Your favorite brand of root beer soda?

[nolabels]

I've lately become interested in root beer soda and have done some research into preferred brands.

I found that brands that are familiar to me, which I like, such as A&W, Dad's, Mug, Hire's, IBC, and Barq's are noted, but on many lists of preferred root beers these fall below some other brands that are unknown to me.

Sprecher's root beer is a brand previously unknown to me that I found to rank highly on many different lists of preferred root beers.

I located and bought some Sprecher's root beer. It's not to my liking, mainly because of a strange aftertaste.

Your thoughts on root beer brands would be appreciated.

😊👍

Updates

+1 y

Has anyone had Sprecher's root beer?

Because I've traditionally found that all of my familiar brands are satisfying to me, I was surprised to find that I don't really care for Sprecher's, especially with it being rated highly on the lists of root beers that I discovered online.

[FunkyMonkee]

You're talking about my drug of choice!! Second only to music and records! Well, maybe third, if you include pussy but, I don't suppose I'll EVER get that again. I stand a better chance of having a battleship or steamroller drop out of the sky and hit me!!
When I was little, I always got Hire's, sometimes I'd get Dad's if Hire's wasn't available. Every week dad would go to the beer distributor to get a case or two of beer and we'd also get 6 bottles of pop from them. I think they were 32 Oz. bottles. I was the oldest and drank more so, they'd get me 2 bottles of root beer, mom got one of cola, my brother and ex-sisters would each get one bottle, cherry, orange and whatever other flavor.
For some reason, dad stopped going there for beer. Maybe they closed up, I don't know but, we weren't getting that pop anymore. We'd go to the A&P 3 blocks away to get them and dad went to a distributor a block over from the A&P. Then there was one half a block up the street from the A&P. By the time the A&P closed up for good in the mid `70's, we got a pool put into the back yard so, dad bought a beer tap and bought a quarter barrel just about every week. By this time, they were building a much bigger mall up the road and I'd start getting my root beer fix at one of the stores there.
First, it was Faygo because I could get an entire case (8 2-liter bottles) for $5.01!! And, because I REALLY liked Faygo! Eventually, in the `90's, Phar-Mor went out of business and I had to find someplace else to get my fix.
For a while, I tried Mug for a while. (Okay, report me to the Department Of Redundancy Dept.!)
In the `80's there was some new root beer being advertised so, I tried that and liked it It's big claim was that it, like Hitlary Cliton, had a HUGE head!! The drag with it Barrelhead was that it'd take FOREVER to pour a glass and, after a while I noticed that it was starting to taste like black licorice. Yuck!
I'm pretty sure I tried Barq's and kinda liked it but, it would fuck up my stomach. Years later, I found out why! It was made by Coke!! I can't drink ANYTHING Coke makes!! They put SOMETHING in ALL their drinks that fucks up my stomach!! Maybe it's got something to do with the stuff in that allows people to use it to clean the gunk from their car engine!
Eventually, I discovered A&W and gave that a shot and have been shooting that up ever since. When I was still at MY house a couple years ago, I was going through about 16 liters a week. Presently, I'm down to between 6 to 10 per week. The problem now is, being able to find it!! Thanks to Joe, it now costs about $3.00 a bottle (I wanna DRINK IT NOT fuel my damn car with it!!!). But, at least once a month, someone has it on sale for about a buck a bottle but, the minute it goes on sale, locusts swarm and take it from the shelves before I can get there!! Either that or the stores have discovered that I like it so, they won't put any out.
I've tried I. B. C. but, eh, it's just root beer. Nothing to write home about. There's some stuff they sell at Aldi I'd try at some point but, I'm not interested in paying over $6.00 for about 48 Oz. of it!! It'll cut into my heroine money!!

[FunkyMonkee]

Addendum: In the late `60's or early `70's, one of my neighboors, Mr. Galo, would come over and bring some stuff with him to make some kind of root beer with it. I think it might've been sarsaparilla. seems to me he made it from kind of root that he found.
Also, someone sold birch beer for a while and I really liked that but, haven't been able to find it since!! I think of it as mixing root beer with cherry.
The biggest reason I prefer root beer is because of how smooth it is!! My other fave is cream soda except that it CAN be too sweet. If I can't find any A&W when it's on sale, I opt for 7Up or Canada Dry ginger ale. They're all made by the same people. Mint Ginger Ale is great, too but, it's not as easy to find, either. Tom Tucker's is great but, hardly anybody sells it anymore!! I guess it was really popular in the `60's with the mix-ed drink crowd.
The stuff Pepsi makes fucks up my stomach, too but, nowhere NEAR as bad as the shit Coke makes!! And, every so often, I don't mind a slug or two of Pepsi. Like, once every decade or two.

[nolabels]

Consider yourself reported to the Department of Redundancy Department of Redundancy Department.

Faygo is a completely new name to me.
It must not be distributed in my part of the country.

Thanks for the run-down of your root beer history.
It brings back memories of visiting the liquor store with my dad back in the 60s to pick up his occasional case of beer.
The place had creaky, bare-wood planked floors and smelled to high heavens of beer.
There was a nice German Sheperd dog that wandered around the place.
I guess there must have been a bunch of spills over the years.

Have you ever heard of a soda called Pommac?
It was/is a non-alcoholic carbonated drink made from apples that resembles champagne.
I haven't seen it since the 60s, but I understand that it's still available in Sweden.

