Who likes birch beer? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

Who likes birch beer?

RVKevi · RV-Dreams Family Member

I've always loved birch beer. I think it is even better than root beer. I'm originally from NW PA, where it easily found. But we've lived in NC for the last 23 years and I haven't had any in a looooonnnnnggg time!! If you get the chance, do try it!!

If they don't get to try it at the spring rally, they should be able to find it at the fall rally.

Jim01 · RV-Dreams Family Member

First time I had it was many years ago up in Canada someplace. Haven't had it for a long time but If I remember right, it was pretty good.

Jim

Born2bfree · RV-Dreams Community Member

We like birch beer. We live in New Jersey and it is sold just about everywhere. I guess it is one of those things that you don't think about till you move and cant get it anymore. Ther are alot of things in this area that you don't find in many parts of the country.

Walt

laurly · RV-Dreams Family Member

Yum, birch beer is great! It must be a PA thing, I never had it until we moved here. Definitely they can get some near Hershey :)

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

I can't imagine anything tasting better than root beer disbelief biggrin

-- Edited by Racerguy on Thursday 7th of April 2011 08:04:19 PM

RickandJanice · RV-Dreams Family Member

Birch beer is really popular in Pennsylvania. My wife and I grew up in central Ohio and had never heard of it utill we met friends that grew up in Pennsylvania. Every time they went back "home", they brought a case or two with them back to Ohio. Allot like Root Beer but just enough different to know it is not exactly the same. Root Beer is sweeter and has a longer lasting taste.

DreamerBob · RV-Dreams Family Member

i like birch beer a lot & miss it - I lived most of my life in Pennsylvania but now live in the Keys. I also liked sarsaparilla - anybody remember that?

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

On the web I've found a place in Kutztown, PA from which I can order birch beer.... have done it a couple times, and still have most of a case sitting on the dining room table - there isn't enough room for it all in the fridge (time to clean out some leftovers).

There used to be a chain of hamburger joints in Forida that served it in beer mugs that were kept in a freezer - Royal Castle. Their burgers were commonly called 'sliders'... little burgers like White Castle or Krystal. Boy that icy cold birch beer was G-O-O-D on those blazingly hot south Florida summer days.

If you like root beer you've gotta give birch beer a try if you can find it. If there's a 'Philly Connection' franchise in your area (Philly steak and cheese sandwiches) you might be able to find it there.

I think I'm going to load a few bottles into the fridge and put a couple beer mugs in the freezer... I'm starting to drool... Of course that could merely be due to old age...

Tim

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

Never heard of it, but my interest was peaked. I use D-Mannose to prevent Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) for my Dad. D-Mannose is derived from Birch and Beech trees.

So I'm wondering if Birch Beer would prevent UTIs.

Bob and Kathy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ahhhh yes....Birch Beer. Kutztown makes the best. Living near Hershey, we have access to both birch beer and sarsaparilla. Both are really tasty. However, I prefer good ol' root beer. I will make sure to bring some of both to the Fall Rally for Howard and Linda. Can't wait to meet everyone!

Cheers !!

(Bob and) Kathy

Colorado_Kid · RV-Dreams Family Member

I grew up in Maryland and it was easy to find there and I loved it. I now live in Colorado and haven't seen it.

RVRon · RV-Dreams Family Member

Birch beer! I haven't even thought of it in years. Joan and I grew up in NE PA and I think birch beer was a staple there. Gonna have to try and find some when we start traveling!

adeline and ed · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have never tasted birch beer, i have put it on my bucket list, and will look for it on my travels

RVRon · RV-Dreams Family Member

We had birch beer at the rally here in TN for the chili cookoff! Art Biroc was thoughtful enough to buy a case when going through PA on his way to the rally. It tasted just as good as I remembered it. Thanks Art!!! biggrin biggrin biggrin biggrin

Necro · RV-Dreams Family Member

LOVE Birch Beer. My favorite was Crystal, in Pa. , but they no longer exist. Now I don't mind Fox Run White Birch. Can't drink it but occasionally because of my diabetes, but if i'm gonna cheat... birch beer is always a good item to cheat with. :)

Sherry · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hats off to ART for providing Birch Beer at the rally. I grew up in Southern Ohio and have lived in Virginia for years and had never tried it.

