# Why no root beer drink mix? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [April 24, 2015, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423 "2015-04-24T06:07:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/1 "2015-04-24T06:07:10Z")
I consume a lot of drink mix, mostly sugar free. When I was a kid a lot of companies made a [root beer](http://theimaginaryworld.com/pac58.jpg) flavor. They weren’t sugar free but they were good. Today you can get any flavor you want, sugar or sugar free, but not root beer. Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/2 "2015-04-24T06:11:12Z")
because it tastes exactly like pepto bismol ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/3 "2015-04-24T06:15:32Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > because it tastes exactly like pepto bismol No it didn’t. You’re thinking of Birch Beer which tastes like root beer mixed with Pepto and transmission fluid. Sick, but I like BB. It’s an acquired taste for sure. But I don’t recall it ever being available in a powdered drink mix. When I was a kid there was Wylers, Kool Aid, Flavor Aid, Funny Face, Aunt Wicks, etc… And they all made a root beer drink mix. Now I can’t find a single brand that does. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/4 "2015-04-24T06:52:49Z")
In the spice isle of a super market you may find a bottle of root beer extract. Looks like a mini bottle. Will make five gallons of root beer. Use a few drops for a glass. You will have to add a sweetener. In a previous life, we would add the extract, water, sugar, and yeast (to make it fizzy). Bottle and cap it. It was fizzy in one month. In modern times, people would add dry ice for instant carbonation. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/5 "2015-04-24T10:52:25Z")
My guess is it wasn’t very popular because it tasted like a completely flat root beer. I think decades ago this wasn’t so much a problem because there still existed people who generationally hadn’t been basically raised on carbonation as the norm. But after the seventies or so this stopped being the case. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/6 "2015-04-24T11:19:19Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > My guess is it wasn’t very popular because it tasted like a completely flat root beer. I think decades ago this wasn’t so much a problem because there still existed people who generationally hadn’t been basically raised on carbonation as the norm. But after the seventies or so this stopped being the case. That would have been my guess, too. A cola-flavored drink mix would sound odd to me for exactly the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/7 "2015-04-24T13:12:32Z")
My older brother used to make root beer, using an extract from Hires. It used yeast to provide the carbonation. It was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/8 "2015-04-24T13:50:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That would have been my guess, too. A cola-flavored drink mix would sound odd to me for exactly the same reason. That’s one of the odd things about cola flavor: it just doesn’t taste that good in any context that doesn’t have carbonation. I am sure there’s someone out there who loves flat cola, but in general, even cold, fresh but flat cokes just taste… sickly sweet and “off.” Flat root beer is at least tolerable. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/9 "2015-04-24T14:18:17Z")
I was addicted to root beer Kool Aid and still look for it. I think a lot of people gave up on it because it wasn’t all that great freshly made. The next day it was delicious. Until production of root beer Kool Aid is resumed, I simulate it by buying the cheap store brand root beer pop and defizzifying it. Much better flat, poured over crushed ice. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/10 "2015-04-24T14:32:54Z")
flat root beer wasn’t popular. homemade root beer is great. watch it so that you don’t let it over carbonate. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/11 "2015-04-24T15:23:05Z")
When I read the thread title I assumed it was asking why there are no alcoholic mixed drinks made with Root Beer. I can’t think of any either. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/12 "2015-04-24T16:57:15Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > When I read the thread title I assumed it was asking why there are no alcoholic mixed drinks made with Root Beer. I can’t think of any either. I Google search yields some interesting choices… I had an old Mr Boston’s bartender guidebook that had a root-beer flavored drink that used a combination of lots of different liqueurs such as bitters, anise, orange, vanilla, etc. I tried to make it once, but it was strangely, well, strange. And strong! I’ll have to see if I can dig up the book. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/13 "2015-04-24T17:00:15Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I think a lot of people gave up on it because it wasn’t all that great freshly made. The next day it was delicious. The other thing the others on this thread don’t realize is, the root beer Kook Ade made **GRE\*\*\*\*A** T homemade popsickals. And with summer coming up it’s on my mind! ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/14 "2015-04-24T17:06:33Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > The other thing the others on this thread don’t realize is, the root beer Kook Ade made **GRE\*\*\*\*A** T homemade popsickals. And with summer coming up it’s on my mind! Wasn’t there a recipe for root beer fudge on some of the envelopes? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/15 "2015-04-24T17:18:47Z")
I preferred the Root Beer Kool-Aid over some of their other flavors, but that doesn’t mean much. Searching on the subject it appears to have been a 70s thing, and that’s where I remember it from. We had the Wyler’s mix. It had something in it that made it foamy. I tried making it with soda water one time and it produced a volcano of root beer foam. The flavor was weak though, and it needs real carbonation to be appealing. I made real root beer once from extract. It was ok, not worth all the trouble. We get IBC Root Beer around here, still in the glass bottles. It’s nice to have one of those once in a while on a hot day. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/16 "2015-04-24T18:06:35Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > We had the Wyler’s mix. It had something in it that made it foamy. it was a 50’s/60’s/70’s thing. Last I remember it was sparsely available in the 80’s. The Wylers seemed to be the only one that foamed up much. Yeast? Carbonate? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/17 "2015-04-24T18:09:22Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > it was a 50’s/60’s/70’s thing. Last I remember it was sparsely available in the 80’s. > The Wylers seemed to be the only one that foamed up much. Yeast? Carbonate? Maybe some carbonate and something that increased the surface tension. I don’t think yeast could react that quickly. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/18 "2015-04-24T18:42:07Z")
wiki: _In 1960, safrole, the aromatic oil found in sassafras roots and bark that gave traditional root beer its distinctive flavour was banned for commercially mass-produced foods and drugs by the FDA in 1960.[8] Laboratory animals that were given oral doses of sassafras tea or sassafras oil that contained large doses of safrole developed permanent liver damage or various types of cancer.[8] While sassafras is no longer used in commercially-produced root beer and is sometimes substituted with artificial flavors, natural extracts with the safrole distilled and removed are available.[9][10]_ I have seen alcoholic Root beer in a bottle just once, but alcoholic Ginger Beer is now at BevMo in two brands. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/19 "2015-04-24T19:10:13Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > That’s one of the odd things about cola flavor: it just doesn’t taste that good in any context that doesn’t have carbonation. > > I am sure there’s someone out there who loves flat cola, but in general, even cold, fresh but flat cokes just taste… sickly sweet and “off.” Flat root beer is at least tolerable. Yes. Root beer is my favorite drink, by far. I can finish off any other soda once it goes flat, but the place for flat cola, including root beer, is down the drain. It needs carbonation to fulfill its potential. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423/20 "2015-04-24T19:11:51Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > When I read the thread title I assumed it was asking why there are no alcoholic mixed drinks made with Root Beer. I can’t think of any either. There is, however, [a root beer flavored liquor](http://www.artintheage.com/spirits/root-now-in-stores/#.VTqVJJMRTag) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-root-beer-drink-mix/718423.md?page=2)