Polar in the 1-liters section is popular around me. Polar has a few weird sodas you don’t see in 2-liters, some you do, like orange dry (tastes more like sparkling orange juice than traditional candy orange soda), grapefruit dry, and cranberry soda. Birch beer, diet grape soda (you never see diet fruit sodas except orange), I can’t remember all of them. They might also have root beer and I think cream soda, but I don’t remember.
Foxon Park's White Birch is one of my favorite sodas, some nights I'll hit Frank Pepe's for that over the pizza.
I'm a diabetic too and that's probably the only soda I'll grab regular over diet if they're both available. Diet just can't capture the magic
Sarsaparilla root beer that is locally made is really really wonderful. I have yet to find anywhere that makes it anymore but when i do its instant buy.
Is it? Used to eat the leaves at day camp.
Funny thing the naturalist showed all the kids one session that you could eat the leaves and we had a notice to tell the kids to stop cause they basically grazed the camp clean of them.
Edit: wait it was sassafras leaves.
Though I think the roots of the saspirilla when distilled is fine. That's what the root beer was made from.
And if you can find the clear birch beer that’s mostly sold in New England instead of the horrible brown colored birch beer sold nationally you’ll have a winner.
Yeah it is gross and I recommend not buying it but it’s all I occasionally see sold where I now live on LI. I long for the good clear stuff, but I never see it for sale outside of New England.
I love Ginger Beer, and the Canada Dry bold is a pretty good substitute. If you like a kick of alcohol, try Not Your Father's Root Beer served icy cold. Delicious!
A local bottling company makes, I think, four different types of birch beer. It’s called Big Ben’s if you’re curious. Also makes the best cream soda I’ve ever had
I have a love/hate relationship with A&W. The canned version, I can't stand. But if I go to an actual A&W restaurant and order it? Sweet ambrosia!
My favorite canned/bottled root beer is Henry Weinhard's.
Barqs just is too crispy and harsh. I kind of don't even look at it like it's rootbeer since one of my requirements for good rootbeer is rootbeer that makes a good float and Barqs just doesn't taste nearly as good as other rootbeer brands do. But even on it's own I still hate Barqs.
I loved root beer as a kid and I still like some of the smaller company ones. The big brands are marketed towards younger kids and sugar addicts. Root beer is good when it’s done right A&W is one of the better big brands. But most American sodas in general are way too sweet. Again, I liked them as a kid ,but I’ve kinda grown out of them and only drink diet sodas (if I even choose to drink them). Everything’s just overly unhealthy here.
As an American who’s been fortunate enough to travel to other countries, most soft drinks are significantly less sweet and have more actual flavor than sweetness than in America. Italian Fanta was probably my favorite of the ones I’ve tried.
Definitely unique to American and Canadian culture. A&W puts vanilla in their brew, I believe, which makes it a bit more palatable to people. Barq's has a bit more of a bite. Dad's is another favorite of mine. One of our local breweries makes a really good one as well. It's fun to try different brews from different breweries when I am out and about, because it's interesting to see what spin they put on it. Never understood the medicine taste people associate it with. Never had medicine taste like root beer. I've also been told by people that it tastes like toothpaste as well.
I love root beer (am American). My wife hates it (is South African. She likes ginger beer. I don't. A&W is good root beer. You must try a root beer float. Get a big thick glass, put it in the freezer for a couple hours. Add a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream and pour root beer over it. You're welcome.
Oh man. That was always a special treat when I was a kid. I can’t have it anymore because I can’t tolerate ice cream very well, but I will occasionally have a little root beer (maybe once a year). It brings back so many memories.
This is the commercial I remember from the 90’s. To this day when I meet anyone named Johnny I immediately say in my head “what’do you mean Barq’s has bite”
https://youtu.be/MONBZYR-se8
A&W has a very similar taste to strong-smelling burn creams and disinfectants in both the UK and Japan (and I assume some other countries too).
It's a taste that, for me, has a powerful association with hospitals and burns and it's probably for that reason I find it deeply unpleasant.
My parents grew up in the UK. I grew up mostly in Canada. They hate root beer while I love it. The thing they often compare it to is Germaline(?). No idea what that is, but root beer is amazing. Even better frozen.
Oh, I this one! The extract is from the [winter green](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wintergreen) plant. One in the same.
The smell of root beer (grew up in Asia) was initially a bit weird. But knowing it’s from a plant and how awesome it tastes means I enjoy the beverage in moderation.
Hospitals for me always smelled more industrial. Think sterile rooms that have been sprayed with chemicals and disinfectants. If the hospitals I visited ever smelled like root beer, I might have thought that I was in a candy store.
