Birch beer
Birch beer is a beverage which is commonly found as a carbonated soft drink made from herbal extracts and birch bark. There are dozens of brands of birch beer available.
Various types of birch beer made from birch sap are available as well, distinguished by color. The color depends on the species of birch tree from which the sap is extracted. Popular colors include brown, red, blue and clear, though others are possible. This drink is most commonly found in the Northeastern United States, and Newfoundland in Canada. After the sap 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. Black birch is the most common source of extract. 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 rather than reduced to an oil, has been known from at least the seventeenth century. The following recipe is from 1676:
