Why You'll Never Be Able To Buy Real Root Beer

If you can't let the summer end without savoring at least one root beer float, be grateful that a pharmacist by the name of Charles Elmer Hires went on his honeymoon in New Jersey. According to ThoughtCo, it was there that Hires found the herbal tea he'd eventually use as a base to create and sell the United States' first commercial root beer. However, while Hires Root Beer would arrive in stores to meet incredible success, today if you buy a six-pack of the same soda you won't be enjoying its original recipe. 
In fact, you won't even be drinking real root beer. And it's not just the OG root beer brand that fails the test of authenticity. From A&W to Barq's, no store-bought root beer is actually the real deal. So why are all of these commercial sodas certified phonies? Well, you also can't drink Coke's original recipe because, well, it literally had cocaine in it per USA Today. However, the reason authentic root beer is off-limits to the public is a little more complex. 
As it turns out, some of the soda's key ingredients were actually deemed unsafe for consumption by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- though not everyone agrees with their verdict. Let's dig deeper into the controversy and sassafras-filled past of root beer.
Why You'll Never Be Able To Buy Real Root Beer