Root beer
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 is not as widely popular as other soft drinks, such as cola, and constitutes only 3% of the U.S. soft drink market.[1]
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.[2]
Root beer flavor may contain a variety of flavors, coming from the wide range of ingredients. 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.[3] Acacia is also used.
There are hundreds of root beer brands in the United States, produced in every U.S. state,[4] 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, liquorice root, sarsaparilla root, nutmeg, anise, molasses, cinnamon and clove.
Homemade root beer is usually made from concentrate,[5] 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.
At least one brand of root beer, Barq's, also contains caffeine although they also produce a caffeine free variety which is sold in Utah.
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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
- Baumeister
- Bawls G33k B33r
- Berghoff
- Bickfords Sarsaparilla (Australia)
- Blumers
- Boylan Bottling Company
- Bundaberg Root Beer — Australian brand of brewed drinks
- Carter's
- Dad's Root Beer — Hedinger Brands, LLC
- Dog n Suds
- Faygo
- Fitz's
- Frostie Root Beer
- Frostop
- Frozen Run
- Goose Island
- Grandpa Graf's
- Hank's Root Beer
- Henry Weinhard
- Hires Root Beer — Cadbury-Schweppes
- IBC Root Beer — Cadbury-Schweppes
- Jones Soda Root Beer
- Lion Brewery Root Beer
- Mug Root Beer — PepsiCo
- Old Dominion Root Beer
- Old Town Root Beer[1]
- Point Root Beer
- Ripsaw Root Beer - Bottled in Alpena, MI - Made with Pure Cane Sugar
- Route 66 Route (Root) Beer, Route 66 Sodas, LLC
- Saranac
- Natural Brew Hand Crafted Draft Root Beer contains sweet birch, licorice root, sarsaparilla, cinnamon, clove, anise, wintergreen, and vanilla
- Saint Arnold Brewing Company - Texas regional brand, made with cane sugar[2]
- 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.
- Wild Bills
- Zuberfizz
See also
- Root beer float
- Birch beer
- Spruce beer
- Ginger beer
- Dandelion and burdock
- Beer
- Category:Root beer stands
References
- ^ Quarantiello, Laura E. The Root Beer Book. 96 pages. Limelight Books: 1997. ISBN 0-936653-78-7.
- ^ Root Beer
- ^ Sassafras - Food Facts - Food Reference
- ^ RootBeerWorld.com - Yellow Froth Pages
- ^ Root Beer
External links
- anthony's Root Beer barrel Reviews of 321 different brews
- Spike's Root Beer Ratings and Reviews Reviews, photos, and ingredient information on different brands
- Fizz Cup Root Beer Floats Made Easy
- 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 - RootBeer.net
- Eric's Gourmet Root Beer Site Reviews of gourmet root beers, those in glass bottles.
- Luke's Root Beer Pages
- Fankhauser's EASY recipe for homemade root beer