Up next in 10
What Happened To Barq’s Bite
Aug 20, 2025
Today we delve into the history of root beer.... Specifically, the brand that Barq's! Well, until recently, claim some.... Barq's root beer has a storied history, and yet, the DRINK we all know as root beer was created long before. Come with us as we go deep into the history of Barq's Rot beer, and see how it managed as competitors began to brew...
View Video Transcript
0:00
Today, we're pulling the tab on what happened to Bark's bike
0:03
The original root beer was only sold in pharmacies, and it wasn't a drink, but rather a syrupy concoction
0:09
Later on, syrup gave way to a powdered mix, thanks to Philadelphia-based pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires
0:17
Hires is credited as the inventor of dry mix root beer, which he then paired with sugar, water, and yeast
0:22
to create a delicious fizzy drink. He and his family became the first people
0:26
to put root beer in a bottle, which changed the tide of the burgeoning soft drink craze forever
0:32
Edward Bark and his older brother, Gaston, created the Bark's Brothers Bottling Company in 1890 in the French Quarter of New Orleans
0:39
The company bottled carbonated water and several soft drinks. He had studied as a chemist at Tulane University before setting up shop in Louisiana
0:46
and later moved to Biloxi, Mississippi to open the Biloxi Artesian Bottling Works
0:51
In between traveling, Bark continued to experiment with various alchemical concoctions. Around 1898, with the help of a young man named Jesse Robinson
1:01
Bark found just the thing, a bubbly beverage they called Bark's Root and Herb Brew
1:06
Why such a circuitous name? Well, back in Philadelphia, Charles Hires was attempting to trademark the term root beer
1:13
He'd lose that battle eventually. But for now, Bark's has to get a little creative with their naming conventions
1:19
After some early advertising, they decided to shorten the name to just Bark's
1:23
It stood out from the pack by containing caffeine using less sugar and being more carbonated than its competition It also rejected the common sassafras base and swapped it for a sweeter sarsaparilla taste
1:35
Bizarrely, one of the reasons it became a popular root beer is also the reason it technically
1:40
isn't root beer at all. By containing caffeine, Barks is actually closer to a soda. But since
1:46
the taste is more akin to root beer, that's what it became known as to the general public
1:50
In the 1920s, during Prohibition, root beer sales skyrocketed as an alternative to alcohol
1:56
and Barks started offering their products in cans. And by 1937, Barks had erected 62 bottling factories across 22 states
2:04
Over the years, Barks has produced a number of thirst-quenching beverages, some of which are still around today
2:10
With over 100 years of production, Barks had become a national sensation
2:15
Before long, larger soft drink companies finally took notice, And the Coca-Cola company stepped in to slurp up the competition
2:22
Under new management from Coke, the Barks Has Bite commercial campaign aimed to bring the brand into the mid-1990s with a radical new strategy
2:31
The ads featured a Barks salesman going door-to-door or standing on the street telling people that, you guessed it, Barks has bite
2:38
However, while Barks enjoyed some sweet years of success, the root beer bubble was bound to burst
2:44
With the deluge of soft drinks available on store shelves today, root beer can't compete
2:50
As such, it's only moderately popular outside highly specific demographics, like Mormons
2:55
But outside of these niches, root beer simply doesn't float