Last night I had a hankering for a root beer float. Didn’t have one, but I’m curious: How much ice cream do you put in a root beer float, assuming a 12-ounce container of root beer? I use two scoops.
That’s about right. I use Coke fountain glasses for such concoctions, and two scoops provides just the right ratio of ice cream to root beer.
oddly enough, cheaper ice cream works better. Kroger brand vanilla crystallizes nicely and gives a crunch to the float.
That’s more like what I had at drug store soda fountains thirty plus years ago.
Premium ice cream has a different texture in floats. I’m old school and like what I got as a kid.
Sometimes I’ll use a mini hand blender to mix my float. That was a cow or frosties at soda fountains.
I tend to overload on the ice cream, and as I drink it down, add more ice cream. I don’t like to taste coke in my floats… But I actually only start with one scoop.
Two scoops is perfect. I use Kemps cheap vanilla. I like to let it sit for a few minutes after adding the root beer so that tasty icy coating forms over the ice cream.
Root beer floats are a New Year’s Eve tradition in my family. I prefer chocolate ice cream in mine; yields better-tasting foam than vanilla.
Two scoops sounds about right. I use a pint glass and add Pepsi (in my case) as I go. I agree that cheaper ice cream is better for floats. I love that crystal-crunchiness. At then end it’s more of a Pepsi milkshake, though.
I prefer more ice cream than root beer. The scoops should go to the top of the glass and then pour root beer over it to fill about 2/3 of the glass.
1.5 scoops.
And the pour some root beer in before putting the ice cream in. Helps preserve more of the foam.
I have thick glass mugs I use for floats. I basically fill them to the top (about 2.5 scoops), then basically pour in rootbeer to top it up.
I find it works better to pour in the root beer first, then add the ice cream. That way you don’t end up with a glass full of foam.
I think Coke floats are so much better than root beer ones… even Pepsi tastes great with ice cream…
I’m going with 1 1/2 scoops… a girl has to watch her figure.
But then you can’t get enough ice cream into the glass! Proper method is to fill the glass to the top with as many scoops as it takes, then pour in the root beer. First suck all the foam off with the straw, add more root beer if needed, and then drink all the root beer. Eat remaining crispy and mooshy ice cream with a spoon.
I used to do the exact opposite. Even though I intentionally stir it up, I always wind up with extra ice cream, as I don’t like eating the ice cream when it isn’t mixed with the soda. I then top off the soda, not the ice cream.
Lately, though, since I’m trying cut down on too much sweets, I just blend the whole thing together with a hand mixer, and thus drink a blended float.
This is how I do it. The ice cream isn’t packed, so there’s space for root beer, but it definitely reaches the top of the glass. However, I don’t drink all the root beer. I eat the ice cream with a spoon to get the ice crystals first, then when it gets melty I mix it all together.
DAMNIT
Now I need to go shopping. 
Count me in with whatever version makes as much foam as possible. Yum…
Did you know root beer floats are called Black Cows? And they used to serve them at Walgreen’s back when they had lunch counters. (Had one scoop.)
I make mine stouter, tho. Ice cream to the top, dribble in the root beer. Scoop out the foam and flick it in the sink (I know that’s a favorite part for some of you.) Then dribble in some more root beer and eat it with a teaspoon. My husband uses our son’s old baby spoon.
There used to be A&W drive-ins that served burgers & fries etc. When you ordered a root beer the car hops brought it out in heavy glass frosted mugs. It was so dark and rich that you felt like you were eating instead of drinking.