Root beer vs Birch Beer
 

Root beers are a mixture of many different types of roots. The type, quantity and blend used is quite often a very strongly guarded proprietary secret.  Root beer may be blended to the public taste and acceptance.  

Birch Beer was traditionally made from birch oil distilled from the sap of the black birch tree. Today birch beer is made from birch oil. For the oil, birch is usually harvested from the wild. The brown bark yields a volatile oil. This oil is similar to and used as a substitute in some wintergreen products. A dark birch beer has caramel color added to darken the liquid.

Root beer can be derived from any number of roots.  Numerous combinations of roots and ingredients, such as: Dandelion, Sassafras, Anise, Birch, Cinnamon, Clove, Licorice, Vanilla, Wintergreen, and many other barks and herbs may be blended in different quantities to give root beers their different tastes.  

more Birch Beer on the Birch Beer page