At the end of this article, I am going to teach you a magic trick. I will demonstrate a 3-step method for cramming a one-ton organic lawnmower into ordinary barware. But first, I have a story to tell.
Last year, an extraordinary woman named Donna Runge said something that I have been obsessing over ever since. If you hear me out, I think you will too. Its just a slight turn of phrase, but theres a world of mystery and mythology behind it.
In this interview, starting at the 1:50 timestamp, Donna says, “[w]hen the war ended–I was six by then–things loosened up and my father as a treat would take us to one of the drive-ins and order a root beer float, or as we knew it back then, a black cow.”
A black cow. Where the heck did that come from? Id heard the phrase before, but coming out of someone elses mouth, it suddenly sounded strange.
Growing up, I would have the occasional black cow on the back porch in the summertime. My parents called it that, and thats because their parents called it that. I just assumed everyone called it that, but it turns out thats not the case.
Before I dive into the story, a quick note on Donna. Her claim to fame is that she pushed Randy Sprecher, the founder of Sprecher Brewery, to start making the best root beer in America. Her interview is well worth a watch. But before you click away, you should hear me out on the ballad of the black cow.
Wisner, owner of Colorado’s Cripple Creek Brewing, created the drink after realizing that the snowy peaks on Colorado’s Cow Mountain reminded him of ice cream floating in soda. He combined root beer and vanilla ice cream, and called it the “Black Cow”, or more popularly known today as a root beer float.
Who Invented the Black Cow?
There is a wonderful legend about the invention of the root beer float and the name “black cow,” and it goes like this:
One night in 1893, Frank J. Wisner of Cripple Creek, Colorado was looking out at Cow Mountain through the window of his drinking establishment, Cripple Creek Brewing Company. The snow cap on the dark mountain made him think of ice cream floating in root beer, so he made the drink and christened it “the black cow” after the mountain that inspired him. The drink was a hit with the kids in town, and the rest, as they say, was history.
A map of Cripple Creek, CO and the surrounding mountains via Wikimedia Commons
Its a neat story, and it is repeated in a wide range of publications: Tasting Table, The South Florida Reporter, The Pikes Peak Courier, the aforementioned Chicago Eater, and even Wikipedia. The trouble is, all of these sources cite each other, or link back to websites that are now defunct. There is no primary source to be found, at least not easily.
Theres another wrinkle in the story, too. According to Google Trends, Colorado is not black cow country. Its barely even brown cow country. What gives?
Colorado: Definitively not black cow country
Undeterred, I contacted the president of the Pikes Peak Historical Society, the leading historical society in Teller County, where Cripple Creek is located. I asked after any primary sources on Frank J Wisner. The president of the society didnt know, but graciously referred me to the Cripple Creek District Museum. The director there was also kind enough to answer my email, but his response was simply this: “Im [not] sure who the source [of the Wisner story] was, but thats the story thats been told over the years.” A perfectly fair answer, but not hard evidence.
In a desperate attempt to come away with something, I frantically searched Google Maps for a root beer float in Cripple Creek. I came across a restaurant called The Creek that serves a root beer float and calls it a black cow. This is the only shred of evidence I could find, and its a thin one.
The Wisner story is fun, and possibly true, but at this point it looks more apocryphal than anything. Maybe Wisner made a root beer float, maybe he called it a brown cow, and maybe thats why a local restaurant still calls it by that name when the majority of the state does not.
The President of the Pikes Peak Historical Society tells me that Cripple Creek celebrates the invention of the black cow every year, and I will not be the person to rain on their parade.
That said, I couldnt help but wonder how the term got such a strong foothold in the great lakes region, and why it isnt really used in much of Colorado today. So I pressed on.
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At the end of this article, I am going to teach you a magic trick. I will demonstrate a 3-step method for cramming a one-ton organic lawnmower into ordinary barware. But first, I have a story to tell.
Last year, an extraordinary woman named Donna Runge said something that I have been obsessing over ever since. If you hear me out, I think you will too. Its just a slight turn of phrase, but theres a world of mystery and mythology behind it.
In this interview, starting at the 1:50 timestamp, Donna says, “[w]hen the war ended–I was six by then–things loosened up and my father as a treat would take us to one of the drive-ins and order a root beer float, or as we knew it back then, a black cow.”
Dona Runge, Root Beer Oracle
A black cow. Where the heck did that come from? Id heard the phrase before, but coming out of someone elses mouth, it suddenly sounded strange.
Growing up, I would have the occasional black cow on the back porch in the summertime. My parents called it that, and thats because their parents called it that. I just assumed everyone called it that, but it turns out thats not the case.
Before I dive into the story, a quick note on Donna. Her claim to fame is that she pushed Randy Sprecher, the founder of Sprecher Brewery, to start making the best root beer in America. Her interview is well worth a watch. But before you click away, you should hear me out on the ballad of the black cow.
The History Behind The Root Beer Float
FAQ
What is the nickname for a root beer float?
How would you describe a root beer float?
What is a blended root beer float called?
What is a beer float called?
What is a root beer float?
A root beer float is a kind of ice cream soda. This chilled beverage consist of ice cream in either a soft drink or a mixture of flavoured syrup and carbonated water. Our type occurs when root beer and vanilla ice cream are used together. Other names for this include: “black cow” and “brown cow”.
What is a black cow root beer float?
The definition of a “black” or “brown” “cow” root beer float varies depending on the region. For example, a traditional float is made with strictly vanilla ice cream. If chocolate ice cream s used instead it is a “chocolate” or “brown” cow. In other places, using cola instead of root bear makes it a “black cow”.
Who invented the root beer float?
The birth of the root beer float has a more contentious origin with three claiming for the title: Fred Sanders, Philip Mohr, and George Guy (on of Robert Green’s employees). But, it is Frank J. Wisner who gets the official recognition. Owner of Colorado’s Cripple Creek Brewery, Wisner created the first root beer float August 19th, 1893.
Is a root beer float a dirty soda?
In that a root beer float is a soda with an addition–ice cream and some melted ice cream–in this case, yes, it does fit the definition of a dirty soda. You can “dirty up” your float even more by adding additional syrups. Raspberry or cherry would be great in a root beer float! I did have one issue with root beer floats as a kid, though.