I loved it and now wonder where I can get some more? Only Pennsylvania? REALLY?
If so bummer........we're travelin' west from here.

Sherry
www.directionofourdreams.blogspot.com

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

Surely it's available in more places than Pennsylvania. I grew up in Detroit (now basically a dead city) and I can remember we got it there when I was a kid

I have no idea why this ever popped into my head several months ago, other than out of nostalgia. I really fell in love with it in South Florida where we could get it at a now defunct hamburger chain called Royal Castle.

As I said, there is a franchise restaurant chain called 'Philly Connection'. There used to be one here in Columbus but it's gone out of business ( sad... I loved the cheese steak sandwiches with mushrooms, onions, and green peppers). They had birch beer by Fanta in their soft drink dispenser.

If you like root beer, and you can find birch beer somwhere, you've got to give it a try. It's very refreshing (especially when ice cold), and not as cloyingly sweet as root beer or most other soft drinks these days.

I have a few bottles left from Kutztown Bottling Works on the dining room table.... have to make room for them in the fridge. It is also non-caffeinated if that matters to you.

To me, it's one of life's simple, childlike (not childish - there is a difference) pleasures.

Have fun, and stay safe,

Tim

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

Necro wrote:
LOVE Birch Beer. My favorite was Crystal, in Pa. , but they no longer exist. Now I don't mind Fox Run White Birch. Can't drink it but occasionally because of my diabetes, but if i'm gonna cheat... birch beer is always a good item to cheat with. :)

My wife was a type-1, insulin dependent diabetic. Sometimes, despite best efforts, her blood sugars would crash. In a case like that, where you need to get your blood sugars up, why not do it with birch beer? (disclaimer - I am not a medical person, but I do know that you have to keep your blood sugar levels stable).

That's not really cheating... is it?

Tim

Necro · RV-Dreams Family Member

LOL That's what I sometimes do on purpose, but it's not the way to do it. Luckily, i'm only type 2 diabetic, but still... keeping it level is the way to go. My pill sometimes makes me crash though, so I always keep some sweet things around, but just learned that sweets and stuff like that don't work fast enough. You need carbs or juices, that will work faster.

I bet i'll be having some birch beer soon tho. All this talk is getting me craving it. :)

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

This has been fun. I know that birch beer is a regional thing. Maybe for the Hersey rally there can be a birch beer 'taste off', and we could launch a global 'birch beer everywhere' campaign. I still have a few bottles left, and they are going in the fridge as soon as I log off.

Happy Easter to everyone.

Tim

Necro · RV-Dreams Family Member

When is the Hershey rally? I've never been to one, but would love to go to this year's. I'll make sure to bring some Birch Beer. smile

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

The Hersey rally is Sept. 11-15 I believe. There is a 'thingy' that scrolls across many of the RV-Dreams web pages that you can click on for more information.

Necro · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks. We should be able to get to that.

2fortheroad · RV-Dreams Family Member

Never heard of such a thing as Birch Beer confuse . Out West our Beer is made from Hops & Barley biggrin .

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

2fortheroad wrote:
Never heard of such a thing as Birch Beer . Out West our Beer is made from Hops & Barley .

Well yes, there is that too.... in case you haven't already guessed birch beer and root beer are soft drinks. An ice cold hops and barley brand is good too especially on those hot, sweaty summer days after you've finished mowing the lawn...

2fortheroad · RV-Dreams Family Member

Tim & Robyn wrote:
2fortheroad wrote:
Never heard of such a thing as Birch Beer . Out West our Beer is made from Hops & Barley .
Well yes, there is that too.... in case you haven't already guessed birch beer and root beer are soft drinks. An ice cold hops and barley brand is good too especially on those hot, sweaty summer days after you've finished mowing the lawn...

Idaho humor,"You either love it, or you don't". Maybe thats why we have a low population State confuse confuse .

Will have to give Birch Beer a try sometime. Not a big fan of Root Beer unless it has vanila icecream in it biggrin .

IWantaCampMore · RV-Dreams Family Member

Boy when I read the title Birch Beer, I thought, alright a BEER thread. But to my surprize, I kept reading to learn its a soft drink, DARN it. Well when we get to the Northern states, we'll have to try a new to us soft drink. Do they also have Birch flavor BEER? I try it too.

