Root beer

Root beer

Freshly poured root beer in a glass mug
Type	Soft drink
Region of origin	North America
Introduced	c. 18th century
Color	Caramel (dark)

Root beer is a sweet North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree Sassafras albidum or the vine of Smilax ornata (known as sarsaparilla; also used to make a soft drink called sarsaparilla) as the primary flavor. Root beer is typically, but not exclusively, non-alcoholic, caffeine-free, sweet, and carbonated. Like cola, it usually has a thick and foamy head. A common use is to add vanilla ice cream to make a root beer float.

Since safrole, a key component of sassafras, was banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1960 due to its carcinogenicity, most commercial root beers have been flavored using artificial sassafras flavoring,^[1][2] but a few (e.g. Hansen's) use a safrole-free sassafras extract.^[3]

Major root beer producers include PepsiCo, Coca-Cola Company, Dad's, Keurig Dr. Pepper, and A&W.