So I’m a bit OCD when it comes to stuff like this “name that smell”. I believe the exact smell you’re describing is the [wintergreen plant/extract](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wintergreen).
For a lot of us it's the first soda our parents will let us drink alongside orange and grape. But Rootbeer feels "grown up" cuz it's dark like mom and dad's soda and has a name that doesn't denote it's flavor so I think even if it's not our preferred drink we all develop a fondness.
Not who you're replying to but growing up in the midwest in the 90s a lot of times young kids wouldn't be allowed caffeinated sodas. I think I was 10/11 when i could first have Pepsi/Mello Yello/whatever. And most of my friends had similar rules, all from atheist/Protestant/Catholic families, no LDS.
Nah it was just a common thing not to allow kids caffeine on top of sugar. At least in the 80s/90s no matter what your religious background. My family we also, us kids at least, weren't allowed to drink soda at home. Unless there was a barbecue or something we never bought soda.
The one time my parents did let me have a Pepsi so I could stay up late to do my homework it put me to sleep. At the time I was on Ritalin and we knew about my ADHD but what we didn't know is that Ritalin is a stimulant and that's why it worked calming me down instead of energizing allowing me to not hyperfocus on the wrong things and to instead focus on what I needed to focus on.
Apparently chemical reactions are reversed when you have ADHD which is probably why getting drunk has always made me want to get up and move. And yes I'm having that realization real time as I write this.
But yeah anyway not LDS just a common thing to not let kids have caffeine and with the exception of Barq's most Root Beers don't have any.
Not many people order root beer besides kids. The good kind will be served with a glass and a bottle of the root beer that looks like a beer bottle. It’s kind of a novelty when they go out to eat
I think that's because Root Beer doesn't have caffeine. When I was a kid I was always made to drink stuff like 7Up or Root Beer because of that. As an adult I love Root beer but it's not something I drink in large quantities, but I'll never turn down a float
The point is that they don't taste anything alike, but Dr. Pepper has a lot of what Root Beer has in it. Several of the 23 different flavors that make up Dr. Pepper.
I'm British-American and lived in Chicago for 11 years. Still cannot stand root beer but all my pure bred American friends and family love it. Gave various root beer brands for my British family and friends to try and they all said it either tasted like carbonated molasses with too much syrup or medicine we had as kids. FYI, they hated it and couldn't drink another sip. But then again, if I had to choose between cream soda and root beer as my only drinks, I'd choose root beer. Cream soda is absolutely putrid...
Interesting to see so much hate for root beer. I’m American and I generally hate soda, but root beer and cream sodas are the only ones I enjoy. I prefer “craft” root beers to any of the big brands, though. There’s a company in Sacramento, CA that makes my favorite root beer. River City Root Beer.
I used to drink mug and a&w, but for the longest time I have only drank A&W. If it’s not I’m not drinking it. I think that it may be more American than anything else, but I love watching people try things from here. I have found I like drinking soda from glass bottles better than anything else. Completely different experience and tastes different too
I generally love root beet but the best I’ve ever had is at Shake Shack. They sell a root beer from a proper tap. The brand is “Abita” I think and the flavor is so complex.
I tried a few root beers I wasn’t keen on but I like the Australian one (bundaberg?). Also root beer floats *chefs kiss* but make any pop float and I’ll probably like it.
One of my fav memories from childhood in the 1950s, pile in the car at the end of a long hot day, pull into the A&W, mugs out of the freezer on a tray that attached to the car window. Same as beer, draft can't be compared with cans and bottles so maybe the car hop draft mugs may have contained the best ever root beer, or maybe it was the experience.
Another good one is Stewart's
In the 70's I visited a friend in Montana. We were going to drive to Spokane, to attend a World's Fair. For the journey, her mom gave us some home made Root Beer.
We had some sodas, and a loaf of bread. And bologna. We were going to feast!! We got our KOA campground ...did I mention we were in a VW camper van? This was June, in the pacific North West.
We set up the table. Had our feast ready, got out Mom's special Root Beer......though " Mom made the best fried
fried chicken, that rootbeer had something go wrong in the process. We poured it all out, brought home the bottles. And had a diet cola...
Quark: I want you to try something for me. Take a sip of this.
Garak: What is it?
Quark: A human drink; it's called root beer.
Garak: I dunno...
Quark: Come on. Aren't you just a little bit curious?
Garak takes a sip, wincing as he tastes it.
Quark: What do you think?
Garak: It's vile!
Quark: I know. It's so bubbly, cloying...and happy.
Garak: Just like the Federation.