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

Will have to give Birch Beer a try sometime. Not a big fan of Root Beer unless it has vanila icecream in it .

Ah yes... I believe it's called a brown cow... Love those things too, but have had to throttle back on them in recent years. Now I actually haven't tried one with birch beer... that's on my to do list. I guess I'm going to have to go buy some vanilla ice cream so that I can give it a try. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Birch beer and root beer are not the same, but for comparison purposes they are as close as I can come to any other pair of soft drinks. To me, birch beer seems to have more of a 'bite' or 'kick' on the back of your tongue than root beer, and yet it's sweet enough and refreshing, especially when served in a thick glass beer mug from the freezer... I like it when even the foam starts to freeze as you pour.

Discovering regional delights is one of the many things I envy about you fulltimers who are able to travel hither and yon... as budgets permit...

Pinon · RV-Dreams Family Member

I saw it the other day at Cost Plus World Market. That's a chain store - I'm not sure where all they are located. I tried some ginger brew from them (Maine Root was the brand.) Woohoo! That's some real ginger ale. When I was a teenager I made ginger ale from a recipe in Moosewood cookbook. I wonder if there is a birch beer recipe out there - or even an extract you could add to carbonated water?

Heidi

Jim01 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Check out this site.

http://www.kutztownbottlingworks.com/storehtmls/storebirch.html

Jim

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

Jim01 wrote:
Check out this site.
http://www.kutztownbottlingworks.com/storehtmls/storebirch.html
Jim

That's where I've been getting it from, in the glass bottles.

I found this company one day last fall just by Googling 'birch beer' for some demented reason.

All the styrofoam peanuts in the packaging are kind of a pain in the butt though because of static electricity. They stick to my hands when unpacking, they stick to the bottles, and it's a nuisance getting them all cleaned off without getting them all over the floor. I'll unpack the next order in the garage...

I made myself a birch beer brown cow for dessert last night and it was good... frozen birch beer in all the chinks of the ice cream scoops in the glass. Yum!

Tim

phyllen · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hubby always loved his Root Beer. He is from Louisiana. After meeting me and moving to NJ, I introducted him to Birch Beer. I guess I just assumed it was everwhere, having grown up with it. He now loves Birch Beer. Then he introducted me to a Lousiana favorite - BOUDIN! NO THANKS!!!!! Yuk, and double yuk. (no offense to other Cajuns who might be reading this).

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

The Hershey rally is coming up soon. If you haven't ever encountered it, don't forget to give birch beer a taste. I look forward to hearing all opinions...

53 Merc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bob and Kathy wrote:
Ahhhh yes....Birch Beer. Kutztown makes the best. Living near Hershey, we have access to both birch beer and sarsaparilla. Both are really tasty. However, (Bob and) Kathy

Thank you very much!!! It is nice to see someone using the correct term and spelling for sarsaparilla. All the movies and such call it sassparila, and it just makes me cringe. I found some sarsaparilla a good while ago, bought it and enjoyed. It could be called strong root beer (to my unrefined taste)

Serengeti · RV-Dreams Family Member

Coming from South central Pa. I just thought everyone knew of "Birch Beer".

Enjoyed it all of my life until we started to fulltime and then sort of forgot about it, nut this does bring back memories.

I do prefer it over Root Beer as well.

Now when it does come to the "Hops & Barley" type beer no compares to "Yuengling" the lager is the one I prefer.

Now I do realize that it is a more or less an East Coast beer and is not heard about in many parts of the country.

I do also realize that "Opera Fudge" is a Lebanon county, Pa product and is not heard by most of the people in surrounding county's, but this is another topic.

We do plan on being at the Hershey rally for one day as that is all our schedule permits.

-- Edited by Serengeti on Sunday 7th of August 2011 06:16:59 AM

Loretta · RV-Dreams Family Member

I will try and remember that since we plan on going.

injunear · RV-Dreams Family Member

We were in Wakarusa last week and bought 4 bottles. After drinking all 4, I still like rootbeer better.

Wayne

huck · RV-Dreams Community Member

grew up outside of Phila. and the best flavor soda is birch beer. I miss it, don't have it GA biggrin