Coca-Cola has long been the most popular soda in the United States since it entered the market in the late 1880s, with later variants like Diet Coke and Cherry Coke. Other soda brands have come and gone, and earlier decades offered different options, including discontinued root beer, diet soda, and orange sodas. Root beer is now common and has grown into a large global industry, but modern root beer was developed in the late 1800s by pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires. He created a commercially sold recipe called Hires Root Beer, which became successful and remained available through the 1960s and 1970s. It has since been discontinued, and many Boomers still miss it.
"Today, root beer is everywhere. Globally, the industry was valued at more than $728 million in 2021, and by 2030, it could exceed $1 billion (per Grand View Research). But while it might feel like it's been around forever, root beer as we know it today wasn't actually invented until the late 1800s. Long story short: Philadelphian pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires decided to create his own recipe based on traditional root beer )and ingredients that have been used in Indigenous communities since pre-colonial times), carbonate it, bottle it, and sell it commercially."
"His version of the drink, called Hires Root Beer, was a huge success, and became a big hit throughout the 20th century. In fact, Hires Root Beer was still being sold when Boomers were children, teens, and young adults in the 1960s and 1970s. It's since been discontinued, but many Boomers wish they could have it back."
""I try not to drink a lot of soda, but I have a sweet spot in my heart for Hires Root Beer""
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