# 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:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/81 "2010-03-10T19:21:12Z")
A&W on tap is just fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/82 "2010-03-10T20:03:27Z")
I love a good root beer, and of the brands listed in the poll, IBC is my favorite. I’ve learned that the more licorice-y a root beer tastes, the less I like it. Brands like IBC and A&W (which I’ve only had from a can, not from tap) are on the less-licorice-y end of the spectrum, while Virgil’s is on the more-licorice-y end. Several brands have gotten multiple mentions in this thread, such as Sprecher and Henry Weinhardt’s. Can folks tell me how licorice-y they taste, so I can know if I should bother spending time seeking them out? ---
**Author:** ![Loisseau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@Loisseau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loisseau)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/83 "2010-03-10T21:31:53Z")
\*\*Stewart’s-\*\*regular and diet. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/84 "2010-03-11T02:46:43Z")
> [@Ruby Sees](#): > > You have Hires? Does someone still sell it? I thought they stopped making it years ago and it was my favorite! Yes. It is owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group now, which also owns A&W. It is only available in select markets so as not to too badly cut into the A&W brand. But if you ever find yourself in Utah there are even a Hires Big-H chain of burger joints with it on tap. ---
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/85 "2010-03-11T07:41:44Z")
What makes this country great is that you can go into an A&W, plunk down a measely $1.35, and you can serve yourself as much A&W rootbeer as you can drink, from the tap, exactly the way that you want it poured. It is so good, I feel guilty, like I am at a strip joint or something. To me, rootbeer is like a candy or a dessert. It doesn’t make me less thirsty, it makes me more thirsty. The purpose of drinking it is to experience the flavor. All other rootbeers that I have tried are in my judgement at least “good” in their own way. Kinda like pizza. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388/86 "2010-03-11T08:34:34Z")
[Ironhorse](http://cosmosrootbeerreviews.blogspot.com/2008/11/iron-horse-root-beer.html). It’s made in Minnesota, but, for some reason, they sell it 'round here at a Texas Barbeque-style restaurant. It’s the first root beer I ever tasted that did not taste exactly the same. Since then, I’ve noticed the differences in other root beers, but I always go back to this one. Too bad you have to buy it in bottles at a restaurant that has free refills for everything else… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-root-beer/531388.md?page=4)