Ingredients
The soft drink version of root beer is non-alcoholic and is generally made using root beer extract or other flavored syrups along with
carbonated water. The soft drink version of root beer constitutes about 3% of the
American soft drink market.
[Quarantiello, Laura E. ''The Root Beer Book''. 96 pages. Limelight Books: 1997. ISBN 0-936653-78-7.]
The
alcoholic version is made from a combination of
vanilla,
cherry tree bark,
licorice root,
sarsaparilla root, artificial
sassafras root bark flavoring (the natural form is mildly
carcinogenic),
nutmeg,
anise, and
molasses among other ingredients.
Many local brands of root beer exist, and homemade root beer is made from concentrate or (rarely) from actual roots. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic root beers have a thick and foamy head when poured.
Traditional use
Root beer is a traditional beverage and herbal medicine. Throughout history, the beverage was often alcoholic, usually around 2%. As a medicine it was used for treating cough and mouth sores. Commercially prepared root beer was developed by
Charles Elmer Hires on
May 16,
1866. He presented root tea powder at the 1876
Philadelphia Centennial exhibition. In 1893 he began selling bottled carbonated root beer. There was an upsurgence in the popularity of root beer in the United States during the period of
prohibition in the early 20th century as local breweries resorted to brewing non-alcoholic root beer since alcoholic beverages were outlawed.
[Kim Severson, Real Men Drink Root Beer , San Francisco Chronicle, April 28, 1999]