root beer
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, sarsaparilla) as the ...
that was originally produced in 1940 under the name Belfast Root Beer. It is now made by New Century Beverage Company of
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
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 (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. 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 gained 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 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 (now Diet Mug Root Beer) was introduced.Mug Root Beer Retrieved August 22, 2012. Mug Cream Soda 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 manufactured by independent bottlers under the authority of New Century Beverage Company.
Since Mug Root Beer's acquisition by PepsiCo in 1986, the company's mascot has been 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 of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.PepsiCo stopped producing its sodas in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...