Root Beer: History, Ingredients & Brands

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Whether you choose to consume root beer straight from the can or mix it into an ice cream float, we all agree that it’s delightful. A creamy soft drink called root beer is well-liked not just in North America but also in other parts of the world. Root beer got its moniker because it’s usually created by brewing sassafras tree roots with spices and sugar. 

But does root beer have caffeine? If so, does the caffeine come from a natural source or is it a supplement? 

Let’s learn more about the amount of caffeine in root beer and how it stacks up against that of other sodas and iced coffees.

Brief History Of Root Beer

Before we provide an answer to the question “does root beer have caffeine”, let’s briefly explore the exciting history of this amazing, fizzy drink. Since the 1840s, root beer has been available for purchase at candy shops, and published root beer recipes date back to the 1860s. Since root beer was frequently offered in stores as a syrup rather than a ready-made beverage, it was possibly blended with soda as early as the 1850s. 

Both Native Americans and Europeans were aware of the medical benefits of sassafras, in addition to its fragrant properties, and druggists started advertising root beer for its therapeutic properties.

The first commercial brand of root beer was successfully marketed by pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires. In 1875, Hires created his sassafras root tea. In 1876, he made his root beer debut at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition and started selling his extract. Hires was a nondrinker and wished to refer to the beverage as “root tea.” He decided to brand his product “root beer” instead because he wanted to advertise it to Pennsylvania coal workers. 

Hires started bottling a beverage using his renowned extract in 1886. Root beer was commonly available all throughout the United States by 1893. Especially during Prohibition, non-alcoholic variants of root beer had economic success. Not all conventional or store-bought root beers contained sassafras, though. Barq’s, which started selling its sarsaparilla-based root beer in 1898 under the name “Barq’s,” was one of Hires’s earliest rivals.

A&W Root Beer was created in 1919 when Roy Allen launched his root beer stand in Lodi, California. One of Allen’s ideas was to use icy, chilled cups to serve his own root beer. Another commercially produced root beer brand that originated around this time and is still well known today is IBC Root Beer.

What Does Root Beer Consist Of? – Basic Ingredients

Despite being a sort of soda, root beer is not a cola because it often lacks kola nut extract. Many people believe that the kola nut part must be present for anything to qualify as cola. It is necessary to investigate the ingredients of root beer in order to answer the question “does root beer have caffeine?” 

The majority of root beer brands are caffeine-free due to the absence of kola nuts. The kola nut is processed to provide caffeine in most sodas, including Pepsi and Coca-Cola. As a result, caffeine is a byproduct of the manufacturing process.

In the case of root beer, sassafras root is used in the manufacturing process. Sassafras root is brewed with a variety of different spices and seeds, including ginger roots, juniper, yellow dock, spicewood, allspice, burdock root, molasses, coriander, and birch bark. These components give root beer its distinctive flavor. 

Because root beer was originally intended to be grain beer, it uses a similar production method. However, root beer often lacks the hops that give beer its alcohol content. The majority of root beer is no longer made with sassafras root. This is due to the presence of the carcinogen safrole in sassafras. 

Root Beer Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 can or bottle (12 fl oz) (370g)	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	152
Calories from Fat	0
Total Fat	0g	0%
Saturated Fat	0g	0%
Trans Fat 0g	0g
Polyunsaturated Fat	0g
Monounsaturated Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg	0%
Sodium	48mg	2%
Potassium	3.7mg	0%
Total Carbohydrates	39g	13%
Dietary Fiber	0g	0%
Sugars	39g
Protein	0g
Vitamin A		0%
Vitamin C		0%
Calcium		1.4%
Iron		1%

• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet.

Does Root Beer Have Caffeine Content?

As a matter of fact, caffeine is not often found in root beer variations. There was no caffeine in the original root beer recipe from the 1870s. In contrast, the majority of colas, including Coca-Cola, included caffeine specifically as a medicinal ingredient. 

A list of popular root beer varieties and brands without caffeine includes Dad’s Root Beer, Mug Root Beer, Diet Barq’s Root Beer, and Diet A&W Root Beer.  We can not give one answer to the question, “does root beer have caffeine?” Although some businesses provide caffeinated versions of their well-known drinks, most prominent brands in the US are caffeine-free.

Root Beer Brands That Contain Caffeine

Caffeine is included in several root beer variants, including Barq’s root beer. Although the standard kind of Diet Barq’s Root Beer does not have caffeine, all other types are caffeine-free. 

Each 12-ounce can of ordinary Barq’s root beer has around 22 mg of caffeine. An average can of regular Coke, on the other hand, has roughly 34 mg. There is 38 mg of caffeine in a 12 oz. can of Pepsi. Consequently, even if certain brands of root beer do contain caffeine, they typically have less than cola brands. Root beer has between 28 and 48 mg less caffeine per cup than standard green or black tea.

How to Determine the Caffeine Content of Root Beer

You may be wondering how to tell when does root beer have caffeine. Generally, caffeine isn’t listed on the ingredients list for goods like chocolate, tea, and coffee that naturally contain it. However, caffeine must be listed as an ingredient in items that don’t naturally contain it. And beverages such as root beer are among those items.

Since root beer does not naturally contain caffeine, if a root beer brand does, it will be noted on the ingredients label. The exact quantity of caffeine is not often required to be listed on labels by the FDA. Therefore, you can find out on the official brand website how much caffeine your root beer could contain.

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Final Thoughts: Does Root Beer Have Caffeine?

Above in this article, we explored the answer to the main question: does root beer have caffeine? Considering that root beer doesn’t contain the acids that can damage teeth found in other soft drinks or caffeine, it may be a healthier option than other soft drinks. 

Yes, traditional root beer is devoid of caffeine and alcohol, but other soda manufacturers also produce caffeinated and alcoholic versions of this beverage. Therefore, always double-check, especially if you’re purchasing drinks for your children.

Root Beer FAQ