Many religious groups have wrestled with the question of alcohol consumption. Quakers are no exception.
Certainly Friends do not support excessive drinking or drunkenness.
And as the Temperance Movement gained adherents in the late 1800s, eventually leading to Prohibition in the US in 1920, many Quakers were against any alcohol consumption.
Charles Elmer Hires was one of those Quakers.
Hires was introduced to a drink called “root tea” on his honeymoon. A friend suggested that “root beer” might be a more appealing name.
Initially, Hires, who was a pharmacist, sold a dry mixture from his store for his customers to make their own root beer.
But then Hires presented his drink at the 1876 U.S. Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. He called it “the temperance drink” and “the greatest health-giving beverage in the world.”
Sales took off and Hires opened a factory in Philadelphia. The rest is history.
Although Hires root beer is no longer sold, its place in history is secure.
Root beer by itself is a delicious drink – and a root beer float is one of the world’s tastiest treats.
Thanks Charles!
Peachtree Friends Meeting 