There are dozens of brands of birch beer available. Some other bottlers offer their own versions of birch beer. It can be used to make birch beer. Previously, there were Thomas Kemper varieties of Birch Beer and Cola as well. Shoofly pie, birch beer, and funnel cakes are regularly found at local fairs. They used birch bark (see birch beer), dandelion, sarsaparilla, fruit extracts, and other substances. The similarly flavored soft drink birch beer may also be used instead of root beer. A-Treat Birch Beer and Sarsaparilla are rated highly by connoisseurs of these types of beverages.