Inspired somewhat by the thread My Coke vs. Pepsi http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=718491 I noticed that fellow Doper panache45 is decidedly a fellow Root Beer fan, as me.
So perhaps there are other Root Beer aficionados out there, any maybe they could chime in with their favorite brews.
After all, these “Cola” wars get boring when one has the unlimited variety of Root Beers out there.
Bonus points for your favorite Root Beer Float recipes…
How many different ways would there be to combine root beer and ice cream?
OK just to show you how weird I am… I make an awesome (to me) RootBeer Peanut Butter Shake.
Really. It’s good. Honest.
In blender mix vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and root beer.
whrrrrrr for a bit.
Voila! Try it before you dis it.
My favorite root beer is only available via time machine, and could only be found in a tall frosted mug at the corner A&W, accompanied by a Teen Burger.
That would be my answer as well, with the added requirement of being ordered at the “King Lutz” A&W Drive-In, San Diego, circa 1964. (they had awesome chili dogs as well)
I was referring to the point in your OP where you asked for your favorite Root Beer Float recipes. What you describe above is, as you yourself said, a shake. As far as I know, a float is just ice cream and soda.
Sprecher Root Beer.
Honey sweetened. Good if you like a more mellow root beer.
Barq’s from before they got taken over by Coke, and were local to the South and especially Louisiana.
As for a float, I agree, the best recipe is a trip to our local A&W.
I really like Dominion, made by Old Dominion Brewery and Natural Brew Root Beer.
Boylan’s-failing that, IBC. Root beer is the only soft drink I will let my lips touch.
Sprecher bourbon barrel hard root beer. Straight up or with a scoop of French vanilla. It is 5% ABV but I can’t taste the alcohol.
Wow, so far the suggestions have been enlightening.
Yes, Kimballkid, my recipe is more of a shake. But it is a ROOT BEER shake which was my intention. 
@Hampshire and kayaker: Sprecher Root Beer? Is this a regional brand? Would love to try it.
@John DiFool- Boylan’s? Where and how could I sample? IBC is OK but…I would like to venture further
I used to really like Hire’s, but now it’s virtually nonexistent as the Dr. Pepper Snapple company has decided to concentrate on their A&W brand instead. Apparently they figured they couldn’t sell more than one kind of root beer or something stupid like that.
Sprecher also has one of the best diet (they call it low cal) root beers.
For main stream brands I like A&W, diet or regular.
Any root beer brand made with pure cane sugar is usually very good. I don’t remember the name of the stuff I bought at Whole Foods.
I remember Hire’s from way back when. Sadly they seem to have been “assimilated” with others.
I’ve had Specher Hard Root Beer by bottle at a local (western PA) bar. They once had it on draft and it was crazy good!
Sprecher is a little brewery near Milwaukee. For some reason Menards (a regional big box home improvement store) carries their soda and I can get it in Minnesota.
There’s an awesome Root Beer shop in Duluth MN and they have on-line ordering where you can get both Sprecher and Boylans as well as a ton of others.
Fizzy Waters
We had a thread about this a while back and someone voted for Virgil’s. I was at Trader Joe’s and saw some so I tried it, and it’s now my favorite. Not too biting, very mellow but full of flavor. And I have seen it in supermarkets as well as TJ’s.
I think I’ll go make a float now.
Wow. I lived a time in central PA but didn’t run across this. Sounds good.
That site in Hampshire’s post also reminded me that I also liked Dad’s, but apparently you can only get it in diet from that site.
But apparently you can get it in regular strength from the source.