ROOT BEER

a refreshing beverage made by the fermentation of an infusion of roots, barks and herbs, such as sarsaparilla, spikenard, wintergreen, ginger, etc., with sugar and yeast. The flavoring or "extract," which dealers find very salable, is retailed in convenient packages, each sufficient for about five gallons of "beer." The effervescence is caused by the fermentative action of the yeast on the sugar. Many retailers brew and bottle the beer themselves.