Mug Root Beer (sometimes stylized as MUG Root Beer) is an American brand of

root beer Root beer is a 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 ...

that was originally produced in 1940 under the name Belfast Root Beer. It is now produced by New Century Beverage Company of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, which was acquired by

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...

in 1986.

History

Mug Root Beer was originally sold under the name Belfast Root Beer in 1940 by the Belfast Beverage Company in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. The company had been known for making sparkling water and ginger ale since 1877. Belfast Beverage Company was purchased around 1925 by New Century Beverage Company, which had successfully launched Crush Soda in 1918. In 1936, New Century Beverage Company was granted permission to franchise Pepsi-Cola products, and about four years later, it launched Belfast Root Beer. An advertisement for Belfast Root Beer appears as early as 1947. According to the

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the He ...

, the catchphrase, 'You haven't tasted Root Beer like this in years!' filled 1950s newspaper advertisements. An advertisement for Belfast Old Fashioned Mug Root Beer appears as early as 1952.March 4, 1952, ''Mountain Democrat'', p. 5 (available at newspaperarchive.com) In the 1950s, the soda took on the title Belfast Old Fashioned Mug Root Beer before its name was eventually shortened to Mug Root Beer. In the late 1960s, Sugar Free Mug (later known as Diet Mug Root Beer) was introduced.Mug Root Beer
Retrieved August 22, 2012. Mug

Cream Soda Cream soda (also known as creme soda) is a sweet soft drink. Generally flavored with vanilla and based on the taste of an ice cream float, a wide range of variations can be found worldwide. History and development A recipe for cream soda written ...

and Diet Mug Cream Soda were later introduced, but they are not as widely available. Mug was purchased by Pepsi in 1986, and replaced On-Tap Draft Style Root Beer as Pepsi's root beer brand. Mug Root Beer is currently manufactured by independent bottlers under the authority of New Century Beverage Company. Since Mug Root Beer's acquisition by

in 1986, the company's logo has displayed a

bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

named "Dog" holding a glass of what appears to be frothy Mug Root Beer.

stopped producing its sodas in San Francisco in the early 1990s, including Mug Root Beer.

References

External links

*
MUG Trademark Update 72039315

* ttp://www.trademarkia.com/logo-71602543.html OLD FASHIONED MUG - Brand - BELFAST BEVERAGES, INC. SAN FRANCISCO , - Serial Number: 71602543 Root beer PepsiCo soft drinks PepsiCo brands Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area 1940 establishments in California {{Soft-drink-stub