Unless you mix it with some harder stuff, there’s no booze to be found in a typical can, bottle, or mug of root beer. So why do we call it “root beer” instead of a seemingly more accurate alternative such as “root soda”? The answer is twofold — it has ties to how it was once prepared, and it relates more directly to a bit of 19th-century marketing.
First, let’s touch upon the “root” aspect of the drink’s name. Root beer’s distinct flavor is thanks to the root of the sassafras tree, which was once a key ingredient. However, the root was banned by the FDA in 1960 over fears it caused cancer. While that root has since been replaced by artificially flavored syrups, the name stuck.
As for the “beer” part of the name, some early root beers did have trace amounts of alcohol. This was because yeast was sometimes added to produce a foamy head, which was desirable in glasses of lager. The yeast fermented over time, leading to root beers having a very low alcohol content.
But the true popularity of the term “root beer” is owed to Philadelphia-based pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires. He’s regarded as an early pioneer of commercial root beer, though he considered naming it “root tea.” He switched the name to “root beer” in an effort to market it to Pennsylvania coal miners.
The Hires Root Beer Co. even held the rights to the “root beer” name until 1879, when Congress passed a now-repealed law declaring that no word in the dictionary could be registered as intellectual property. Based on the success of Hires’ operation, other drink manufacturers began marketing their beverages as root beer by the late 19th century.
More from our network
Word Smarts is part of Inbox Studio, which publishes content that uplifts, informs, and inspires.
