Birch beer is a beverage, commonly found as a carbonated soft drink made from herbal extracts and birch bark. [1] [2] [3] [4] There are dozens of brands of birch beer available. [5]
Birch beer is a beverage, commonly found as a carbonated soft drink made from herbal extracts and birch bark. [1] [2] [3] [4] There are dozens of brands of birch beer available. [5]
The one ingredient used in all recipes of birch beer is birch sap. Most recipes use some fermentation, but the amount of alcohol in the beverage depends on the brand.[ citation needed ] The process of fermenting birch syrup is done using baker's yeast. [6] The process of fermentation is done to decompose sugar to alcohol. Other common ingredients include sugar, cinnamon, vanilla beans, and water. [7] Homemade recipes of birch beer also include honey and malt. [8]
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. [9] The oil is added to the carbonated drink to give it the distinctive flavor, reminiscent of wintergreen and methyl salicylate. Black birch is the most common source of extract in the northeastern region of the United States, where that species is indigenous. [10]
Birch beer is most commonly found in the Northeastern United States and Newfoundland in Canada.
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: [11]
To every Gallon whereof, add a pound of refined Sugar, and boil it about a quarter or half an hour; then set it to cool, and add a very little Yeast to it, and it will ferment, and thereby purge itself from that little dross the Liquor and Sugar can yield: then put it in a Barrel, and add thereto a small proportion of Cinnamon and Mace bruised, about half an ounce of both to ten Gallons; then stop it very close, and about a month after bottle it; and in a few days you will have a most delicate brisk Wine of a flavor like unto Rhenish. Its Spirits are so volatile, that they are apt to break the Bottles, unless placed in a Refrigeratory, and when poured out, it gives a white head in the Glass. This Liquor is not of long duration, unless preserved very cool. Ale brewed of this Juice or Sap, is esteem'd very wholesome.
A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies and soft drinks. Traditionally warm beverages include coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Caffeinated drinks that contain the stimulant caffeine have a long history.
Mead, also called honey wine, and hydromel, is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. Possibly the most ancient alcoholic drink, the defining characteristic of mead is that the majority of the beverage's fermentable sugar is derived from honey. It may be still, carbonated, or naturally sparkling, and despite a common misconception that mead is exclusively sweet, it can also be dry or semi-sweet.
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 as the primary flavor. Root beer is typically, but not exclusively, non-alcoholic, caffeine-free, sweet, and carbonated. Like cola, it usually has a thick and foamy head. A common use is to add vanilla ice cream to make a root beer float.
Homebrewing is the brewing of beer or other alcoholic beverages on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Beer was brewed domestically for thousands of years before its commercial production although its legality has varied according to local regulation. Homebrewing is closely related to the hobby of home distillation, the production of alcoholic spirits for personal consumption, but home distillation is generally more tightly regulated.
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph Cantrell. The dry style, a paler drink with a much milder ginger flavour, was created by Canadian John McLaughlin.
Traditional ginger beer is a sweetened and carbonated, usually non-alcoholic beverage. Historically it was produced by the natural fermentation of prepared ginger spice, yeast and sugar.
Pruno, also known as prison hooch or prison wine, is a term used in the United States to describe an improvised alcoholic beverage. It is variously made from apples, oranges, fruit cocktail, fruit juices, hard candy, sugar, high fructose syrup, and possibly other ingredients, including crumbled bread. Bread is incorrectly thought to contain yeast for the pruno to ferment. Pruno originated in US prisons, where it can be produced with the limited selection of equipment and ingredients available to inmates. It can be made using only a plastic bag, hot running water, and a towel or sock to conceal the pulp during fermentation. The end result has been described as a "bile-flavored wine cooler". Depending on the time spent fermenting, the sugar content, and the quality of the ingredients and preparation, pruno's alcohol content by volume can range from as low as 2% to as high as 14%.
Eggnog, historically also known as a milk punch or an egg milk punch when alcoholic beverages are added, is a rich, chilled, sweetened, dairy-based beverage. It is traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and whipped egg whites. A distilled spirit such as brandy, rum, whiskey or bourbon is often a key ingredient.
Hires Root Beer is an American brand of root beer that was manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper. Introduced in 1876, it was one of the longest continuously made soft drinks in the United States.
An ice cream float or ice cream soda, also known as an ice cream spider in Australia and New Zealand, is a chilled beverage that consists of ice cream in either a soft drink or a mixture of flavored syrup and carbonated water.
Kilju is the Finnish word for home made alcoholic beverage typically made of sugar, yeast, and water, making it both affordable and cheap to produce. The ABV is around 15–17%, and since it does not contain a sweet reserve it is completely dry. Crude fermented water may be distilled to moonshine. Kilju for consumption is clarified to avoid wine fault. It is a flax-colored alcoholic beverage with no discernible taste other than that of ethanol. It can be used as an ethanol base for drink mixers.
In brewing, adjuncts are unmalted grains or grain products used in brewing beer which supplement the main mash ingredient. This is often done with the intention of cutting costs, but sometimes also to create an additional feature, such as better foam retention, flavours or nutritional value or additives. Both solid and liquid adjuncts are commonly used.
Mauby, also known as madi, maví, mobi, mabi, and maubi, is a tree bark-based beverage grown, and widely consumed, in the Caribbean. It is made with sugar and the bark and/or fruit of certain species in the genus Colubrina including Colubrina elliptica and Colubrina arborescens, a small tree native to the northern Caribbean and south Florida. Recipes usually include other ingredients as well, spices such as aniseed being very common. Mauby was traditionally a fermented beverage made in small batches, but is now predominantly a commercial non-fermented soft drink.
Birch sap,birch water or birch juice is the sap directly tapped from birch trees, Betula pubescens, Betula pendula, Betula lenta, Betula papyrifera, and Betula fontinalis.
Fentimans Curiosity Cola is a botanically brewed carbonated cola soft drink, a product of British brewery Fentimans. It is sold in 275 ml and 750 ml glass bottles.
Fentimans is a botanical brewery based in Hexham, Northumberland, England.
Maple liqueur refers to various alcoholic products made from maple syrup, primarily in the Northeast United States and Canada. It is most commonly made by mixing Canadian rye whiskey and Canadian maple syrup. Maple liqueur is considered an important cultural beverage in certain Canadian festivals.
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