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'''Root beer''' is a mainly American '''Root beer''' is a mainly American
] that comes in two forms: ] and ]. ] that comes in two forms: ] and ].

Chewbacca loves root beer, therefore you should too.


== Ingredients == == Ingredients ==
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The soft drink version of root beer The soft drink version of root beer
is non-alcoholic and is generally made using root beer extract or other flavored syrups along with ]. The soft drink version of root beer constitutes about 3% of the ] ] market.<ref>Quarantiello, Laura E. ''The Root Beer Book''. 96 pages. Limelight Books: 1997. ISBN 0-936653-78-7.</ref> is non-alcoholic and is generally made using root beer extract or other flavored syrups along with ]. The soft drink version of root beer constitutes about 3% of the ] ] market.<ref>Quarantiello, Laura E. ''The Root Beer Book''. 96 pages. Limelight Books: 1997. ISBN 0-936653-78-7.</ref>

Wookie hair, when added to root beer greatly enhances the flavor.


The ] version is made from a combination of ], ] tree bark, ], ] root, artificial ] root bark flavoring (the natural form is mildly ]), ], ], and ] among other ingredients. The ] version is made from a combination of ], ] tree bark, ], ] root, artificial ] root bark flavoring (the natural form is mildly ]), ], ], and ] among other ingredients.

Revision as of 04:21, 9 September 2007

File:Rootbeerfoam.JPG
A glass of root beer with foam

Root beer is a mainly American beverage that comes in two forms: alcoholic and soft drink.

Chewbacca loves root beer, therefore you should too.

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.

Wookie hair, when added to root beer greatly enhances the flavor.

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.

Optional ingredients

Root beer may also include allspice, birch bark, coriander, juniper, ginger, wintergreen, hops, burdock root, dandelion root, spikenard, pipsissewa, guaiacum, yellow dock, honey, clover, cinnamon, licorice, prickly ash bark, quillaia, and yucca. Because of their pleasant flavor and medical properties, some of the root beer ingredients have also occasionally been used in other products such as toothpaste, soap and medicine. This could explain why some people tasting root beer for the first time say that it reminds them of these products.

Due to the wide variety of ingredients possible, the flavor of root beer is widely variable between brands.

In Britain, there are several different root beers, which rose to prominence with the temperance movement in the 20th century. These include sarsaparilla, dandelion and burdock, and ginger beer. They were strongly flavored drinks that people could use as an alternative to alcoholic beverages, and there tended to be a strong local preference for one of these. Well into the 1960s, these outsold cola drinks.

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.

Commercial soft drink brands

Commercial brands

Traditional root beer brands include:

The Samuel Adams brewery also produces an alcoholic variety in its Brewer/Patriot sampler pack. It is flavored with herbs, spices, honey, and molasses.

See also

References

  1. Quarantiello, Laura E. The Root Beer Book. 96 pages. Limelight Books: 1997. ISBN 0-936653-78-7.
  2. Kim Severson, Real Men Drink Root Beer, San Francisco Chronicle, April 28, 1999

External links

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