root beer

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A glass of root beer with foam

Root beer is a carbonated beverage originally brewed using sassafras. 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. In spite of roots being used as the source of many soft drinks in many countries throughout the world (and even alcoholic beverages/beers), the name root beer is almost unused outside of the United States, Canada and the Philippines. Most other countries have their own indigenous versions of root-based beverages and small beers but with different names and branding.

December 4 is International Root Beer Day (IRBD). IRBD was first celebrated on December 4, 1995 in Venezuela with American root beer imported from Curaçao.

Ingredients

There are hundreds of root beer brands in the United States, produced in every U.S. state,^[1] 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, acacia, anise, molasses, cinnamon, clove and honey.

Homemade root beer is usually made from concentrate,^[2] 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.

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 does produce a caffeine-free variety sold in Utah and areas of rural Pennsylvania for the caffeine-averse Mormon and Amish communities.

Main ingredients

• Sassafras albidum - "Sassafras albidum" (roots)
• 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)
• 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
• Vanilla planifolia - Vanilla
• Trigonella foenum-graecum - Fenugreek
• Myroxylon balsamum - "Tolu Balsam"
• Abies balsamea - "Balsam Fir"
• Hordeum vulgare - "Barley" (Malted)
• Myristica fragrans - Nutmeg
• Juniperus communis - "Juniper" (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
• Honey

See also

References

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