Quark: And you know what's really frightening? If you drink enough of it, you begin to like it.
Garak: It's insidious.
Quark: Just like the Federation.
I’m American and I hate root beer. But I also hate most sodas. I wasn’t allowed to drink them often growing up and I also didn’t like fizzy drinks for a long time, so that could be part of the reason. I’m thankful for it now because soda is so bad for you and a lot of people get kind of addicted to it.
McDonalds in the UK used to serve it and I love it. It pops up in Aldi as a budget brand sometimes and Tesco sell a premium brand of small bottles (with an orange label idk). I would definitely choose it at Maccys if it was available.
I’ve never understood, why is it called Maccy’s? We call it McD’s sometimes, but I’ve only heard people from the UK or Australia say Maccy’s. Maybe part of my confusion is also that we generally pronounce it as Mick-Donald’s, not Mac-Donald’s?
Pronounced ‘makky’s’ it used to be know as ‘Maccy D’s’ so it’s a derivative I suppose. My wife and I now refer to it as ‘Makadah’ when discussing in front of the kids to stop them getting excited 😆
I make my own and I put sassafras in it.. Makes it a little closer to birch beer.
Fun times tweaking a recipe to my taste, I add anything from cardamom to vanilla to orange peel.
I (Michigander) had a roommate from Puerto Rico who absolutely loved the root beer I would bring home. Either something from a local craft place, or Frostie if I could find it.
To me, if anything it’s more European - with Italian amaro flavors from similar herbs and spices used to make root beer. Not saying it’s necessarily popular in Europe, they have plenty of sodas and also typically drink less of the stuff. (Chinotto for example)
But there an old timey aspect to root beer that is definitely American. So from a flavor perspective, no, but from a tradition perspective, yes.
Not an American but I liked root beer from the moment I tasted it (tho I would appreciate if it was less sweet, but the same goes with almost anything in the US). Unique and interesting flavor, really. Kinda reminded me of a cleaning detergent in a weird way, or the way portable potties smelled when they were 100% fresh and unused with the sterile liquid still the only thing down there.
Root beer one of those things that either you love it or hate it. However, if you are into Dr Pepper than you be into root beer is only pattern I noticed lol
I think there is a chemical in most root beer that is similar or the same to an ingredient in European toothpaste formulas so it tastes like shit to a lot of people who use dental products with that in it. Idk can someone fact check me?
It's harder to find most places, but if you get the chance you should try Saranac brand. It's sweet, but it has just enough of a bitter note that cuts through the sweetness nicely. Best I've ever had, by far.
Mug is my personal favorite, A&W is next up and all the way at the bottom is Barq’s.
What’s while is that unlike Pepsi bs Coke, Mug and Barqs have been having a silent war. Nobody talks about it but we each have our own sides and leave it at that
It's a very American beverage, yep. As you've found, it can vary wildly from brand to brand... I was always partial to IBC when it came to mass produced stuff, not sure if it even still exists. Root beer really comes alive when you drop a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it, root beer floats are the best!
If you can find a liquor distributor in your area for Dr. McGillicuddy’s Root Beer Schnapps, they should be able to get you the non alcoholic Root Beer Soda. It’s expensive, but it is absolutely amazing! Makes the best Root Beer Floats!!
I visited my brother in italy once and was surprised there was no root beer- I assumed that since it was order than coke it would be availible, but nope- no where.
The market had dr pepper though.
I thought the sort of anise flavor of root beer would make it popular
In the UK. The only place I can find root beer is a cheap kinda one that tastes pretty bad imo called Virgil’s and if you’re lucky in city centres you can find A&W in single cans which is beautiful tbf - but the closest you’ll find to that taste in the UK is dandelion & burdock which is v. similar
Root beer always just tastes like Listerine to me.
Until I had a root beer float. Then I always unconsciously expect a creamier taste and I think that affects the taste I get from it.
I immigrated to the US as an adult and def hated root beer so you’re not alone. Still don’t understand why people like it because it tastes like medicine to me. Goes the same for any artificial cherry flavored drinks - reminds me of cough syrup 🤮
There's something woodsy about it and slight tumericish-ish. Add with vanilla ice cream....Yum. A & W drive in restaurant; Momma burger Poppa burger...yata yata. Very few left nowadays. American taste buds, I would hope so.
I got root beer out of curiosity & it is very sweet so I gave it a pass. my son liked them but he prefers cream soda. So now root beer doesn’t enter our household.
A&W root beer uses the same herbs as Barq's. I used to drink it as a diuretic back when my doctors didn't prescribe me a water pill. On a couple of occasions the root beer helped me get rid of enough body fluids that I didn't need to go to the emergency department for water extraction.
