What's the Difference Between Root Beer and Birch Beer?

What do these two delicious drinks have in common? And what sets them apart?

Co-authored by Finn Kobler

Last Updated: January 30, 2023 References

Flavor Similarities and Differences

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How Each Soda Is Made

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Popularity of Each Soda

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History

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Appearance

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Other Uses

Birch beer and root beer are both delicious sodas. And if you’re unfamiliar with either, given their similar names, histories, and flavors, it can be tough to tell them apart. While root beer is a beloved drink worldwide, birch beer is a uniquely regional delicacy. In fact, if you live outside the Northeastern U.S., you may not have even heard of this wonderful treat! So what do root and birch beer have in common? And what makes them stand out in their own unique ways? Keep reading and we’ll break it all down.

Things You Should Know

Birch beer is made from birch trees, while root beer was initially made from sassafras roots. However, since sassafras is carcinogenic, modern root beer is flavored artificially.
Birch beer has a more natural, complex taste. This flavor is less artificial, but more divisive - which is why it’s only preferred and sold in certain regions like New England.
Because root beer doesn’t have birch beer’s strict requirements for natural ingredients, its flavor is more versatile, and can be used in other treats like sauces and cocktails.

Section 1 of 6:

Flavor Similarities and Differences

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Birch beer is more natural and bitter. Because birch beer is made from more natural ingredients than root beer, its flavor is less syrupy and more complex. Birch beer drinkers can expect a clean, crisp freshness with each sip. Also, birch beer has a minty, herbal quality similar to the tree it comes from.^{[1]
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Root beer has more flavor variety. Because root beer doesn’t have to adhere to the same natural ingredients as birch beer, it can frontload a variety of different flavors. That’s why, in several grocery stores and restaurants, there are different versions of root beer, like vanilla and cherry. Birch beer, on the other hand, never contains other flavors.

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Both sodas may taste like birch nowadays. Because the FDA banned the production of sassafras for its carcinogenic effects, root beer is now made with artificial flavoring. Most root beers also often contain a mixture of many plants and sweeteners, like ginger, honey, and even birch. Because most root beer now also contains birch, it can be tough to tell these two apart if you don’t drink both often.^{[2]
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Section 2 of 6:

How Each Soda Is Made

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Birch beer is made from birch while root beer is made from sassafras. The primary difference between root and birch beer is their key ingredient. Birch beer is made from the sap and bark of birch trees, while root beer is made using the flavors of the sassafras vine and root. That’s why root beer’s alternative name is “sarsaparilla.”^{[3]
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Root beer contains roots, while birch beer doesn’t. As its name suggests, root beer (though no longer made directly from sassafras) contains extracts from all kinds of different roots: ginger, cinnamon, dandelion, and cloves. Birch beer, on the other hand, is made from oil distilled from the twigs and sap of the birch tree; no roots are used in its production.^{[4]
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Birch beer often contains pollen, which may cause allergies. Because birch beer contains birch sap and birch sap contains pollen, regular consumption of birch beer can cause allergic reactions with symptoms like a runny nose, an itchy throat, or a skin rash. A few sips shouldn’t do too much, but be careful if you’re prone to allergies during pollen season.^{[5]
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Both drinks are mass-produced. While the natural ingredients of birch beer are used in its brewing process, both root beer and birch beer are usually produced, packaged, and fermented in large-scale factories.

Section 3 of 6:

Popularity of Each Soda

Birch beer is only regionally popular in New England. Because root beer is made from artificial sugars and easily-available roots, it can be made and sold pretty much anywhere. Birch beer, however, needs to be made in areas with plenty of birch trees, hence why it originated in the Northeastern United States. In addition, since birch beer has a less sweet, more divisive taste, it doesn’t have the same requests for mass production that root beer does. That being said, most New Englanders, particularly those in Pennsylvania, love the drink.^{[6]
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Section 4 of 6:

History

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Both beers originated around the 19th century. While there is record of early American settlers making birch beer at home in the 1700s and indigenous peoples making root beer long before that, both drinks as we know them today came about in the same 20-year span of each other (root beer in 1860 and birch beer in 1876). Both drinks were initially sold as herbal teas, but changed their name to “beer” to appeal to more customers.^{[7]
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Root beer initially had a little alcohol. The original sarsaparillas contained a very small alcohol content (likely for relaxation and medicinal reasons), but were quickly adapted to soft drink form, especially when Barq’s popularized root beer in the early twentieth century. Birch beer has never contained alcohol.^{[8]
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Birch beer became popular in the Prohibition era. During the 1920s when the U.S. government put a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages, bars looked for alternative drinks to stay in business. Birch beer, as we know it, became one of those popular alternatives.^{[9]
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Appearance

Root beer is brown, while birch beer can be many different colors. Most manufacturers use soda and dyes to color their root beer, which is why it’s pretty much always brown. Birch beer, since it isn’t colored artificially, may be red, brown, or clear depending on the tree.^{[10]
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Other Uses

Root beer can be used in cocktails and sauces. Because root beer’s taste isn’t as complicated or specific, it’s much more versatile than birch beer when it comes to flavoring other treats. Root beer is regularly used in cocktails like the Rocky Mountain and the Storm Trooper. Plus, people love making alcoholic root beer floats. Its sweet spiciness also makes for a great addition to barbecue sauces.^{[11]
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