# Root Beer Floats **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 17, 2006, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065 "2006-08-17T08:59:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/21 "2006-08-17T16:43:50Z")
> [@mischievous](#): > > Well, I’ve tried putting the root beer in first, and you guys are right that it reduces the foaming, but I’m still getting three or more inches of foam. That’s _ **THREE INCHES** _ of cup that should be filled with root beery goodness! I cannot live with this horror! > > Does anyone have any other tips? > > mischievous > > Maybe Stewarts is just exceptionally foamy You did not say, did you try the 45° on the mug trick as you poured? Jim ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/22 "2006-08-17T16:48:16Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > So, can anyone explain how a root beer float is different than a black cow? > > A black cow being vanilla ice cream, preferably the cheap kind so you get ice crystals - and root beer in a big old glass that you eat with a long iced tea spoon. At least that’s how it’s done in my family. > [@supervenusfreak](#): > > Same thing actually. It’s just a different regional name. Bzzzt! Some ignorant heathens may use the names synonomously, but that makes baby Og cry. A black cow is a root beer float with chocolate syrup in it and whipped cream on top of it. A root beer float is just root beer and ice cream. Google it, you’ll see I’m right. **mischievous** , I think it’s the Stewart’s. Bottled beers are more prone to giving head (heh.) than fountain drinks. WhyNot, who spent 3 excrutiating years in high school working in an “Ye Oldde Fashioned Ice Creame Shopppeeeeee” ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/23 "2006-08-17T16:51:44Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > You did not say, did you try the 45° on the mug trick as you poured? > > Jim You know, I’ve been awake for nearly 40 hours now. I poured my last float about half an hour ago. I know this because there’s an empty mug next to me which is empty but not yet dry. I, however, have absolutely no recollection of the pouring of said float. I think it’s time to go home. mischievous ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/24 "2006-08-17T16:52:35Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Bzzzt! Some ignorant heathens may use the names synonomously, but that makes baby Og cry. > > A black cow is a root beer float with chocolate syrup in it and whipped cream on top of it. A root beer float is just root beer and ice cream. Actually I did google it and came up with both answers. I definitely never ever want to make baby Og cry… 😃 ---
**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:** [August 17, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/25 "2006-08-17T17:23:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh, well, we still have a full tub of NSA Triple Chocolate, so I might have to try making a float with that. If that doesn’t work try FBI Vanilla or CIA Cherry. But avoid the DEA Mocha Chip. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/26 "2006-08-17T18:09:27Z")
It’s a witch! Or does that make it a duck? ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/27 "2006-08-17T18:31:49Z")
> [@Mischievous](#): > > Well, I’ve tried putting the root beer in first, and you guys are right that it reduces the foaming, but I’m still getting three or more inches of foam. That’s THREE INCHES of cup that should be filled with root beery goodness! I cannot live with this horror! No, no, that’s a _good_ thing! Because the foam gets all thick and creamy from the ice cream, and you eat that with a spoon, and then top off with more root beer. It takes a little longer, but you actually end up with _even more_ root beery goodness! ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/28 "2006-08-17T19:11:00Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Bzzzt! Some ignorant heathens may use the names synonomously, but that makes baby Og cry. > > A black cow is a root beer float with chocolate syrup in it and whipped cream on top of it. A root beer float is just root beer and ice cream. > > Google it, you’ll see I’m right. > > **mischievous** , I think it’s the Stewart’s. Bottled beers are more prone to giving head (heh.) than fountain drinks. > > WhyNot, > who spent 3 excrutiating years in high school working in an “Ye Oldde Fashioned Ice Creame Shopppeeeeee” In my family what we called a black cow was vanilla ice cream with Pepsi. What have I been drinking all these years? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/29 "2006-08-17T21:26:39Z")
[Root beer aficionado] I love root beer floats, but the way I was raised was Breyer’s vanilla ice cream and A&W root beer. Stewart’s and IBC work equally well, but Barq’s is a bit tangier and you want a sweeter, creamier root beer to match the ice cream. The best root beer I’ve ever had in my life was a regional brand called Big Shot, which is only available in New Orleans. When I came home from Mardi Gras, I stopped at a convenience store on my way out of town and bought a case of 2-liter bottles of Big Shot root beer and all the Zapp’s chips I could fit in my trunk. I’d kill to get my hands on some of it now, but I tracked down the distributor a couple years ago, and they told me they don’t sell or ship to individuals. Dammit! [/Root beer aficionado] ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/30 "2006-08-17T21:58:00Z")