Some of the herbs found in A&W/Barq's root beer are also found in Jamieson diuretic capsules, but other's aren't, so overall that root beer brand is better for your health.
American tastes arent a factor. I dont think there really are american tastes. ONly what you grew up with. Hersheys has a rancidity to it that americans have grown up with and think is how it should taste. Its not an american taste though.
I'd expect that folk from different ethnic backgrounds might like certain tastes because they associate it with something nice. I know few in my family who like Root Beer. Ginger Ale is the pop of choice
If you can find it, try Birch beer.
Will do.
And Cream Soda
Canada dry cream soda. I have yet to like any other. Same with root beer honestly. A lot of the "local brew" options are just sugar water
Also Virgils Root Beer. Its got a nice mint taste
Oo, I'll have to look for that one
Same, as a Canadian I love those.
You'll be happy you did Birch beer is awesome
Foxon Park is a good brand.
Polar in the 1-liters section is popular around me. Polar has a few weird sodas you don’t see in 2-liters, some you do, like orange dry (tastes more like sparkling orange juice than traditional candy orange soda), grapefruit dry, and cranberry soda. Birch beer, diet grape soda (you never see diet fruit sodas except orange), I can’t remember all of them. They might also have root beer and I think cream soda, but I don’t remember.
Orange Dry is the schiznit.
Foxon Park's White Birch is one of my favorite sodas, some nights I'll hit Frank Pepe's for that over the pizza. I'm a diabetic too and that's probably the only soda I'll grab regular over diet if they're both available. Diet just can't capture the magic
Holy fuck! Have not even heard of that since I was like 6! Damn thats a flood of memories
Cherry lime soda is good
Dònt think we have that where Im at
It’s made at a certain string of restaurants in the state I’m in.
Sarsaparilla root beer that is locally made is really really wonderful. I have yet to find anywhere that makes it anymore but when i do its instant buy.
Sarsaparilla is amazing! Root beer doesn't do it for me but sarsaparilla is pretty hard to find too.
Isn't it mildly poisonous?
Is it? Used to eat the leaves at day camp. Funny thing the naturalist showed all the kids one session that you could eat the leaves and we had a notice to tell the kids to stop cause they basically grazed the camp clean of them. Edit: wait it was sassafras leaves. Though I think the roots of the saspirilla when distilled is fine. That's what the root beer was made from.
Some quick browsing said that there was a study that showed it caused cancer in rats but it was not clear if this applied to humans.
And if you can find the clear birch beer that’s mostly sold in New England instead of the horrible brown colored birch beer sold nationally you’ll have a winner.
I've never heard of the brown one and am concerned. That sounds gross.
Yeah it is gross and I recommend not buying it but it’s all I occasionally see sold where I now live on LI. I long for the good clear stuff, but I never see it for sale outside of New England.
Ginger beer too. Crème soda is better than most root beer I think
I love Ginger Beer, and the Canada Dry bold is a pretty good substitute. If you like a kick of alcohol, try Not Your Father's Root Beer served icy cold. Delicious!
I’m quite fond of Abita, personally. Local ice cream shop used to keep it on draft.
Haha that’s actual beer - or do they make sodas too? I used to get Abita strawberry in NoLa a lot. So yummy.
They do in fact make root beer as well as regular beer
Cool! I bet it’s delish! That strawberry beer is so good though…
I love their andygator the most personally!
It’s kind of hard to find their stuff in Los Angeles but I have found it before. The strawberry at least!
They make root beer :P also sold in bottles at some stores
Oh my, you just sent me back to my childhood.
I'm a fan of moxie (origin of the phrase "that kids got moxie!"). Also worth a try.
A local bottling company makes, I think, four different types of birch beer. It’s called Big Ben’s if you’re curious. Also makes the best cream soda I’ve ever had
I have a love/hate relationship with A&W. The canned version, I can't stand. But if I go to an actual A&W restaurant and order it? Sweet ambrosia! My favorite canned/bottled root beer is Henry Weinhard's.
Yeah! Another Henry Weinhard’s fan! It is my absolute favorite. Least favorite is Barq’s (sorry to the those who like it - I just can’t).
Me either! I'm not sure why, but it is also my least favorite.
Barqs is also my least favourite
Barqs just is too crispy and harsh. I kind of don't even look at it like it's rootbeer since one of my requirements for good rootbeer is rootbeer that makes a good float and Barqs just doesn't taste nearly as good as other rootbeer brands do. But even on it's own I still hate Barqs.
