Does Root Beer Usually Have Caffeine In It?

We've all been there. It's two o'clock in the morning, and while your body is tired, your mind is wide awake. As you lay there, you try to trace the cause of your insomnia to something you may have had during the day.

Could it have been the root beer you had before bedtime? Most likely not. Most root beers do not contain caffeine. Everyone knows that regular coffee has caffeine – even decaf coffee contains some caffeine – but it's hard to know if other beverages contain the stimulant.



The original recipe for root beer, which dates back to pre-colonial days , did not contain the stimulant because caffeine doesn't naturally occur in root beer. It's added to enhance the flavor. Caffeine is even added to baked goods as a way of elevating flavor .

It adds a slightly bitter taste that nicely balances the profile of sweet foods and drinks. In the case of sugary soft drinks like some colas, a small synthetic form of the stimulant is used. Which root beer brand contains caffeine? The brands of root beer that do contain the stimulant have less than many other soft drinks.

For example, a 12-ounce serving of Coca-Cola contains 34 grams of caffeine, but the same serving of Barq's root beer — one of the more popular brands that contain caffeine — has only 22 grams. Mountain Dew contains 55 grams of caffeine — more than double the amount in the same size serving of Barq's. The diet version of Barq's contains no caffeine.

Many people should avoid caffeine. For instance, those with high blood pressure or anxiety might find their symptoms exacerbated by caffeine. If you fall into one of those categories, it's important to read labels to know which brands of root beer are caffeine-free.

Remember that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require manufacturers to disclose the exact amount of caffeine in a product. They only require that it be included in the ingredients list on the label. It's interesting to note that Barq's makes a special caffeine-free version of its root beer, which is available in Utah, one of the only markets for Barq's caffeine-free formula.

Utah, which has the largest Latter-Day Saints (LDS) population in the country, sells caffeine-free Barq's but only when dispensed as a fountain drink. The bottled version still contains caffeine..