Rootbeer question...

[StirBlue]

I know that rootbeer is not a fruit juice. But while we are on the subject of what is in a drink, I would like to know what the difference is between the A&W rootbeer that you fill a mug and rootbeer soda? Is there such thing as a rootbeer draft?

 

[-DEADLY SUSHI-]

Artifical flavor VS the REAL stuff. When you spend 50% more for the REAL stuff you will just LOVE it!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Look up "Root Beer" in Wikopedia. It has some very interesting information about root beer.

I know that there are root beers that contain alcohol as they are brewed and then carbonated by yeast that consume some of the sugars and give off both alcohol and CO2.

Most comercial root beer is made by adding flavorings and sugar/corn syrup to carbonated water.

The recipe we used for Frosties at a place I worked at after high school was:
200 lbs. sugar, 200 gallons water, 1 gallon root beer concentrate. Mix into root beer syrup and add 15 milliliters of syrup to 12 oz. carbonated water.

For me, A & W root beer tastes very similar to birch beer, and has a distinctly wintergreen flavor with a sweetness derived from sugar and mollases. I have duplicated this flavor in my home, just to see if I could do it. But it's much easier to pruchase in a store.

It's interesting to note that A&W, and IBC root meers are both manufacture by Cadbury/Schwepps. Also, from the Wikepedia article, you will discover that there are a host of possible ingredients, which explains why one brand of root beer tastes so very different from another.

For instance, I love Frosty Root Beer, but detest Hire's Root Beer. One of my best freinds is exactly the opposite. He love Hire's and doesn't like A&W.

In any case, I can't drink the wonderfull concoction any more, except as diet root beer due to diabetes.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Michael in FtW]

Unfortunately - the days of "real" rootbeer are long gone. I guess I'm furtunate to be old enough to have tasted the real thing ... from a real A&W Root Beer stand - complete with frosty mugs, a tray that hung on the window, and car hops.

The main flavor ingredient in root beer was safrole ... an aromatic oil which comes from the roots of the sassafras tree I think ... and in the 1960's the govt banned it because it could cause DNA damage. So - bye-bye real root beer flavor. What we get these days is either sarsaparilla or artificial flavorings that don't come anywhere near the flavor of the real thing!

How good was the real stuff???

Well, if I could have have one more frosty mug of the real draft A&W root beer, and a chili dog, I would give up a month of my life.

 

[Andy M.]

As a boy scout, we used to make sassafras tea on camping trips. We'd whittle the top layer off the root and boil it in water, add sugar and drink it.

 

[TATTRAT]

As a boy scout, we used to make sassafras tea on camping trips. We'd whittle the top layer off the root and boil it in water, add sugar and drink it.

We used to do the same thing, and the roots also make great impromptu tooth brushes.

 

[Andy M.]

...and the roots also make great impromptu tooth brushes.

You brushed your teeth on camping trips?!?!?!?!

 

[Katie H]

Unfortunately - the days of "real" rootbeer are long gone. I guess I'm fortunate to be old enough to have tasted the real thing ... from a real A&W Root Beer stand - complete with frosty mugs, a tray that hung on the window, and car hops.

How good was the real stuff???

Well, if I could have have one more frosty mug of the real draft A&W root beer, and a chili dog, I would give up a month of my life.

Oh, Michael, you are soooooo right about the real thing. I, too, have had it and it was divine.

Nearly every summer my family would drive to my grandparent's house in Minnesota for a visit. Somewhere along the way, in Wisconsin I believe, we always stopped at an A&W Root Beer place. And, yep, cold, frosty mugs on a tray placed on the door of the car. I can almost taste it right now. What a wonderful memory! Thanks for bringing it forward.

 

[Barb L.]

Fond memories here too, oh so good, but the big frosty mugs were a little heavy for me, and the chili dogs were so tasty. Simple pleasures are the best.

 

[StirBlue]

Michael in FtW: WROTE: Well, if I could have have one more frosty mug of the real draft A&W root beer, and a chili dog, I would give up a month of my life.

I ate at A&W yesterday! I enjoyed a couple of mugs of rootbeer too. A&W was a drive-in with car hops until about two years ago. Long John Silver's Seafood built a new restaurant and A&W and Long John Silver's are now together in one restaurant. The hot dog sauce is still the original blend. The only thing that has changed is the fact that you can now order a side of hush puppies (a dozen for $1.29). Do you want me to overnight you a jug of rootbeer and some hotdogs? We have some direct flights to DFW!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

No sasafrass up here where I live. But we do have birch and lots of wintergreen. A&W tastes a lot like wintergreen and brown sugar. I believe that this is because mollases and sugar are in the original recipe along with either birch, or wintergreen. It's amazing to me that both birch buds and wintergreen leaves are almost identicle in flavor.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North