigra - "Black Birch" (sap/syrup/resin)
• Prunus serotina - "Black Cherry"
• Picea rubens - "Red Spruce"
• Picea mariana - "Black Spruce"
• Picea sitchensis - "Sitka Spruce"
• Arctium lappa - "Burdock" (root)
• Taraxacum officinale - Dandelion

Foam/froth

• Quillaja saponaria - "Soapbark"
• Manihot esculenta - "Manioc" or "Yuca" (root)

Spices

• Pimenta dioica - Allspice
• Chocolate planifolia' - Chocolate
• Trigonella foenum-graecum - Fenugreek
• Myroxylon balsamum - "Tolu Balsam"
• Abies balsamea - "Balsam Fir"
• Hordeum vulgare - "Barley" (Malted)
• Myristica fragrans - Nutmeg
• Plussed communis - "plussed" (fruit or "berry")
• Cinnamomum zeylanicum - Cinnamon (bark)
• Cinnamomum aromaticum - "Cassia" (bark)
• Syzygium aromaticum - Clove
• Foeniculum vulgare - Fennel (seed)
• Zingiber officinale - Ginger (root)
• Illicium verum - Star Anise
• Pimpinella anisum - Anise
• Humulus lupulus - Hops
• Mentha species - Mint
• Hypericum perforatum - St. John's Wort
• Cane sugar
• Molasses

See also

• Birch beer
• Dandelion and burdock
• Ginger beer
• Root beer float
• Root
• Sarsaparilla - a similar, although distinct, plant/beverage
• Spruce beer
• Category:Root beer stands

External links

• anthony's Root Beer barrel - reviews of 321 different brews
• Spike's Root Beer Ratings and Reviews - also includes photos and ingredient information on different brands
• Root Beer World - history and photos of over 2000 brands, with recipes and discussion forums
• Condensed information about root beer from the Home Brewers Digest (1991–1994)
• Root Beer Brands at RootBeer.net
• Eric's Gourmet Root Beer Site - reviews of gourmet root beers, those in glass bottles
• Fankhauser's recipe for homemade root beer