How root beer is made

The FDA banned safrole, the oil in sassafras, in 1960, so root beer now uses imitation or safrole-free flavor.

stations: 5
things upstream: 56
raw sources: 19
steps from the ground: 9

The short version

Root beer was once brewed from molasses syrup, sassafras root and bark, and yeast, then bottled to fizz. Today a flavor extract is mixed into sweetened carbonated water instead. Since the FDA banned safrole, the sassafras oil, in 1960, most brands use artificial sassafras flavoring or a safrole-free extract.

Prepare the root flavor

Roots and bark such as sassafras and wintergreen give the drink its taste. Since the FDA banned safrole, most brands use an artificial flavoring or an extract with the safrole removed.
Sweeten the base

A syrup is made from sugar or molasses and water, then combined with the flavor extract.

Goes in
Sugar Molasses Water
Build the foam

Sassafras bark makes a long-lasting natural foam. Some makers add small amounts of starch with natural surfactants to the syrup to copy it.
Carbonate the drink

Carbon dioxide is dissolved in water under pressure, and the flavored syrup is blended in. Makers moved to this method from fermentation as demand grew.

Goes in
Carbon dioxide Water
Bottle it

The finished drink is bottled or canned under pressure so it stays fizzy.

Goes in
Glass bottle Aluminum can

End of the lineRoot beer

Worth repeating

Charles Elmer Hires wanted to call his drink root tea, but chose root beer to appeal to Pennsylvania coal miners.
Old recipes fermented the syrup with yeast for about 12 hours, then bottled it for a second fermentation, which gave a fizzy drink of 2 percent alcohol or less.
Laboratory animals fed large doses of safrole developed liver damage and cancer, which led to the 1960 FDA ban.