[FunkyMonkee]

Really? Faygo's been around for at least 40 years.
From what I remember, all 3 of the distributors dad went to, you'd just drive up, tell them what you want, they'd get it and put it on the ledge of their doorway and we'd grab it and put it in the car. Dad loved his beer but wasn't a HUGE drinker. He'd have one with lunch. Maybe another before dinner and wouldn't start again until about 8 or 9:00. He'd have 3 to 5 more while watching t. v. or playing cards and then, he'd be toasted by 11:00, or so, and head off to bed. My brother, however, once he got HEAVILY into it, would start hitting the tap in the afternoon and drink all night long!! In his last few years, he'd crawl out of bed and head straight for the tap and drink all day long until her passed out about 2:00 with a full beer in his hand... which would end up all over the chair that was growing from his ass (or was surgically attached) and the carpet all around it!! With his heavy drinking, they had to start getting half barrels!! I, NOT being a drinker and being the strongest in the house, would have to carry the damn thing into the house and connect it up!
I don't think I've ever heard of Pommoc.
I tried real champagne, once. It's over-glorified beer!

[NamerOfStars]

Good man! Always nice to see the king of sodas get some appreciation. Since it predates Coke, and the ensuing Rise of the Colas that pretty much all ape the same taste, it doesn't share that weakness- doubly so since the banning of sassafras root made brewers branch out in a way other flavors can only envy. I actually have a long list of the brands I've tried and my thoughts on each, but I'm not sure which hard drive that's on, or even if I still have it. Off the top of my head...

The aftertaste of Sprecher's mostly comes from the honey and vanilla (and possibly the complex brewing process they use; I'm not in a position to find that out); if you otherwise like the taste, try Blumers, or Durango's. I'm not sure if the latter is called Tuberfizz, Luberfizz, or Zuberfizz; the stupid font makes it impossible to tell, but the drink is tasty; both have a kind of wintergreen or anise (there was a time when I could tell the two apart, but that was a while ago); most root beers DO use one or the other, but in both of those it's mild enough that it's still pleasant.

Baumeister is good if you want something heavier; it's almost like a beer, and the sweetness kicks in at a weird point, but it's enjoyable. Souix City is nice, with the interplay of caramel and cane sugar creating a good combination; dial back the wintergreen, and you'd have something fantastic. Thomas Kemper is kinda like a cross between A&W and Sprecher. Old Number 3 is like drinking sugary toothpaste; avoid unless you WANT that for some reason.

Unfortunately, these (and likely the others on my list) may be tiny and/or purely regional brands; I don't know which if any you'd be able to find.

[nolabels]

You've mentioned a number of brands that I've never heard of, even after consulting the online lists the other day.
I'll see if I can chase some of them down.
Thanks for your interest and the suggestions.

[TrueConfection]

My favorite is IBC. It's rootbeer without that bite. It's very smooth.

[nolabels]

Thanks for your reply.
I've always found IBC to be a good root beer myself.

[mandyfire98]

IBC over 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream in a glass. Do it!!

[nolabels]

My wife likes an ice cream float.
Me not so much.
Thanks for chiming in.

[call_me_scar]

In cracker barrel they sell some off brand root beers and they are good I think the best one didn't have a brand sticker but it did taste great always look for sugar cane in the ingredients it makes the best types of soda

[nolabels]

Thanks for your input.
Cane sugar is better than HFCS.

[Wish4UrB00ty]

IBC is the big name I love but captain Eli’s root beer is my favorite.

[nolabels]

Captain Eli's - That's a new name to me.
Thanks for the reply.

[SnowedIn]

My favorite is A&W; my wife and boys like IBC. My daughter is iffy on all of it.

[nolabels]

Thanks.
I like those brands, too.

[AviatorTom]

I haven't had a root beer in awhile. Last I had was an A&W.

[nolabels]

Root beer has been just an every once in a great while drink for me for most of my life.
The reason I'm going to it more often now is because caffeine free colas have been unavailable since COVID hit.
I've grown tired of drinking white sodas in order to avoid caffeine in the evenings.
So, root beer came to mind.

Thanks for your reply.

[BJP21]

Virgils Root Beer or authentic A&W in the mug.

[nolabels]

I saw Virgil's on some of the online root beer lists.
Amazon wants $70 for a 24 pack.
I guess I'll pass on that.
Thanks for replying.

[Pudsmucker]

I personally like Culver's root beer. I also have enjoyed Frosty root beer.

[nolabels]

Ah, thanks for the reminder!

I forgot about those two.

I had Culver's root beer just a couple of weeks ago.

Duh!

I'm looking for root beers to have on hand in bottles or cans at home.
I don't think Culver's is bottled.
It is good, though.

I don't think I've seen Frostie in more than 50 years.
I see that it's still made.
It might not be distributed near me any longer.

Thanks again!

😊👍

[Pudsmucker]

I agree Culver's does not have canned or bottled. That is why I chose frosty's root beer it's been around a long time. What about hard root beers? They've got some pretty good head? I do miss some good root beer that was made from sarsaparilla. Federal government has put a stop to that.

[nolabels]

The hard root beers sound tempting, but I've been in need of cutting out alcohol lately.
I remember making sassafras tea as a kid a few times just for fun. It was OK.
Thanks again!

[Pudsmucker]

Hires root beer home made a kit years ago where you use yeast and let it age for a few weeks. That was fun and we gathered bottles and kept them ourselves. We even bought dry ice and made it that way and put it in a 5 gallon container. You cannot bottle if you use dry ice. Enjoy your root beer finish

[Changiis07]

I hate root beer so I'm sorry I commented lol

[nolabels]

OK!
lol