What is Root Beer?

Root beer is a sweet, carbonated beverage with a unique flavor based on sassafras root, along with a blend of dozens of other spices, roots, and herbs. The original root beer ingredients¹ vary wildly depending on which drink you credit as the original root beer. The drink's roots go back as far as Native Americans brewing medicinal drinks with sassafras root long before Europeans settled on the continent, but the first marketed version usually is attributed to a pharmacist named Charles Hires,² who marketed it as a "Great Health Drink."

The version we know today isn't exactly a healthy option, but it is a favorite around North America, and has migrated around the world. Root beer often was combined with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to craft a root beer float or used to cool off in summer inside a big frosted mug. A&W root beer has grown into a chain of restaurants that still prides itself on draft root beer and root beer floats. Root beer is a distinct – and distinctly American – soda with a history as long as its ingredient list.

Why is it Called Root Beer?

"Root beer" has been used so frequently to describe this specific beverage that the name has almost lost its original connotations entirely. However, there was a time when root beer was named because it was made from roots and, under the right circumstances, became a beer. Hires' original root tea was made with sassafras (the root used in root drinks and the unifying flavor amongst all root beer) and many other natural herbs. So, in an original root beer recipe, you would have been downing powdered roots, bark, leaves, and all sorts of woodland goodness.

A brief history of small beers

The "beer" part of root beer was accurate once upon a time. Throughout most of human history, drinking water wasn't always safe; before modern sanitation, water frequently was home to parasites, viruses, bacteria, and other malicious pathogens. Civilizations solved this problem the same way we solve problems today: with alcohol. "Small beers," or beers with very low alcohol content, were much safer to drink, as alcohol made the beverage inhospitable for microorganisms that lead to human death.

Small beers were brewed with a wide variety of flavors, including birch bark beer, which was popular in colonial North America. The alcohol content in these small beers, also known as table beers, was low enough that even children were encouraged to drink them over water. Workers drank them with lunch before returning to lift heavy things and operate machinery. Root beer is thought to have evolved out of this small beer tradition, with the addition of sassafras or sarsaparilla root as a medicinal tonic.

What is Root Beer Made From?

Nowadays, root beer is made from the same stuff every other soda is made from: sugars, carbonated water, and natural flavorings, but Mr. Hires' original product often was sold as a concentrated syrup that could be reconstituted at home. Originally, Hires' formula was supposed to be a medicinal tea, but his customers preferred an actual root beer³ that resulted from allowing the beverage to ferment slightly. The sweetness of his sassafras-based tea, when left alone, would cause fermentation at a low level, producing a small beer that tasted great and was safe to drink.

When Hires began bottling his product, rather than selling the syrupy concentrate or powdered additives, he mixed molasses syrup with the powdered roots and added both to carbonated water, producing bottles of sweet, bubbly root beer in 1893. This is the first product that we might recognize next to our modern versions, but Hires was far from the only person making root beers.

How is Root Beer Made?

Root beer comes in a wide variety of brands, each of which have their own recipe for the frothy drink. A&W, Barqs, IBC, and Mug are among the most popular brands, but, like craft breweries, there are many craft root beer makers scattered across the country. Almost all use artificial sassafras flavoring because natural sassafras contains safrole, which has been identified by the FDA as a carcinogen. Carbonated water, sweetener, and artificial flavorings comprise most modern root beer ingredients.

Is Root Beer Caffeine Free?

Root beer is naturally caffeine free, but some companies add caffeine to theirs. Caffeine is added to many sodas, so some customers expect to get that little boost when drinking one. However, as people learn more about the negative effects caffeine can have on sleep, many opt for caffeine free beverages. Luckily, with root beer, you can choose caffeinated brands or caffeinate-free brands.

Of the most common brands, A&W, Mug, and Dad's are all caffeine-free root beers,⁴ while regular Barq's contains around 22 mg of caffeine in each can. Local root beer makers will have different approaches, so be sure you check the ingredients to see if the manufacturer has added any caffeine before you settle in.

Why Do We Like Root Beer?

Even though we've advanced beyond grinding off the root exterior of a sassafras tree, that flavor still brings us back. Numerous ingredients are used to complement the flavor for a sweet, spiced beverage that goes great a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day. Add a frosted glass mug and you've got a wonderful taste of summer afternoons, and of summer afternoons a hundred years ago.

Resources

1. The History of Root Beer. ManyThings.org. Accessed May 2020.
2. A History of Root Beer. ThoughtCo. Accessed May 2020.
3. How is Root Beer Made? Taste Cooking. Accessed May 2020.
4. Does Root Beer Have Caffeine? Healthline. Accessed May 2020.