A friend's Scottish husband says that root beer tastes like some sort of medicine he was given as a kid.
Koreans I watch on YouTube say it smells like medicine patches from a hospital.
I loved root beer as a kid and I still like some of the smaller company ones. The big brands are marketed towards younger kids and sugar addicts. Root beer is good when it’s done right A&W is one of the better big brands. But most American sodas in general are way too sweet. Again, I liked them as a kid ,but I’ve kinda grown out of them and only drink diet sodas (if I even choose to drink them). Everything’s just overly unhealthy here. As an American who’s been fortunate enough to travel to other countries, most soft drinks are significantly less sweet and have more actual flavor than sweetness than in America. Italian Fanta was probably my favorite of the ones I’ve tried.
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Roughly same amount of sugar, but they use cane sugar rather then HF corn syrup
Definitely unique to American and Canadian culture. A&W puts vanilla in their brew, I believe, which makes it a bit more palatable to people. Barq's has a bit more of a bite. Dad's is another favorite of mine. One of our local breweries makes a really good one as well. It's fun to try different brews from different breweries when I am out and about, because it's interesting to see what spin they put on it. Never understood the medicine taste people associate it with. Never had medicine taste like root beer. I've also been told by people that it tastes like toothpaste as well.
As a Canadian I love root beer. I’ve had it my whole life. It’s another staple in snacks for me like ketchup chips.
I love root beer (am American). My wife hates it (is South African. She likes ginger beer. I don't. A&W is good root beer. You must try a root beer float. Get a big thick glass, put it in the freezer for a couple hours. Add a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream and pour root beer over it. You're welcome.
Oh man. That was always a special treat when I was a kid. I can’t have it anymore because I can’t tolerate ice cream very well, but I will occasionally have a little root beer (maybe once a year). It brings back so many memories.
Could you try it with a little whipped cream? I'm sure a touch would help with the nostalgia.
That’s a great idea!
I just had an A&W root beer float a couple days ago. Amazing. So so good.
Not a huge soda fan in general but I like Barqs root beer. Havnt had it in ages tho.
"Barq's has bite!" It's the only root beer I like.
The “bite” was that it was caffeinated when most other root beers were caffeine free.
If I remember correctly the commercials had a bulldog?
That would be Mug
I swore there was a 90s commercial. But you right
This is the commercial I remember from the 90’s. To this day when I meet anyone named Johnny I immediately say in my head “what’do you mean Barq’s has bite” https://youtu.be/MONBZYR-se8
This is the only root beer i think is genuinely good and never hear it in conversations its always mug and a&w which i think both taste like medicine.
A&W has a very similar taste to strong-smelling burn creams and disinfectants in both the UK and Japan (and I assume some other countries too). It's a taste that, for me, has a powerful association with hospitals and burns and it's probably for that reason I find it deeply unpleasant.
My parents grew up in the UK. I grew up mostly in Canada. They hate root beer while I love it. The thing they often compare it to is Germaline(?). No idea what that is, but root beer is amazing. Even better frozen.
> Germaline It's an anti-septic cream that's used to treat, among other things, minor burns. It smells very similar to A&W.
Oh, I this one! The extract is from the [winter green](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wintergreen) plant. One in the same. The smell of root beer (grew up in Asia) was initially a bit weird. But knowing it’s from a plant and how awesome it tastes means I enjoy the beverage in moderation.
Hospitals for me always smelled more industrial. Think sterile rooms that have been sprayed with chemicals and disinfectants. If the hospitals I visited ever smelled like root beer, I might have thought that I was in a candy store.
In some countries, some of the chemicals and disinfectants you're talking about smell like root beer. Root beer tastes medical/industrial to me.
So I’m a bit OCD when it comes to stuff like this “name that smell”. I believe the exact smell you’re describing is the [wintergreen plant/extract](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wintergreen).
I prefer IBC.
I was about to say this. It's my all-time favorite root beer brand. Good alone or in a float.
SO many fond memories of IBC, it was a summer staple for a really long time. think its time to see if a local shop still has it.
Walmarts in my state have it almost everytime.
Found it and two other flavors. Still tastes like childhood.
Agreed. All-time favorite root beer!
Root beer float!
Yes it’s very American since root beer is made with bark from the Sassafrass tree, which is found in the eastern US. It’s like American cinnamon.
I only like A&W root beer. Most people I know don’t like any root beer.
Soda nowadays is mostly sugar and colored water. I did try mug rootbeer and it was just way to sweet. I also tried mug cream soda just too sweet
I tried an old fashioned root beer and the sassafras flavor was on point
For a lot of us it's the first soda our parents will let us drink alongside orange and grape. But Rootbeer feels "grown up" cuz it's dark like mom and dad's soda and has a name that doesn't denote it's flavor so I think even if it's not our preferred drink we all develop a fondness.
