# Best Root Beer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [March 5, 2010, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388 "2010-03-05T06:14:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/21 "2010-03-05T16:26:32Z")
Virgil’s is my favorite, but a bit pricey. A six-pack goes for almost the same price as a six-pack of actual beer. Among the regional brands, St. Arnold’s, the beer brewery in Houston, makes a really good cane sugar root beer. Among the brands you named, IBC and Dad’s are my favorites. I try to get a bottle of Dad’s whenever I’m at the Dollar Tree. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/22 "2010-03-05T16:34:05Z")
A&W from an actual A&W restaurant, is amazing… Joe ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/23 "2010-03-05T16:41:12Z")
I pretty much only drink diet now and Diet Barq’s is much better than any others I’ve tried. Best root beer I ever had was Fanta but that was 30 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/24 "2010-03-05T17:02:35Z")
Virgil’s. Thomas Kemper is pretty good, too (as is Henry Weinhard’s.) ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/25 "2010-03-05T17:32:57Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Barqs all the way…and that’s not even counting that it DOES have caffeine. I have a diet Barq with me now, it doesn’t list caffeine. I would like it to have some tho. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/26 "2010-03-05T17:36:19Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > A&W from an actual A&W restaurant, is amazing… > > Joe Agreed ! Back in the day when they brewed it “In house”…so so creamy! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/27 "2010-03-05T17:36:55Z")
Voted other for Virgils. ---
**Author:** ![hopesperson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@hopesperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hopesperson)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/28 "2010-03-05T17:48:35Z")
The correct answer is Sprecher. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/29 "2010-03-05T17:51:17Z")
The best was the old draft A&W from childhood. More recently, the best I’ve had was draft root beer made at Glacier Brewhouse in Anchorage. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/30 "2010-03-05T17:51:38Z")
[Abita Root Beer made with Louisiana pure cane sugar.](http://abita.com/brews/root_beer.php) [Here’s an Amazon store that sells it.](http://www.amazon.com/Abita-LOUISIANA-sugar-12-Ounce-Bottle/dp/B001IVWBHA) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/31 "2010-03-05T17:58:07Z")
Barq’s is supreme, when you can’t get draft A&W. IBC is in the same ballpark, but lacks that sharp taste. A&W in the can is a fine root beer, which I tend to think of as a kind of candy – bright and sweet. A&W fresh from the restaurant is the standard by which root beer is to be judged. > [@psychonaut](#): > > It’s debatable as to whether Barq’s even counts as root beer. It wasn’t originally marketed as such. They decided to slap the “root beer” label on it years later. Personally I don’t think it tastes much like root beer. I wasn’t aware it was controversial. What’s not root beer about it? Is it flavored with wintergreen? And do you have a cite for this information? I had something called Tommyknockers which was just awful, and the hint of maple which was its selling point really didn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/32 "2010-03-05T18:04:51Z")
So why are root beers caffeine free? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/33 "2010-03-05T18:28:17Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > So why are root beers caffeine free? Because nothing they make it with has caffeine. I actually was not impressed with Virgil’s. A&W from an actual A&W does in fact kick ass. In the bottle I like Thomas Kemper best. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/34 "2010-03-05T18:29:44Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Sprecher is my brand of choice. I can find it at my local butcher shop, and surprisingly at some hardware stores. It comes from Milwaukee so it may not be a national brand. > > Otherwise I agree that IBC is good, but if you can find A&W on tap that is hard to beat. Yep, I voted Other because of Sprecher’s, but IBC is the best on that list. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/35 "2010-03-05T19:03:09Z")
[Maine Root](http://www.maineroot.com/products_rootbeer.php). If you can find it on draft, it’s even better. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/36 "2010-03-05T19:06:14Z")
Barq’s _because_ it has caffeine. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/37 "2010-03-05T19:07:05Z")
A&W from the soda fountain at an A&W restaurant. IBS is best from the bottle. There’s some great small company root beers. Dogs n Suds is good. Triple X is really good AT Triple X but I don’t know how it is from a bottle. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/38 "2010-03-05T19:23:02Z")
I like Hansen’s. It has a nice complex flavor, even the diet version. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/39 "2010-03-05T19:23:09Z")
> [@Terraplane](#): > > Boylan’s is the best I’ve ever had although I haven’t had very many outside of the major brands. Of those, I always liked Dad’s a lot but I can’t find it anymore. The worst that I’ve tried is Mug. They sell it at dollar general. (dad’s) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/40 "2010-03-05T19:50:57Z")
Henry Weinhardt’s and Hires are the best. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388.md?page=3)