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Homemade root beer is usually made from concentrate,<ref name="Root Beer">[http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/ROOTBEER_Jn0.htm Root Beer<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> 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.
Homemade root beer is usually made from concentrate,<ref name="Root Beer">[http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/ROOTBEER_Jn0.htm Root Beer<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> 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.


==Partial list of brands==
==Partial list of brands==

Revision as of 19:43, 3 March 2009

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 analagous to small beer, in that the process provided a beverage with a very low alcohol content.

Ingredients

File:Barqsrootbeer.JPG
A can of Barq's root beer.

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]

Commercially, root beer is produced by pumping carbon dioxide into a sweetened extract of a variety of roots. Traditionally, (and today at home) root beer was bottle-fermented by adding a small amount of yeast to the sweetened extract and sealing the bottle. Bottle fermentation produces the required carbon dioxide, and at the same time, makes a small amount of alcohol (0.4%)[2]. Note that 0.4% is less that 1/10th the amount of alcohol in malt beer.

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 1976 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.


Partial list of brands

IRBD

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

See also

References

  1. ^ Quarantiello, Laura E. The Root Beer Book. 96 pages. Limelight Books: 1997. ISBN 0-936653-78-7.
  2. ^ Root Beer
  3. ^ Sassafras - Food Facts - Food Reference
  4. ^ RootBeerWorld.com - Yellow Froth Pages
  5. ^ Root Beer
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