Root Beer

My son got hold of some syrup while he was in England and he made some up so the locals could taste it. Their reaction was that it tastes like medicine?

my husband hates even being near me when I have rootbeer, I get the medicine comment too (I love rootbeer)

This is so weird. My husband and I were literally sitting here talking about root beer. He refused to drink it until now. We ran out of pop and so as a last resort he actually drank a can. He now loves it, but he too said it smelled like medicine or mouth wash and wouldn't actually taste it until today. Root beer is my favorite. I've now convinced him he must try a root beer float! So yum!

I took some Sprecher's root beer syrup along on my last trip to visit bf in Scotland.

He loved it, but his mother made a funny face.  She thought it tasted minty, I think.  Which, objectively, it must do, since wintergreen is a common ingredient in home-brew root beers.  

I guess that, when you're used a particular flavor, you don't notice the individual components.  But, on the plus side, bf now loves root beer floats.  Which was the whole point.

I think we all agree that there is a difference in taste between brands and I think there is a difference between fountain, bottled and canned root beer of the same brand. We like Hires which is not too common in our area. Even private label brands can be good.

I am trying to remember some of the brands and the only ones I can think of is A & W and Barq.

Here is a long list of RB brands and a taste evaluation.

http://www.delicioussparklingtemperancedrinks.net/rbeer/Beers.html

Expatriates maybe interested to learn that Coca Cola has brought back the traditional small bottles (8 oz). They had to do something because sales of carbonated drinks are way down.

I don't get the medicine comments (though I tried some Australian root beer once thinking it might be similar to American root beer and it did taste like medicine to me!) I think it tastes somewhat similar to Dandelion & Burdock soda, only much, much better. My MIL and FIL said they used to have sarsparilla soda here, which they assume is like root beer, but I think sassafras is actually the main ingredient. Anyway, we will see what DH thinks pretty soon!

Anyone I know (non American) that drinks root beer, thanks to me, had their first taste as a root beer float.

Barq's is the best but I would say that as it was first made in Biloxi and for years one could not get in outside of the southern area around the gulf coast. Then Cocoa Cola came along.

But hey what a list!! Never knew there were so many different brands out there.

I like IBC in the old school glass bottles. 

My fiancé looooooves root beer and birch beer! He was just at the Wing Yip by Brent cross on Saturday and bought a case of A&W cans! And because they're made in Singapore, they've got sugar in them instead of high fructose corn syrup! Score! I'm not a big soda drinker at all, but I've had far too many of these in the past week. Mmmm.

For DH's birthday one year, we had a root beer tasting party. Everone brought a brand and we covered the labels and had index cards to write comments. It was good fun!

For DH's birthday one year, we had a root beer tasting party. Everone brought a brand and we covered the labels and had index cards to write comments. It was good fun!

So what was the verdict? Do tell. 

I like IBC in the old school glass bottles. 

That's not a bad one either. I do perfer drinks in the bottle. It seems dumb but they just seem different in cans. 

We can get Mug and A&W in Cambridge.  I prefer A&W, my dh Mug.

I like A-Treat Red Birch Beer the best though.  Especially on tap. 

So what was the verdict? Do tell. 

Sadly I can't remember which came out the best, but I think it was a plain one, like maybe one of the grocery store's brands.  I still have the comment cards somewhere!

We can get Mug and A&W in Cambridge.  I prefer A&W, my dh Mug.

I like A-Treat Red Birch Beer the best though.  Especially on tap. 

Sounds interesting. On tap. Like a spigot sticking out of a red birch and just sticking yore head under it and turning it on.

Mug's not that crap root beer that Asda carried for awhile is it?

Though they are different I prefer Barqs followed by a close 2nd for A&W. I remember, from about 5 years old, going to the A&W place and getting a demi-john of root beer and a gallon of vanilla ice cream. Then we moved to Biloxi and Barqs was the local brew.

BUT there was a period of about 4 or 5 years that I didn't drink Barqs cuz it was brewed in an old poor derilict looking Mississippi tin-roofed factory and one morning they found a factory worker floating deader than dead in one of the vats. And then when it seem safe enough, or I should say when I was brave enough, to try it again, then dang-nab-it somebody only went and found a thumb in a bottle. Gross. Another few years before I could muster up the courage to have it again. I prefer glass bottles.

When we were kids, we used to drink root beer a lot and we loved root beer floats. I guess my tastes have changed because I can't stand the flavor of root beer now or even the smell. My son loves it. One day recently I accidentally took a sip of his drink and as soon as that root beer taste hit my tongue, I thought I was going to puke. It's weird how I could go from loving it as a kid to hating it so much now.