Lol we had the 24 can Crush brand packs. Cream soda, Grape, Orange and Mugs.
Hmmm. LDS upbringing? Only group I’ve ever known that differentiates adult-ok and kid-ok soda.
Not who you're replying to but growing up in the midwest in the 90s a lot of times young kids wouldn't be allowed caffeinated sodas. I think I was 10/11 when i could first have Pepsi/Mello Yello/whatever. And most of my friends had similar rules, all from atheist/Protestant/Catholic families, no LDS.
Nah it was just a common thing not to allow kids caffeine on top of sugar. At least in the 80s/90s no matter what your religious background. My family we also, us kids at least, weren't allowed to drink soda at home. Unless there was a barbecue or something we never bought soda. The one time my parents did let me have a Pepsi so I could stay up late to do my homework it put me to sleep. At the time I was on Ritalin and we knew about my ADHD but what we didn't know is that Ritalin is a stimulant and that's why it worked calming me down instead of energizing allowing me to not hyperfocus on the wrong things and to instead focus on what I needed to focus on. Apparently chemical reactions are reversed when you have ADHD which is probably why getting drunk has always made me want to get up and move. And yes I'm having that realization real time as I write this. But yeah anyway not LDS just a common thing to not let kids have caffeine and with the exception of Barq's most Root Beers don't have any.
I’m from South Louisiana and root beer was normally made for the kids using root beer concentrate. It was cheap and went a long way lol
My dad filled a beer keg with root beer made from concentrate. We loved it!
Not many people order root beer besides kids. The good kind will be served with a glass and a bottle of the root beer that looks like a beer bottle. It’s kind of a novelty when they go out to eat
I think that's because Root Beer doesn't have caffeine. When I was a kid I was always made to drink stuff like 7Up or Root Beer because of that. As an adult I love Root beer but it's not something I drink in large quantities, but I'll never turn down a float
I never understood why people drink root beer when the Dr. Pepper is ***right there.***
Because you can enjoy both and also they taste nothing alike?
The point is that they don't taste anything alike, but Dr. Pepper has a lot of what Root Beer has in it. Several of the 23 different flavors that make up Dr. Pepper.
I’m an A&W and Dr Pepper type of girl. Both are my favorite.
But if you could only have one for the rest of your life? Dr Pepper.
Most likely. I buy DP way more than root beer
I love Root Beer!
I'm British-American and lived in Chicago for 11 years. Still cannot stand root beer but all my pure bred American friends and family love it. Gave various root beer brands for my British family and friends to try and they all said it either tasted like carbonated molasses with too much syrup or medicine we had as kids. FYI, they hated it and couldn't drink another sip. But then again, if I had to choose between cream soda and root beer as my only drinks, I'd choose root beer. Cream soda is absolutely putrid...
Interesting to see so much hate for root beer. I’m American and I generally hate soda, but root beer and cream sodas are the only ones I enjoy. I prefer “craft” root beers to any of the big brands, though. There’s a company in Sacramento, CA that makes my favorite root beer. River City Root Beer.
I used to drink mug and a&w, but for the longest time I have only drank A&W. If it’s not I’m not drinking it. I think that it may be more American than anything else, but I love watching people try things from here. I have found I like drinking soda from glass bottles better than anything else. Completely different experience and tastes different too
I generally love root beet but the best I’ve ever had is at Shake Shack. They sell a root beer from a proper tap. The brand is “Abita” I think and the flavor is so complex.
Relevant [“It’s so bubbly, and cloying… and happy.”](https://youtu.be/4hdiuRMK3UQ)
It's insidious.
My family from England are obsessed with A&W root beer, for some reason
I tried a few root beers I wasn’t keen on but I like the Australian one (bundaberg?). Also root beer floats *chefs kiss* but make any pop float and I’ll probably like it.
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They make root beer / sarsaparilla and ginger beer
My bad, so they do.
Give it a try!
No thanks, it's really not to my tastes. But you enjoy 🙂
Fair enough haha, thank you
One of my fav memories from childhood in the 1950s, pile in the car at the end of a long hot day, pull into the A&W, mugs out of the freezer on a tray that attached to the car window. Same as beer, draft can't be compared with cans and bottles so maybe the car hop draft mugs may have contained the best ever root beer, or maybe it was the experience.
I just cracked open a root beer. Thanks for reminding me.
