Favorite Root Beer Brand?

[RoJoHen]

Am I the only filthy hippie to drink Hansen's Cane soda root beer from Trader Joe's? No caffeine and no high fructose corn syrup.

We don't have any Trader Joe's by me. I've never even seen one before.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Am I the only filthy hippie to drink Hansen's Cane soda root beer from Trader Joe's? No caffeine and no high fructose corn syrup.

I drink their diet drinks which run the gamut from kind of nasty to pretty drinkable. I love Trader Joe's. I tend to get overwhelmed by the choices in the big box stores so TJ's is just the right size. I wish their produce was better though.

 

[Captain Ice]

^Amen to that on the produce. I can do so much better at the local farmer's market.

Trader Joe's is a godsend for little known gourmet items though.

 

[chrisspringob]

Sprecher is my fave. I wish they sold root beer here in Oz, as I kind of miss it. Also miss lemonade. Though I guess I could just buy lemons at the grocery store and make my own. Root beer sounds like a bit more of a chore to make on my own.

 

[bigdaddy]

Am I the only filthy hippie to drink Hansen's Cane soda root beer from Trader Joe's? No caffeine and no high fructose corn syrup.

Really?

There is some soda company from Holyoke Ma, which I was at today, and I can't remember it but it has cane sugar and maple syrup! Yummy.



Trader Joes is only good for chocolate. For $4 you can 500 grams of chocolate (17.6oz) and it's pretty good!

 

[Mallory]

There can be only one king of the root beers.

The One....


The Only.....



HENRY WEINHARD'S

Absolutely right!

 

[Hoser]

/\/\ I didn't know the name of it, but I like that one a lot. The herb place in Frankenmuth had a bunch of those in the cooler.

Otherwise, A&W, from Canada so it has sugar in it, although it can come from anywhere if it's in the chilled mug.

 

[Argus Skyhawk]

Pretty much any brand that isn't Barqs. Barqs has a too-sharp taste, and root beer was never meant to have caffeine. I love all the other brands about equally.

 

[iguana_tonante]

By the way, had any of you tried chinotto soft drinks? They are very popular in Italy, but I've never saw them abroad. You may know it as sour orange or by the brand name Chinò.

I've had it a couple of times back in Australai but I'm not sure how wide spread it was i.e whether it was specialist import for the Italian community or whether it was reasonable wide spread.

I enjoy the occasional Brio when I go to the nearby Italian place for lunch. I don't know if it's really from Italy (they claim it is), or if it originated here.

Thanks for the replies. I guess canned chinotto is more or less the same everywhere, regardless of nation.

 

[FordSVT]

This.

Whatever happened to Hires, anyway? When I saw the OP I suddenly realized I hadn't seen it around in years, that I can recall.

I came across Hires last a couple years back in some little mom and pop corner store, and haven't seen any more since. I suspect it is all being kept in the same place they're hiding the Hydrox cookies in. which may well be that warehouse where they put the Ark of the Covenant at the end of Raiders.

I believe A&W bought Hires a few years ago.

DrPepperSnapple Group (then CadburyShweppes) bought it a while ago.

http://www.drpeppersnapplegroup.com/brands/hires/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hires_Root_Beer

And no, I haven't seen it in a while either.

I like A&W best if I had to pick one.

 

[Ruaidhri]

I like Mug because it can get a really great head of foam on top. But in the end, of the "mainstream" root beers, I would go for Hires over the rest. Makes a great vanilla ice cream float.

 

[Mooch]

By the way, had any of you tried chinotto soft drinks? They are very popular in Italy, but I've never saw them abroad. You may know it as sour orange or by the brand name Chinò.

I enjoy the occasional Brio when I go to the nearby Italian place for lunch. I don't know if it's really from Italy (they claim it is), or if it originated here.

They sell Brio in the grocery store here. It's...odd. I didn't know it was supposed to taste like orange.

I probably like A&W root bear the best.

 

[Ceridwen]

Unfortunately I don't think you can get it in bottles, but my favorite root beer of all time is home-made by a local chain of restaurants called Tom Wahls. There are only six locations in the country, but any time I see one, I can feel my mouth water thinking about their root beer.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

A&W, but only from the fountain in a chilled glass mug.

I think is only good like that. I dislike A&W otherwise.

I used to like IBC, haven't had any in years.

Barq's is okay, but I agree with those who think root beer shouldn't have caffiene. Mug is okay.

One local restaurant has great tap root beer, alas, it's not a very affordable place.

 

[iguana_tonante]

They sell Brio in the grocery store here. It's...odd. I didn't know it was supposed to taste like orange.

Well, chinotto is not really an orange, even if sometimes it's called sour orange in English due to its taste and appearance. It's actually a different citrus fruit, like lemons, limes and grapefruits. It grows in Italy and little else (wiki mentions Malta), and it's used in sodas, aperitifs and bitters.