The Difference Between Birch Beer and Root Beer

If you’ve never had birch beer, you must check it out. You’re in for a real treat. If you’ve never even heard of birch beer, or maybe you’re just hearing about it first time, you may have heard that it’s similar to root beer. And in some ways it is. Although birch beer lovers will probably argue vehemently that it’s not the same.

So what is the difference between birch beer and root beer?

Let’s find out.

What Is Birch Beer?

Yes. People not familiar with birch beer are very quick to compare it to root beer.

After all, birch beer is most often found as a carbonated soft drink made from herbs, birch sap, and birch bark.

Because birch trees come in a variety of colors, birch beer can also be darker or lighter, typically found in colors ranging from red, brown, and clear, to blue. Clear birch beer is also called white birch beer because it comes from the bark of the white birch tree.

Birch beer is best known in Pennsylvania, and the surrounding areas, and can also be found in an alcoholic version that is made by fermenting the sap of birch trees.

History of Birch Beer

The birch tree is a hardwood tree that is deciduous, and it is closely related to the beach oak. Native to the northern hemisphere, specifically in the north the birch tree is most known for its bark. Birch bark is strong and water resistant, yet easy to work with.

As such, birchbark has been used as building, crafting, and even writing supply since prehistoric times. Even today it is a popular wood used for crafts and art.

For just as long, birchbark has been used for medicinal purposes, as well as for preservation. People have kept their food in bark containers.

Indigenous people have been using birch bark and sap medicinally for hundreds if not thousands of years.

It is no surprise then that in the 1600s American colonists began to brew it in their own homes, taking notes from their native brethren, and fermenting it as an inexpensive, alcoholic alternative to going out and buying imported alcohol.

Of course, that tradition evolved into a non-alcoholic version once prohibition was passed in the United States.

Today, you can still find a wide variety of birch beer sold by dozens of different brands across the north eastern United States, including the alcoholic variety. You can even find a diet version sold by the Pennsylvania Dutch Company, and other brands that sell it with flavors added. Kids in the region like to enjoy birch beer floats, with birch beer poured over vanilla ice cream and eaten with a spoon.

What Is Root Beer?

Root beer, of course, has a very similar story.

It is a carbonated beverage made using the bark of the sassafras tree with herbs and other flavorings added.

Also offered as an alcoholic option, though it typically only comes in the single distinct flavor.

History of Root Beer

The history of root beer also traces itself back to indigenous times.

The sassafras tree is also native to North America, particularly in the north eastern region. It is a tree, but it is short and almost looks like a bush, with bright brilliant displays of autumn, colors and aromatic smells.

Also read: What is root beer made from? A history of health and havoc

For hundreds of years, then, native Americans used the leaves, and the bark of the sassafras trees to make teas and poultices. The root bark would be chipped and crushed and steeped in boiling water and drunk to reduce fevers, soothe chronic rheumatism, relieve gout, relieve eye inflammation, and ease menstrual pain. It was also used to assist with scurvy issues and various skin conditions as well as acting as a disinfectant for dental surgery.

Sassafras has often been used in Creole cooking as well. The leaves would be dried and powdered and used to thicken and flavor soups. The dried root bark would be steeped to a tea and served with milk and sugar.

Of course, American colonists began brewing root beer, which they learned about from the Native Americans, as alcoholic beverages, fermenting sassafras roots to make beer.

And the name stuck.

In the 1870s, a Philadelphia pharmacist named Charles E. Hires co-opted a local root beer recipe he enjoyed and began to offer it as a powder to sell as a base for a non-alcoholic drink. Hires was a quaker opposed to alcohol drinking of all types. As a time the United States was rife with debate over prohibition, root beer took off as a commercial product throughout the country.

Differences and Similarities

The similarities between birch beer and root beer are obvious. Both have histories based in the bark of trees and in indigenous culture and in medicinal health.

Birch beer and root beer are both sold in nonalcoholic and alcoholic versions, and both have a history of conflict around American Prohibition.

Both are also sold commercially as carbonated soft drinks in the United States and beloved by their loyal fans.

Perhaps the largest difference between the two lies in their medicinal histories.

While birchbark has been used for things like joint pain, kidney stones, bladder stones, and urinary tract infections, it never really took off in herbal and medicinal circles as a strong remedy.

In contrast, the bark and the leaves of the sassafras tree have strong medicinal properties and have been used by indigenous people for centuries for a variety of conditions. The oil that comes from the sassafras tree, called safrole, is so strong that the FDA in the United States found that, when given in enormous quantities to rats, this compound can cause cancer.

Because of these results, the FDA banned the use of safrole in root beer across the country.

Today, most root beer is made with an extract rather than the actual bark of the tree.

There is much contention still to this day as to whether or not sassafras is a blessing or a curse. Like with most things, the difference between remedy and poison usually lies in the dose.

Cheers!

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Sources:

  1. https://modernfarmer.com/2014/12/birch-beer-best-soda-youve-never-tried/
  2. https://folklife-media.si.edu/docs/festival/program-book-articles/FESTBK1981_03.pdf
  3. https://sprecherbrewery.com/blogs/blog/the-history-of-root-beer
  4. https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/sassafras-uses-herbal-medicine-zmaz83jazshe/
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