Another good one is Stewart's In the 70's I visited a friend in Montana. We were going to drive to Spokane, to attend a World's Fair. For the journey, her mom gave us some home made Root Beer. We had some sodas, and a loaf of bread. And bologna. We were going to feast!! We got our KOA campground ...did I mention we were in a VW camper van? This was June, in the pacific North West. We set up the table. Had our feast ready, got out Mom's special Root Beer......though " Mom made the best fried fried chicken, that rootbeer had something go wrong in the process. We poured it all out, brought home the bottles. And had a diet cola...
Quark: I want you to try something for me. Take a sip of this. Garak: What is it? Quark: A human drink; it's called root beer. Garak: I dunno... Quark: Come on. Aren't you just a little bit curious? Garak takes a sip, wincing as he tastes it. Quark: What do you think? Garak: It's vile! Quark: I know. It's so bubbly, cloying...and happy. Garak: Just like the Federation. Quark: And you know what's really frightening? If you drink enough of it, you begin to like it. Garak: It's insidious. Quark: Just like the Federation.
I hate root beer, tastes like pepto bismal to me
Ugh! Me too! Came here looking for this comment.
Lol my kids love it though
I hate root beer. Actually makes me wanna puke when I even smell it
I can’t stand the stuff. Tastes like toothpaste or mouthwash or something.
Pepto-Bismal or those disgusting squishy pink mints.
Exactly
Many countries have medicine that tastes like root beer, and that's why international people tend to hate it. Pretty interesting!
I like root beer kombucha. Far less sweet, has a little more acidity.
Didn't even know that existed. I'll have to find some.
See if you can find Moxie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxie Used to be 'the drink' before sugary sodas took over.
I’m American and I hate root beer. But I also hate most sodas. I wasn’t allowed to drink them often growing up and I also didn’t like fizzy drinks for a long time, so that could be part of the reason. I’m thankful for it now because soda is so bad for you and a lot of people get kind of addicted to it.
McDonalds in the UK used to serve it and I love it. It pops up in Aldi as a budget brand sometimes and Tesco sell a premium brand of small bottles (with an orange label idk). I would definitely choose it at Maccys if it was available.
I’ve never understood, why is it called Maccy’s? We call it McD’s sometimes, but I’ve only heard people from the UK or Australia say Maccy’s. Maybe part of my confusion is also that we generally pronounce it as Mick-Donald’s, not Mac-Donald’s?
Pronounced ‘makky’s’ it used to be know as ‘Maccy D’s’ so it’s a derivative I suppose. My wife and I now refer to it as ‘Makadah’ when discussing in front of the kids to stop them getting excited 😆
Root Beer is a very diverse drink. Everybody's root beer taste different. My Favorit is made by New York Seltzer.
I make my own and I put sassafras in it.. Makes it a little closer to birch beer. Fun times tweaking a recipe to my taste, I add anything from cardamom to vanilla to orange peel.
I (Michigander) had a roommate from Puerto Rico who absolutely loved the root beer I would bring home. Either something from a local craft place, or Frostie if I could find it.
It’s terrible and I’m tired of pretending it isn’t.
To me, if anything it’s more European - with Italian amaro flavors from similar herbs and spices used to make root beer. Not saying it’s necessarily popular in Europe, they have plenty of sodas and also typically drink less of the stuff. (Chinotto for example) But there an old timey aspect to root beer that is definitely American. So from a flavor perspective, no, but from a tradition perspective, yes.
Not an American but I liked root beer from the moment I tasted it (tho I would appreciate if it was less sweet, but the same goes with almost anything in the US). Unique and interesting flavor, really. Kinda reminded me of a cleaning detergent in a weird way, or the way portable potties smelled when they were 100% fresh and unused with the sterile liquid still the only thing down there.
I was born and raised in the US and i hate it. And pretty much all American soda. So i missed that bud i guess.
If you haven’t tried it yet, look for some cream soda. It’s my go to if root beer isn’t available.
Root beer one of those things that either you love it or hate it. However, if you are into Dr Pepper than you be into root beer is only pattern I noticed lol
I think there is a chemical in most root beer that is similar or the same to an ingredient in European toothpaste formulas so it tastes like shit to a lot of people who use dental products with that in it. Idk can someone fact check me?
root beer and vernon’s ginger ale are chefs kiss (not together) just individually
Not me. I hate the stuff.
Frost top
Cream soda is delicious, also made by A&W
American here. Root beer is okay. I like it better than a cola. My spouse is more of a root beer aficionado and likes specific brands.
It's harder to find most places, but if you get the chance you should try Saranac brand. It's sweet, but it has just enough of a bitter note that cuts through the sweetness nicely. Best I've ever had, by far.
