The "Roots" of Root Beer: One of The Oldest Soda Drinks in the World

Crack open a cold root beer, and you’re tasting more than a sweet, bubbly refreshment. Behind that familiar flavour is a story of botanical brews, enterprising pharmacists and generations of soda lovers.

Long before it became a favourite soda drink, root beer’s ancestors were made with roots, bark and herbs. Its journey from homemade beverage to bottled classic helps explain why it still feels perfectly at home in today’s craft soda world.

Before the Bubbles: Root Beer’s Early Beginnings

Root beer did not begin with a single inventor or recipe. Its history connects Indigenous uses of North American plants, including sassafras, with later brewing traditions.

European settlers made lightly fermented beverages known as “small beers,” using ingredients such as roots, herbs and bark. These drinks were predecessors of the sweet, carbonated root beer we recognize today. Recipes varied, reflecting the ingredients available and the preferences of whoever was brewing them.

That homemade beginning is part of its charm. There was no universal formula, and the name described a family of beverages rather than one identical flavour. The connection to modern craft soda is easy to appreciate: character and individuality were part of the story from the start.

Why Is It Called Root Beer?

The name is more literal than you might expect. “Root” refers to the botanical ingredients used in early recipes, while “beer” reflects the brewing and fermentation process.

Early versions could contain small amounts of alcohol from fermentation. The familiar modern version, however, is generally a non-alcoholic soda drink. Its name preserves a little piece of its brewing history, even when today’s bubbles come from carbonation rather than yeast.

So, despite the name, ordering root beer usually means reaching for pop. Think of it as a historical nickname that stuck.

The Pharmacist Who Helped Make Root Beer Famous

A major turning point came in the nineteenth century, when Philadelphia pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires helped bring root beer to a wider audience.

In 1876, Hires introduced his beverage at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, giving visitors free glasses. By 1884, he was producing extracts and syrups for soda fountains and bottling it for commercial sale. He did not invent every earlier root-based beverage, but he helped turn an existing tradition into a recognizable commercial product.

Picture encountering that flavour for the first time: sweet, aromatic and sparkling, with a personality unlike a simple fruit drink. It offered something memorable, and something customers could ask for again.

How Root Beer’s Flavour Evolved

Traditional recipes often relied on sassafras for their distinctive character. Over time, flavour combinations incorporated ingredients such as wintergreen, vanilla, liquorice and molasses, giving different versions their own balance of sweetness and spice.

Recipes also changed as food standards developed. Restrictions on safrole, a compound found in sassafras oil, prompted manufacturers to use alternative flavourings or safrole-free extracts. The familiar taste continued, even as the way it was created evolved. 

That variety remains part of the appeal. Some versions lean creamy and mellow; others put their herbal or spicy notes first.

An Old Favourite With Plenty of Life Left

Today, root beer bridges the past and present beautifully. It suits a backyard gathering, a burger night or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. For craft soda fans, it offers a flavour with history and unmistakable personality.

At The Pop Shoppe, our Root Beer celebrates that nostalgic appeal with a comforting blend of sweetness and spice. It’s a soda drink that invites you to slow down and enjoy something familiar. The Pop Shoppe

Discover The Pop Shoppe’s Root Beer, and pour yourself a little taste of history.