This section is from the book "Beverages And Their Adulteration Origin, Composition, Manufacture, Natural, Artificial, Fermented, Distilled, Alkaloidal And Fruit Juices", by Harvey W. Wiley. Also available from Amazon: Beverages And Their Adulteration.
The term beer is also applied to quite a number of other beverages, as, for instance, root beer, tonic beer, etc. The use of the name in these instances is not without objection. Even if those preparations contain alcohol they do not resemble beer in the method of manufacture, or if they do not contain alcohol, they are then misbranded.
 
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