Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer

Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer

Website: http://www.daretogodutch.com/

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup

Bottled at: Pennsauken, New Jersey

Purchase Location: Galco’s Old World Grocery

The phrase Pennsylvania Dutch, or Pennsylvania German, refers to the descendants of the early German speaking settlers of the inland counties of Pennsylvania who arrived in Pennsylvania prior to the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812. Apparently, at some point the Pennsylvania Dutch created a birch beer recipe. In 1936 Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer was created based on the century old Pennsylvania Dutch recipe. Somehow, I doubt that the original recipe included high fructose corn syrup, but maybe the Pennsylvania Dutch were early food engineers ahead of their time.

The label for Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer is one of my favorites. The name “Pennsylvania Dutch” is printed in an old cursive font you can just imagine an 18th century Pennsylvania German speaker painstakingly writing with a quill pen. The label also shows an old Amish looking Pennsylvania horse and buggy, which is likely distributing birch beer throughout the Pennsylvania farmland.

Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer has a wintergreen flavor mixed with a slight licorice flavor. Those flavors mix with other spices resulting in a soda with a fairly strong but savory bite. The carbonation works well with the birch beer’s natural bite to create Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer’s slogan; “Old Fashioned Taste… Old Fashioned Goodness.”