Birch Beer on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Birch beer is a beverage, commonly found as a carbonated
Alcoholic birch beer, in which the birch sap is fermented, has been known from at least the seventeenth century. The following recipe is from 1676:Worlidge, John, ''Vinetum Britannicum'' … (London, England: Thomas Dring, 1676), p. 176. Se
p. 176 (1678 ed.)
soft drink
A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...
made from herbal extracts and birch bark. There are dozens of brands of birch beer available.
Ingredients
The one ingredient used in all recipes of birch beer is birch sap. Most recipes use somefermentation
Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...
, but the amount of alcohol in the beverage depends on the brand. The process of fermenting birch syrup is done using baker's yeast. The process of fermentation is done to decompose sugar to alcohol. Other common ingredients include sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
, cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...
, vanilla beans, and water
Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
. Homemade recipes of birch beer also include honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
and malt
Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting".
Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...
.
Birch extract preparation
Various types of birch beer made from birch bark are available as well, distinguished by color. The color depends on the species of birch tree from which the birch oil is extracted (though enhancements by artificial coloring are commonly present). Popular colors include brown, red, blue and clear (often called white birch beer), though others are possible. After the bark is collected, it is distilled to make birch oil. The oil is added to the carbonated drink to give it the distinctive flavor, reminiscent of wintergreen andmethyl salicylate
Methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen or wintergreen oil) is an organic compound with the formula C8H8O3. It is the methyl ester of salicylic acid. It is a colorless, viscous liquid with a sweet, fruity odor reminiscent of root beer (in which it ...
. Black birch is the most common source of extract in the northeastern region of the United States, where that species is indigenous.
Birch beer varieties
Birch beer is most commonly found in theNortheastern United States
The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...
and Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. "White" birch beer soda (which is usually transparent) is more common in New England; "red" birch beer (which is very dark and opaque) more common in the Mid-Atlantic.
In the dairy country of southeastern and central Pennsylvania, an ice cream soda made with vanilla ice cream and birch beer is called a "birch beer float", while chocolate ice cream and birch beer makes a "black cow".
Alcoholic birch beer, in which the birch sap is fermented, has been known from at least the seventeenth century. The following recipe is from 1676:Worlidge, John, ''Vinetum Britannicum'' … (London, England: Thomas Dring, 1676), p. 176. Sep. 176 (1678 ed.)
See also
* Birch syrup * Spruce beer * Sarsaparilla (soft drink) * Root beerReferences
External links
{{Non-timber forest products Cuisine of Philadelphia Cuisine of Pennsylvania New England cuisine Soft beers and malt drinks Soft drinks Tree tapping Non-timber forest products