Root Beer

One reason that root beer commands such fidelity is that it reveals more variety from brand to brand than other soft drinks do. First concocted in 1870 by farmer Charles Hires (who gave his name to a popular brand), root beer originally contained herbs and berries found on the family farm. From that time forward, it has never adhered to a strict formula, and can encompass such disparate flavors as wintergreen, cloves, and vanilla. When companies started bottling root beer in the 1890s, they marketed it, like Coca-Cola, as medicine as well as refreshment, and perhaps because of its herbal qualities, mainstream consumers continue to look somewhat askance at the frothy tonic; in terms of sales and popularity, root beer falls far behind its soda siblings.

You can't talk numbers to diehard root beer fans, however. These ardent supporters of the underdog thirst quencher support local bottlers with a fierceness no independently packaged cola can command. Citing the originality of non-commercial brews, they buy root beer online direct from the distributors.

If you'd like to join a growing number of beverage enthusiasts but lack the requisite snootiness to participate in wine tastings, surf over to Rootbeerworld.com for a crash course in all things root beer-esque. Then venture to independent bottlers like Virgil's, an award-winning British root beer with a minty aftertaste, and Dominion Root Beer, serving up a taste that's as close to real beer as soda gets. For the undecided, there's always the Root Beer Gift Pack sold at Pop the Soda Shop, which includes twenty-four distinctive brands.