Birch beer
Birch beer is a beverage, commonly found as a carbonated soft drink made from herbal extracts and birch bark. It was originally made from the extracts of both oak and pine barks (which are sometimes combined). There are dozens of brands of birch beer available. 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 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. Birch beer varieties. 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: