# Root beer floats **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [May 21, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041 "2008-05-21T00:31:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/1 "2008-05-21T00:31:35Z")
Ice cream first or root beer first? Support your argument. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/2 "2008-05-21T00:49:38Z")
Ice cream first. It’s just less messy that way. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/3 "2008-05-21T00:55:52Z")
Definitely ice cream first, because the foam can get out of hand very quickly and ice cream first is easier to control. ---
**Author:** ![Labelless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f19dbf/32.png) [@Labelless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labelless)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/4 "2008-05-21T01:14:20Z")
Another ice cream first. Foams up nicely, slurp a little off the top and add more root beer. ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/5 "2008-05-21T01:37:58Z")
I’m gonna go against the grain, here. Root beer first. Root beer has a tendency to bubble/fizz up something fierce, and when it comes in contact with ice cream those bubbles tend to stick around for a long time. So, when you add the ice cream to the root beer (carefully, to avoid splashes), you can get a higher _root beer float : glass_ ratio. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/6 "2008-05-21T01:54:22Z")
I like to put a little root beer in first, maybe half an inch to an inch; then the ice cream, THEN fine tune the rest of the treat. I get all paranoid at the idea that there won’t be any liquid root beer, otherwise, and that it will only be foam and ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/7 "2008-05-21T02:00:07Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] I get all paranoid at the idea that there won’t be any liquid root beer, otherwise, and that it will only be foam and ice cream. [/QUOTE] This is _exactly_ why I do the root beer first. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/8 "2008-05-21T02:11:29Z")
[QUOTE=iwakura43] Root beer floats [/QUOTE] It does? On what? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/9 "2008-05-21T02:13:13Z")
[QUOTE=Askance] It does? On what? [/QUOTE] On anything more dense. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/10 "2008-05-21T02:25:46Z")
First we must discuss ingredients. A&W or Mug root beer are both good; Barq’s, while fine for drinking straight, tastes really weird when used for floats for some reason. The ice cream should be something high quality, with a minimum of additives such as guar gum (preferably none, like how Breyer’s _used to be_, grumble grumble). Cheap ice cream has a bunch of that crap in it, and doesn’t melt the same way. Now we come to the question of whether to add the root beer first, or the ice cream. Foam is created when root beer and ice cream come into contact. If you add the ice cream first, all or most of the root beer will touch the ice cream before reaching the bottom of the glass, and you will have a ton of foam. But if you add the root beer first, only the top layer of root beer will touch the ice cream, assuming you don’t slam dunk the scoops into the glass. Bearing all this in mind, it’s really very simple: 1. Fill a glass half full of root beer. 2. Add two scoops of ice cream. 3. Enjoy your frosty beverage. ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/11 "2008-05-21T02:29:31Z")
[QUOTE=sturmhauke] Barq’s, while fine for drinking straight, tastes really weird when used for floats for some reason. [/quote] My WAG: it might be because of the caffeine, which typically lends a bitter flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/12 "2008-05-21T03:06:29Z")
Ice cream first, of course. And its called a Black Cow where I come from. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/13 "2008-05-21T08:36:01Z")
[QUOTE=Frostillicus] Ice cream first, of course. And its called a Black Cow where I come from. [/QUOTE] I’ve always known a Black Cow or Brown Cow to be made of chocolate ice cream and root beer. Incidentally, cherry vanilla ice cream works very well in a root beer float, even if it DOES have those cherry bits in it. ---
**Author:** ![JustThinkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@JustThinkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustThinkin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/14 "2008-05-21T12:07:09Z")
[QUOTE=sturmhauke] Now we come to the question of whether to add the root beer first, or the ice cream. Foam is created when root beer and ice cream come into contact. If you add the ice cream first, all or most of the root beer will touch the ice cream before reaching the bottom of the glass, and you will have a ton of foam. But if you add the root beer first, only the top layer of root beer will touch the ice cream, assuming you don’t slam dunk the scoops into the glass. [/QUOTE] Wow! A scientific [?] reason to do what I want to do anyway! I do root beer first because I like less foaming. **Fetchund** likes the ice cream first. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/15 "2008-05-21T14:02:16Z")
When I worked at Dairy Queen 30 years ago (DAMN, I’m old), we put the ice cream in first but we tilted the cup so that it made a thick column all the way up the side. If I were to make one at home, I’d put a scoop (or 2) in first. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/16 "2008-05-21T14:24:38Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] I like to put a little root beer in first, maybe half an inch to an inch; then the ice cream, THEN fine tune the rest of the treat. I get all paranoid at the idea that there won’t be any liquid root beer, otherwise, and that it will only be foam and ice cream. [/QUOTE] Ditto. We use thick beer mugs from the freezer, and I’ve found that if we but the ice cream in first, it tends to stick to the sides and bottom of the mug with a quickness. If we add some root beer first, and then add ice cream, and then more root beer, the ice cream actually floats. And that’s really the whole point, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/17 "2008-05-21T14:46:59Z")
Root beer first = Less foam + More pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/18 "2008-05-21T15:41:23Z")
I’d go with the root beer first. It may be messier, but most of the great things in life are great precisely because of the possibility of getting messy. To my great sorrow, I discovered some time back that IBC Root Beer, which is in every other way the perfect beverage, does not extend its divinity to the making of floats. One finds that upon contact with the ice cream, IBC tends to form root-beery ice shards that disrupt the aesthetic smoothness of texture requisite to a properly prepared RBF. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/19 "2008-05-21T17:49:00Z")
[QUOTE=Kizarvexius] I’d go with the root beer first. It may be messier, but most of the great things in life are great precisely because of the possibility of getting messy. To my great sorrow, I discovered some time back that IBC Root Beer, which is in every other way the perfect beverage, does not extend its divinity to the making of floats. One finds that upon contact with the ice cream, IBC tends to form root-beery ice shards that disrupt the aesthetic smoothness of texture requisite to a properly prepared RBF. [/QUOTE] ACK! say it ain’t so! if IBC (my drinking favorite) is persona non grata for root beer floats, what’s a girl to do? i can’t make my nephew inferior root beer floats for memorial day weekend!!! what IS the best root beer to use? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041/20 "2008-05-21T17:58:37Z")
We had an awesome thread about root beer floats awhile back where **Anastaseon** (hope I spelled that right) drew pictures of herself trying my recipe. I think she’s since said that she lost the pictures, unfortunately. Oh yeah, ummm, ice cream first, but I think the last couple times I’ve tried root beer first and liked it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/root-beer-floats/450041.md?page=2)