# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/41 "2010-03-05T20:02:52Z")
I don’t drink root beer that much anymore, but my best root beer memories are of floats in frosted mugs at the old A&W drive-ins. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/42 "2010-03-05T20:08:52Z")
I like IBC, and it’s probably better, but A&W got my vote for nostalgic reasons. I still favor a float made with A&W. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/43 "2010-03-05T20:09:53Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Root Beer is naturally caffeine free. I get too much caffeine from coffee. It’s nice having a soda that doesn’t get me jumpy. Barq’s has caffeine, brought to you by the pushers at Coca Cola Corp. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/44 "2010-03-05T20:16:52Z")
I haven’t been to a serious Root Beer Tasting, but two already mentioned are favorites. Abita, from Louisiana. And Saint Arnold’s [Root Beer](http://www.saintarnold.com/beers/rootbeer.html), made here in Houston. > [@](#): > > We use all cane sugar in our root beer which is stupidly expensive because of government controls on sugar pricing and imports. It creates a great mouthfeel to the root beer though and gives a much fuller sweetness than the thin sweet taste one gets with high fructose corn syrup. > > We actually make no money on our root beer. We make it for fun and put no effort into selling it. Sales continue to climb on it even without our trying though. Oh well. > > Strange fact: drinking root beer gives you very refreshing burps. It’s the wintergreen. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/45 "2010-03-05T20:19:24Z")
The lack of caffeine is why I generally stick to root beer and orange when it comes to soda. So Barq’s would probably be at the bottom of the list anyway, but it helps that it tastes awful. ---
**Author:** ![cstamets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@cstamets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cstamets)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/46 "2010-03-05T21:36:53Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > The lack of caffeine is why I generally stick to root beer and orange when it comes to soda. > > So Barq’s would probably be at the bottom of the list anyway, but it helps that it tastes awful. Along with Barq’s, Sunkist orange also has caffeine. That knowledge saved me when my wife attempted to limit my caffeine intake by taking away my Pepsi and Dew. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/47 "2010-03-05T22:05:31Z")
1. Draft A&W in a frosted glass mug 2. Frostie’s 3. Virgils’s 4. Water ---
**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, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/48 "2010-03-05T22:16:34Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > 1. Frostie’s Frostie’s is really good too. I couldn’t remember the name though. It’s the brand with Santa on the bottle right? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/49 "2010-03-05T22:36:10Z")
I haven’t seen a Frostie in a long time. They were very good. I think they were in a special bottle. It was textured instead of smooth. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/50 "2010-03-05T22:53:27Z")
Sprecher ---
**Author:** ![TheTerribleTako](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@TheTerribleTako](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTerribleTako)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/51 "2010-03-05T23:51:53Z")
Henry Weinhardts are great, especially for making root beer floats, but my current favorite is Dr. Tima Honey Root Beer. It’s not a very conventional root beer, but I like the honey flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/52 "2010-03-06T00:21:58Z")
Several years ago a buddy of mine had a housewarming party and finally got to do something he’d always talked about, a blind rootbeer tasting with a big crowd of people. We went to BevMo and bought a pack of just about every brand they had on the shelf…IIRC we had at least two dozen makes. Then he passed around score sheets and we all tasted and rated each one, without knowing exactly which brand we were drinking. Results were remarkably consistent - the boutiquey-microbrewery brands were universally disliked (despised in many cases) and the winner was a well-known brand, either A&W or Barq’s. I’m putting down Barq’s because I like it and don’t recall who our victor was. We all urged my friend to write this up as a magazine article and make sure that the winning brand’s manufacturer got a copy, he’d probably have gotten rootbeer for life out of it. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/53 "2010-03-06T04:13:18Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Barqs all the way…and that’s not even counting that it DOES have caffeine. I know it used to have caffeine, but the last time I checked, it no longer had it. Check your label and see if it does or not.quote=joebuck20;12191108]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. […] [/quote] Virgil’s is also my favorite. From their [website](http://www.reedsinc.com/virgils): > [@](#): > > Virgil’s Microbrewed Root Beer contains these key all-natural ingredients: > [ul] > [li]carbonated water[/li][li]unbleached cane sugar[/li][/ul]Along with these natural herbs and spices (including point of origin): > [ul] > [li]anise from Spain[/li][li]licorice from France[/li][li]vanilla (bourbon) from Madagascar[/li][li]cinnamon from Ceylon[/li][li]clove from Indonesia[/li][li]wintergreen from China[/li][li]sweet birch from the southern US[/li][li]molasses from the US[/li][li]nutmeg from Indonesia[/li][li]pimento berry oil from Jamaica[/li][li]balsam oil from Peru[/li][li]cassia oil from China[/li][/ul]Some root beers claim to be “cold-brewed”. This is merely another term for the filtering process that yields common soda. Even so-called premium root beers like Stewarts, IBC and Weinhard’s are not hand crafted brews like Virgil’s. > Only Virgil’s Microbrewed Root Beer is truly “brewed.” It sounds like there would be too many flavors competing, but it just tastes like creamy root beer. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/54 "2010-03-06T04:27:08Z")
The Virgil’s Root Beer I liked best actually had honey in the ingredients. Their Bavarian Nu tmeg Root Beer is the only one listed that includes honey. Its ingredients: Carbonated water, unbleached cane sugar, natural caramel color, anise, honey, licorice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, wintergreen, cassia oil, sweet birch and molasses. I guess I’ll have to do some serious taste-testing. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/55 "2010-03-06T04:28:23Z")
Evidently, Barq’s has caffeine in some regions, no caffeine in other regions. To me, it tastes awful either way. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/56 "2010-03-06T06:09:12Z")
It’s not Barq, it’s **Barq’s** - and that is the only dog with bite in this poll. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/57 "2010-03-06T08:18:14Z")
Finally got around to tasting my Hires. It tasted great! Very reminiscent of tap A&W. I wonder if the hatred many people have for craft root beers is because they tend to have a caramely taste. I tried Sprechers and other craft root beers and that’s what I objected to. Plus does anyone remember Ramblin’? It was Coke’s pre-Barq’s offering in the root beer wars. I never saw it in stores but it was fairly common in fountains. It tasted like A&W with a foamier taste. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/58 "2010-03-06T10:30:43Z")
No mention of Saranac yet? I’m surprised. Well allow me, I vote for Saranac. Stewart’s and IBC are probably close seconds. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/59 "2010-03-06T10:40:16Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Stewart’s is my favorite among brands I can actually find without going to a great deal of trouble. > > My original favorite was [Frostie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frostie_Root_Beer) Root Beer but I haven’t had one in a long long time. Stewart’s makes a good one and the diet version is quite good for diet. Polar and Adirondack are also both pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/60 "2010-03-06T11:53:14Z")
Had to vote “other,” because there aren’t any premium/craft root beers on the list. If Thomas Kemper or Henry Weinhard’s was on there, I’d probably have voted for them. Of the ones you listed, I’d probably go for draft A&W. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388.md?page=4)