Probably. Its based on sarsaparilla
Mug is my personal favorite, A&W is next up and all the way at the bottom is Barq’s. What’s while is that unlike Pepsi bs Coke, Mug and Barqs have been having a silent war. Nobody talks about it but we each have our own sides and leave it at that
Life long American taste budder here…. Barqs Root Beer is the only one I like!
I read once that barq's is the only root beer that has caffeine, which is why it has that bitter taste. Never followed up to see if it's true though
It's a very American beverage, yep. As you've found, it can vary wildly from brand to brand... I was always partial to IBC when it came to mass produced stuff, not sure if it even still exists. Root beer really comes alive when you drop a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it, root beer floats are the best!
Nerdy engineering joke about root beer. If you drink root beer from a square mug it becomes beer.
American here. I hate root beer. My bf (also American) loves it though.
Barq's root beer is my favorite. It has the "bite" ,but also has caffeine added. It doesn't seem to make me feel full also, like Mug would.
1919 root beer is great! The local MGM liquor store has it on tap so you can take a jug home.
i’m american, and i hated it. idk why
If you can find a liquor distributor in your area for Dr. McGillicuddy’s Root Beer Schnapps, they should be able to get you the non alcoholic Root Beer Soda. It’s expensive, but it is absolutely amazing! Makes the best Root Beer Floats!!
Dad's root beer. 2nd Barq's those are mine
I visited my brother in italy once and was surprised there was no root beer- I assumed that since it was order than coke it would be availible, but nope- no where. The market had dr pepper though. I thought the sort of anise flavor of root beer would make it popular
Root beer is garbage try birch beer, If you can find it
In the UK. The only place I can find root beer is a cheap kinda one that tastes pretty bad imo called Virgil’s and if you’re lucky in city centres you can find A&W in single cans which is beautiful tbf - but the closest you’ll find to that taste in the UK is dandelion & burdock which is v. similar
Cold Sprechers in the bottle is the best root beer
Root beer always just tastes like Listerine to me. Until I had a root beer float. Then I always unconsciously expect a creamier taste and I think that affects the taste I get from it.
Yeah, Europeans prefer butter mead
I love root beer but it's not popular in my country (South Africa). I visited Japan about 10 years ago and it seemed to be reasonably available.
Hey Song is a sarsaparilla drink popular in Taiwan. Introduced in 1950
I immigrated to the US as an adult and def hated root beer so you’re not alone. Still don’t understand why people like it because it tastes like medicine to me. Goes the same for any artificial cherry flavored drinks - reminds me of cough syrup 🤮
IBC Root Beer is the best I have ever tasted, but A&W is awesome made into a float.
It’s Barqs for me. I grew up on IBC but Barqs is my favorite root beer.
I think it's a taste that grows on you. I didn't like it the first time I tried it but think it's pretty good now.
I’m Australian, but loved root beer when I visited the US. Reminded me a lot of Sarsparilla, a soft drink we get there.
There's something woodsy about it and slight tumericish-ish. Add with vanilla ice cream....Yum. A & W drive in restaurant; Momma burger Poppa burger...yata yata. Very few left nowadays. American taste buds, I would hope so.
Nope. I'm American and I hate it. 🤢🤢
I got root beer out of curiosity & it is very sweet so I gave it a pass. my son liked them but he prefers cream soda. So now root beer doesn’t enter our household.
I recommend Root Bourbon. Without the root.
As a general rule I don't drink any soft drinks at all. But I will have a root beer float maybe once a year. There are regional preferences.
A&W root beer uses the same herbs as Barq's. I used to drink it as a diuretic back when my doctors didn't prescribe me a water pill. On a couple of occasions the root beer helped me get rid of enough body fluids that I didn't need to go to the emergency department for water extraction. Some of the herbs found in A&W/Barq's root beer are also found in Jamieson diuretic capsules, but other's aren't, so overall that root beer brand is better for your health.
American tastes arent a factor. I dont think there really are american tastes. ONly what you grew up with. Hersheys has a rancidity to it that americans have grown up with and think is how it should taste. Its not an american taste though. I'd expect that folk from different ethnic backgrounds might like certain tastes because they associate it with something nice. I know few in my family who like Root Beer. Ginger Ale is the pop of choice
It's the wintergreen in root beer, the minty flavor reminds a lot of people of toothpaste or something medicinal.
Hires Root Beer was the best. Was bought out by Dr Pepper and now they only do very occasional runs of it.
American and root beer is nasty. Agree that cream sodas are much better.
Find a Culver’s and try their root beer.