The Story Behind the Ever Popular Root Beer
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The root beer that we know now happens to be the very first soda drink ever introduced in America. It was during the 1800s or what we know as the Colonial times that the first root beer was born, at that time the root beer was more popularly known as small beer. Small beer was aptly named because this beverage contained only a very small amount of alcohol or maybe even none, it's mainly made of roots, barks and herbs.
Root Beer's Debut Into Commercial Production
Unfortunately, the details of how this all-American drink came to be got lost in history. However some people were able to pass on a few stories about how a Philadelphia pharmacist named Charles Hires created the first commercially produced root beer. One of the stories mentioned that this new brew of more than two dozens of roots, berries and herbs was born on Charles' honeymoon night, probably being inspired from all the excitement of a new love.
After the new couple returned to their Philadelphia home Charles started selling this new tea-like root beer in his pharmaceutical shop. Not long after that he also began to work on a different kind of root beer, he had decided to add carbonated soda water to make a ready to drink version of his invention.
The people that Mr. Hires gave his drink to loved the taste so much that he decided to introduce it commercially at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, where it was very well received. Finally in 1893 the Hires Family sold and distributed the first bottled root beer.
Whats In Root Beer?
If you think that there's a secret formula somewhere on how to make root beer, you are wrong. Each brewer of the now modernized root beer has their own special brew but most rely on the same basic ingredients that have been passed on over the years. They have their own measurement for the each of the following; sarsaparilla, wintergreen, ginger root, birch bark, burdock root, allspice, pipsissewa, dandelion root, spikenard, wild cherry bark, and spice wood. They also use different sweeteners the most common ones are molasses, honey and of course sugar.
Another thing that has started recently is the availability of locally brewed root beer. A few areas around the country now manufacture small batch root beers which are in the likeness of the original brew of the 1800s. These small batch root beers are brewed using the original ingredients used by Charles Hires even using honey or sugar instead of artificial sweeteners to capture the original root beer taste, and this is all possible with the use of micro-breweries.
Root beer has become so popular that you see them almost everywhere being enjoyed by people of all ages. More and more brands of this popular drink are now available in virtually any grocery store. Its quite a pleasant surprise to know it has a rich historical background that can be a source of pride for all Americans.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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