Happy Root Beer Day!
Today was the 2025 National Root Beer Day! How yummy. . .
Happy National Root Beer Day
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A Brief History on Root Beer:
Founded By: Root beer has its origins in North America and continues to be highly favored in this region. Traditionally crafted from the root of the sassafras plant, which imparts its distinctive flavor, there is no universally accepted recipe. Charles Elmer Hires, a pharmacist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is credited with creating Hires Root Beer. The story goes that during his honeymoon in 1875, he first tasted root beer, a classic American drink dating back to colonial times. However, there are conflicting historical accounts about the exact time and place of his discovery. By 1876, Hires had developed his own recipe and started selling 25¢ packets of powder that could make one US gallon of root beer each. At the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia that same year, he attracted new customers by offering free glasses of his creation. Hires advertised his root beer as a concentrated blend of 16 different wild roots and berries, claiming it could purify the blood and give you rosy cheeks. In 1884, he began producing a liquid extract and syrup for soda fountains, eventually shipping root beer in kegs and introducing a special dispenser called the “Hires Automatic Munimaker.” The Charles E. Hires Company was incorporated in 1890, and by 1891, they had sold over a million bottles of Hires root beer in small bottles. The Hires brand had gone through several divestations throughout the late 1990’s to the 2000’s, and the brand was officially retired by the Keurig Dr Pepper company in the 2010’s.
A&W: Root Beer Float and Curly Fries courtesy of Openverse
Late 19th to 20th Century: A brief timeline of root beer:
- 1893: Root beer was distributed widely across the United States
- 1898: Barq’s started selling its sarsaparilla-based root beer in Mississippi
- 1919: Roy W. Allen established the first A&W root beer stand in Lodi, California, and introduced the concept of serving root beer cold in frosted mugs
- 1927: John and Alice Marriott launched the Hot Shoppe root beer restaurant in Washington, which eventually evolved into the Marriott Hotel chain
- The 1940’s: The Atlanta Paper Company created the six pack format, which was initially utilized by the Dad’s Old Fashioned Root Beer brand
Where: Any and every day that a drink is necessary. A root beer can refresh year round–it is all up to you!
When: Morning, noon and night, a root beer can refresh!
alcoholic root beer floats courtesy of Openverse
Celebrated: National Root Beer Day is celebrated every June 17th!
A Few Facts:
I am sharing a few facts, and more, some trivia, some not trivial. . .
More Root Beer Facts and Yummy Tales:
Other Variations of Root Beer:
- Hires
- A&W
- IBC Root Beer
- Mug Root Beer
- Barq’s Root Beer
- Dad’s Old Fashioned Root Beer
- More. . .
Hire’s Root Beer is the Great Health Drink courtesy of Openverse
Root Beer Trivia:
- August 6th marks National Root Beer Float Day
- Root beer floats are sometimes called “brown cow” or “black cow”A reverse root beer float is created with root beer ice cream and vanilla soda
- Root beer is mainly consumed in North America
- In 1960, safrole, a key ingredient in root beer, was banned by the U.S. FDA due to its carcinogenic properties
- Safrole is no longer used in root beer sold in the U.S.
- Both Benjamin Franklin and George Washington enjoyed small beer, the predecessor to root beer
- Charles E. Hires was the first to mass-produce and sell root beer in the U.S.
- Initially, Hires marketed his drink as “root tea”
- By 1876, Hires renamed his beverage to Hires Root Beer and showcased it at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition
- In the 1880s, Hires started giving away trading cards with his root beer
- In 1895, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union called for a nationwide ban on Hires Root Beer due to suspected alcohol content. The ban lasted three years until independent lab tests showed it had the same alcohol content as half a loaf of bread
![Williams' Root Beer extract manufactured by Williams & Carleton, Hartford, Conn. The great family drink. [front].jpg](https://versatileer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/a6729f3f-bdc9-49ce-8391-584396291834-768x470.jpg)
Williams’ Root Beer extract manufactured by Williams & Carleton, Hartford, Conn. The great family drink. [front] courtesy of Openverse
- A&W is the top-selling root beer brand in the U.S.
- The A + W in A&W represent Alan and Wright
- Roy Allen bought the root beer recipe for A&W from an Arizona Pharmacist and made the first batch in June 1919
- A&W was not named until 1922 when Roy Allen partnered with Frank Wright, an employee at Allen’s root beer stand in Lodi, California
- By 1960, there were over 2000 A&W restaurants, surpassing the number of McDonald’s locations at that time
- A&W has provided specific information about the shelf life of their root beer products, at about last for 39 weeks for cans/bottles, and 13 weeks for plastic bottles and all all diet products
- John and Alice Marriott bought an A&W franchise in Washington, D.C. under the name of the restaurant The Hot Shoppe. As time went on, their restaurant grew and eventually paved the way for the establishment of Marriott Hotels
- The Sonic chain of drive-in restaurants had humble beginnings in Shawnee, Oklahoma, in 1953. It started as a simple hamburger and root beer stand
- The first-ever ice-cream soda was sold in 1874
- In 1892, William Painter invented the crown bottle cap that revolutionized the way beverages were sealed and preserved
- In 1899, the first patent for a glass blowing machine used to produce glass bottles that were used for beverages like root beer
A & W ROOT BEER courtesy of Openverse
Nowadays:
Now: Worldwide, root beer is enjoyed by many people, and the United States is no stranger!
Future:
- U.S.: I am truly confident that in the U.S., the root beer trend will continue everywhere–on and on. Root beer makes it better.
- Worldwide: The world loves root beer! How yummy. . .
FREEBIES & DEALS For National Root Beer Day:
🧉 FREE: National Root Beer Day: Fonts
🧉 FREE: National Root Beer Day: Crafts + Printables
🧉 FREE: National Root Beer Day: Sheet Music
🧉 CHEAP: National Root Beer Day: Ideas, Crafts & Worksheets
🧉 FREE: National Root Beer Day: AT “Hey It’s Free”
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Mid-Century A&W Root Beer Restaurant 1973 courtesy of Openverse
National Root Beer Day
