Root Beer
By: Anonymous

About

Root beer comes from a variety of herbs, roots, and spices. Historically, though, root beer used the root of the sassafras plant as the main flavoring. By the 1960s, natural sassafras was found mildly carcinogenic, and thus, artificial sassafras makes up for the bulk of root beer brands produced today.  There is no standardized formula for root beer. Different brands of root beer taste differently -- among the common flavorings used today are vanilla, wintergreen, cherry tree bark, liquorice root, sarsaparilla root, nutmeg, anise, molasses, cinnamon, and clove.

Information
Translations: ルートビア, الجذر البيرة, Koreňové pivo, Root Bere, 루트 비어, Kořenové pivo, Una bibita dolce, בירה שחורה, Роот пиво, रूट बियर, Cerveza no alcohólica, Пиво кореня, 根啤酒, Пиво корня, Cervesa no alcohòlica, Корен Бира


Physical Description
usually a brown liquid but some types are reddish fromaddn of berry or cherry juice to inhance home made flavors...


Tasting Notes
Flavors: from sweet to dry/with a tang or minute bitter .
Mouthfeel: Some coat tongue, Others are like a dry wine with a tang
Food complements: Hot dogs, Laced with dark rum, Peanuts, Buffalo hamburger and steakss
Wine complements: No  way
Beverage complements: Milk, Milkshake
Substitutes: Sarsaparilla.anis.


Selecting and Buying
Choosing: sample all available let the taste dictate your choice
Buying: root beer is usually a regional brew, try some of the local and national brands, but donot sell homemade which you experiment with short,  it is a great family project and with experiment can be a source of family pride....


Social/Political

History: a traveling druggist in Pennsylvania  stopped over night at a Pennsylvania Dutch farmhouse ( this was how one traveled in the 1800's) and was served a most delicious tea from the women's personal receipe.  he was so enamoured at the flavor he bought the formula from her and made a fermented drink out of the receipe. and called it root beer as a possible selling point to get men who worked in the coal mines to buy his product.. His name was Hires,,,,,he started selling his root beer in 1876 making this an american invented drink