Favorite Root Beer Brand?

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

I could really go for some rootbeer right now.

Me too. Our local Walgreens sells a brand of diet root beer, comes in a glass bottle, and it's delicious. I love it because it's the only diet root beer that doesn't make me gag. It tastes great and it's all fizzy and cold, ah man, I wish our Walgreens was a 24 hour store. I feel like a drive.

Do you remember the name? I am a soda addict who can't have sugar or caffeine so I am always on the lookout for one that is at least drinkable.

 

[Amaris]

I could really go for some rootbeer right now.

Me too. Our local Walgreens sells a brand of diet root beer, comes in a glass bottle, and it's delicious. I love it because it's the only diet root beer that doesn't make me gag. It tastes great and it's all fizzy and cold, ah man, I wish our Walgreens was a 24 hour store. I feel like a drive.

Do you remember the name? I am a soda addict who can't have sugar or caffeine so I am always on the lookout for one that is at least drinkable.

Yes. A little searching says it's called "Deerfield Farms". I think it also says Gourmet on the bottle, but it comes in a glass bottle and it says "Diet Root Beer" right on the front. No sugar, no caffeine, and it tastes great.

Edit: Found a picture.

 

[TheKeeper]

A&W, but only from the fountain in a chilled glass mug. Otherwise, I'm partial to Hires which I don't seem to able to find too much these days.

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.

 

[Jetfire]

I actually had some root beer schnapps once, mix it with your favorite cola...mmm.



Mixing it with root beer it is too sweet...I have seen some root beer vodka...I am guessing blah! who knows???

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Me too. Our local Walgreens sells a brand of diet root beer, comes in a glass bottle, and it's delicious. I love it because it's the only diet root beer that doesn't make me gag. It tastes great and it's all fizzy and cold, ah man, I wish our Walgreens was a 24 hour store. I feel like a drive.

Do you remember the name? I am a soda addict who can't have sugar or caffeine so I am always on the lookout for one that is at least drinkable.

Yes. A little searching says it's called "Deerfield Farms". I think it also says Gourmet on the bottle, but it comes in a glass bottle and it says "Diet Root Beer" right on the front. No sugar, no caffeine, and it tastes great.

Edit: Found a picture.

Thanks. I'll give it a try.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

I may be a little biased because my father worked for the company that made it, and it was part of my childhood, but I am partial to Fanta products. Their root beer tastes a little different than most.

 

[Bloodwhiner]

A&W draft in a frosty mug...

but otherwise the plastic jug will do. I like mine a little stronger in flavor and slight less carbonated - the wal-mart brand isn't too bad.

Other good (not great ones) - Dad's and Mugs


If you have a beer making place around, root beer is very easy to make. Essentially a bottle of extract, good water and yeast. By varying the ratio's you can get it exactly the way you like.

 

[Nardpuncher]

Here in Taiwan there's a brand called Hey Song that is quite strong, but still delicious.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

I make my own.

McCormick has a pretty decent concentrate, as does Zatarains.
My favorite is a brand called "Old Fashioned" though.

Hires apparently will sell their concentrate also, never tried it though.

AG

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

A&W. I miss their roadside diners.

We've still got one here in town. Also a couple of those weird places where they've smushed a KFC and an A&W together. The less said about that the better, though.

I haven't seen an A&W diner in years. Plenty of Sonics, though. Just not the same.

 

[snakespeare]

We have a local brewpub here called McMenamins that has root beer on tap. But my favorite brand is Dad's.

 

[TheKeeper]

I haven't seen an A&W diner in years. Plenty of Sonics, though. Just not the same.

There are still several A&W diners, complete with drive-in style service, in the metro Detroit area. We just recently got our first Sonics.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I've always been curious about root beer, since in Italy it's almost unheard of. We don't even have a word to translate it. I would love to try it some day. It's solely an American product of you can find it in Europe as well (UK, Germany, etc)?

 

[RoJoHen]

I make my own.

Elaborate. How do you get the carbonation?

 

[Alpha_Geek]

If you're really curious, you can order the concentrate for under $10 US that'll make 20 liters.

Just add sugar, water & some time to carbonate or if you're in a hurry, dry ice.



Here's where I buy my brew supplies.

I've always been curious about root beer, since in Italy it's almost unheard of. We don't even have a word to translate it. I would love to try it some day. It's solely an American product of you can find it in Europe as well (UK, Germany, etc)?

 

[Alpha_Geek]

I make my own.

Elaborate. How do you get the carbonation?

I can either force carbonate using my homebrew cornelius keg and a Co2 tank, or for small batches (2 liter bottles work well), yeast or dry ice

Note that using yeast can result in less sweetness in the final product, or depending on the yeast strain, an alchohol content up to 20% (Champagne yeast). The yeast that is used for bread baking is often included in root beer kits for kids, but can add unusual taste for long fermentation runs.

 

[RoJoHen]

Interesting. I may have to try that out someday.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

If you do, please share your results here!

The dry ice method is least cost effective (unless you go all out and buy a corny keg setup, but that's getting into serious cash for a little experiment!), but gets fast results. Make sure you get the stuff chilled before adding the dry ice, as it really helps Co2 sublimation occur.

Also, make sure you don't overload the CO2 in the bottles, or let the yeast run unvented for longer than the instructions with the concentrate advise. Overpressure can result in some seriously messy disasters!

 

[RoJoHen]

I can get dry ice for free, so if I do try it, that'll definitely be the way I go.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

I can get dry ice for free, so if I do try it, that'll definitely be the way I go.

Free dry ice? Oh, the fun you must have!