Root Beer & Sarsaparilla Soda

Historians generally believe that pharmacists created root beer by accident. It is known that pharmacists were experimenting with a variety of roots, herbs, bark, and berries used in small beer recipes in order to make a brew to cure every sickness. The original Root Tea was made using sassafras oil from the roots of the Sassafras tree, which was later banned for its health concerns. Nowadays, modern root beers are made with the bark of the Birch Tree.

Charles Hires is credited with mass producing the first Root Tea, changing the name to Root Beer in 1876 to appeal to the working class. Originally, Root Beer was marketed as a “health beverage” with the slogan, “Join Health and Cheer, Drink Hires Root Beer!”

The original “root beer” was sold as a syrup for consumers to water down into a type of cordial. It was both sweet and bitter, probably not unlike cough syrup today, and obviously didn’t take off as a beverage you’d buy for anything other than potentially curing sickness.

 

Difference between Root Beer and Sarsaparilla 

  • Modern Root Beer contains herbal ingredients, such as wintergreen, cinnamon, and anise.
  • Modern Sarsaparilla comes from the roots of a small, deciduous woody vine that grows well in hot areas.