> [@melondeca](#): > > In my family what we called a black cow was vanilla ice cream with Pepsi. What have I been drinking all these years? A Pepsi float. “Float” refers to the ice cream, which is by default vanilla - other flavors available on request. The name of the float is the name of the beverage in which you float said ice cream. “Root beer float”. “Pepsi float”, “Orange float” (aka “Dreamsicle”, but that gets you in trouble with lawyers.), “Mt. Dew float” etc. …and the word “float” looks really dumb to me now. Flo-at? What the hell’s a flo-at? ---
**Author:** ![Nightsong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nightsong/32/3083_2.png) [@Nightsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightsong)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/31 "2006-08-17T22:12:06Z")
Whatever you do, be careful if you make a root beer float using cookie dough ice cream. There’s just something about when the root beer hits the cookie dough… FOOOOOSH! :eek: :mad: ☹ It’s not as bad as putting Mentos in Diet Coke, but if aren’t watching for it you could wind up with foam everywhere. Mmm. Now I wonder how a root beer float would taste using Ben & Jerry’s Black and Tan ice cream… * * * \<\< Yield to temptation–it may not pass your way again. \>\> ---
**Author:** ![Corporate\_Hippie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/65b543/32.png) [@Corporate\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corporate_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/32 "2006-08-18T02:25:16Z")
A really yummy rootbeer float-like treat is a root beer Gelati with vanilla frozen custard from Rita’s. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/33 "2006-08-18T02:30:35Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > No, no, that’s a _good_ thing! Because the foam gets all thick and creamy from the ice cream, and you eat that with a spoon, and then top off with more root beer. It takes a little longer, but you actually end up with _even more_ root beery goodness! That’s what I was going to say! I eat the foam with my spoon, then add some more root beer. Lately, because we do not have root beer on hand, I have been indulging in a diet vanilla coke float with vanilla ice cream. Had one tonight before dinner. Yum! **diet** coke \>\< vanilla ice cream …magically cancels out the calories in the vanilla ice cream. I also sing the praises of the orange pop/vanilla ice cream combo. Summertime can be so pleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/34 "2006-08-18T03:02:51Z")
So, does the new guy have to send us all root beer floats instead of pie? Not that I’ve ever gotten any damn pie. Only thing that’s ever showed up on my end was Skald’s damn monkeys (smelly little bastards!) But maybe, with the root beer and the ice cream … make mine Hires Root Beer and Borden’s Vanilla Ice Cream. Fill 2/3 full of root beer, plop in two scoops of ice cream. Ahhhhh … I’ll be out on the patio, watchin’ the trucks climb the hill on I-76! When I first saw the thread title, I thought, “Hmm, root beer floats. It does? On what?” Oh, yeah, welcome aboard, jimbeam. Saaayyyy … how 'bout a bourbon float? ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/35 "2006-08-18T08:11:23Z")
> [@Sunrazor](#): > > Saaayyyy … how 'bout a bourbon float? I don’t know nothin’ 'bout no bourbon float, but I do know that at a bar my hubby and I frequented when we lived near Baltimore, the bartender would (at your request) make any drink that used cream, with ice cream instead. Mmmmm. White Russian Milkshake! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/36 "2006-08-18T08:18:23Z")
Just in case anyone is curious; I tried making floats with various flavours of ice cream in various kinds of beer; I’d hoped that at least one combination would be nice. Alas, no. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/37 "2006-08-18T09:11:32Z")
I’ve personally been having good results, lately, with vanilla ice cream/Black-Cherry Vanilla Coke floats. (I’ve always been a Coke-float fellow, myself.) I’m considering trying a White Chocolate & Raspberry/Vanilla-Cherry Coke float, in the near future. (And the fools at the University called me mad…_mad!_) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/38 "2006-08-18T12:25:31Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Just in case anyone is curious; I tried making floats with various flavours of ice cream in various kinds of beer; I’d hoped that at least one combination would be nice. Alas, no. [Check this out!](http://www.hungrymonster.com/recipe/recipe-search.cfm?Course_vch=Sorbet&ttl=1&Recipe_id_int=8517) ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/39 "2006-08-18T12:30:50Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > **I was too full to have one that night** , but resolved to have one later in the week. (bolding mine) I don’t understand this concept. Please explain. 😃 Personally, I like the foam. But slowly pouring the root beer, at an angle, works too! Hey **mischievous** , how’d your lab meeting go? ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065/40 "2006-08-18T12:39:46Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > Oh, well, we still have a full tub of NSA Triple Chocolate, so I might have to try making a float with that. …they make ICE CREAM, too? That’s the best cover story EVER. Seriously, though, I love Orange crush with Breyer’s vanilla, or Barq’s with store-brand cookies & cream. For a traditional RBF, Stewart’s with Haagen-Dazs is quite nice. A few mix-and-matches I’d like to try include orange sherbet in cream soda (reverse Dreamsicle), coffee and/or dark chocolate in cream soda (fizzy latte / fizzy mocha), vanilla or cherry vanilla in black cherry soda… and I’m dying to find an ice cream that’s worth floating in a mug of Vernor’s ginger soda. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/369065.md?page=3)