Stewart's....I liked it then and I like it today....it's the closest thing to A & W "Restaraunt" Root Beer that I've ever had. Unfortunately, A& W in the grocery stores is NOT the same at all :P

http://www.sodaking.com/images/stewarts.rootbeer.m.jpg

A&W here only rootbeer i like and only from A&W and in the iced mug

A&W here only rootbeer i like and only from A&W and in the iced mug
Sorry scarletgail...I should've been more specific....NO restaraunt..other wise I would've chosen A & W as well ;)

I'd say A & W...although I think I do remember Hire's brand as well.  :)

I B C is best now. Frostie used to be good, but it's been watered down and over-sweetened as of late. No soft drink tastes good without cane sugar, I think the bottlers use too much corn syrup to compensate for the natural goodness of cane sugar :)

A&W was my favorite, but I remember Hire's too.

I liked Hire's. (Do they still make it?)

I had to go with A&W because it's still my favorite.  But I actually used to like Shasta Rootbeer when I was a kid.  I think my adult tastes are a little more discriminating because I don't really care for it now.

A & W

A & W

Of the store-bought variety, I voted for other - "Barq's".

But the BEST root beer I've had was the stuff my Dad made.  We even had a bottle capping machine at home.  :P

So am I to understand that you guys actually like A & W in the cans from the store more than all the other brands ???

Sure looks that way.

Sure looks that way.
I'm just kinda suprised is all...I have always thought the can taste was never near as good as those frosted mugs from the restaraunt :-\\

Is sasparilla the same as root beer?

I liked a root beer called "Ramblin'", I believe it was made by the Coca-cola company :)

Last night I opened this bottle of Frostie and guzzled a good swig  :-* deeeelicious! Figured I drank it down to a safe level and put it in the freezer cause I like it icy and can pour more in the next day. Anyway, this morning, it had overflowed and covered half the freezer with sticky frozen matter. A real bummer to have to clean it out early in the morning. On top of that, I came across my Thai fighting fish's corpse, that I had frozen in a baggy, I had intended to formally bury but forgot :\'(

Is sasparilla the same as root beer?


I think it's different, bj.  I don't think it's made anymore.  Either that, or it's just not sold in my area.

Is sasparilla the same as root beer?

1. sarsaparilla -- (any of various prickly climbing plants of the tropical American genus Smilax having aromatic roots and heart-shaped leaves)

2. sarsaparilla -- (carbonated drink flavored with an extract from sarsaparilla root or with birch oil and sassafras)

This flavor was originally derived from the dried roots of tropical smilax vines. Today, products featuring sarsaparilla use artificial flavors.

Sarsaparilla got its name from two Spanish words: "zarza" and "parilla," referring to the thorny vines of the plant.

Sarsaparilla was introduced into Europe as medicine in the 1500s and was said to have great value among the Indians.

Root Beer - Not really a beer! It was created in the mid-1800s by Philadelphia pharmacist Charles Hires, the original root beer was a (very) low-alcohol, naturally effervescent beverage made by fermenting a blend of sugar and yeast with various roots, herbs and barks such as sarsaparilla, sassafras, wild cherry, wintergreen and ginger. Today's commercial root beer is completely non-alcoholic and generally contains sugar, caramel colouring, a combination of artificial and natural flavourings (including some of those originally used) and carbonated water for sparkle.

Additional info:

Is birch beer different from root beer?

Birch beer is similar to root beer, but is flavored with the bark of the birch tree and does not contain sassafras.  Birch beer is popular from eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey to New England, but is more difficult to find elsewhere.  Although some accept a wider definition of "root beer" that includes any carbonated beverage made with any roots, bark, etc., including birch beer (sometimes called "red root beer"), the primary flavor in root beer is sassafras.  Thus birch beer is different from root beer.

* Sas'parilla vs. Root Beer *:

http://www.olbobmillers.com/scoop.htm#sasparilla_vs_rootbeer

Yeah, I'm just a fountain of info today! ;D ;)

Thanks Hairspray! Here is a site where you can make your own root beer :)
http://www.tiare.com/rb_make.htm

Thanks Hairspray! Here is a site where you can make your own root beer :)
http://www.tiare.com/rb_make.htm


Thanks for the link. An interesting read, for sure. :)

It does seem to be a long process with the waiting for the yeast to do its thing and all. It's much easier and quicker to just buy the stuff. ;)

"Fanta"..could be a Canadian thing

HIRES
was my favorite by default because it was the most abundant and easiest to get.  I didn't have STEWART'S until about 1990.

Hairspray wrote 1. sarsaparilla -- (any of various prickly climbing plants of the tropical American genus Smilax having aromatic roots and heart-shaped leaves)
Thanks from me too, Hairspray, for this tidbit, and the other carbonated beverage info.
:)
Our General Store (yes, I spent my pre-adolescent childhood in a town so small it had one store called the "General Store") used to sell Sarsaparilla and Birch Beer.  Very tasty stuff.  Both beverages have a niche market these days.  You can find them in your rustic, touristy-area roadside shops.  You know, like all those Vermont sugar house shops and what-not.  I emphasize touristy rustic.  True rustic American roadside shops tend to be rancid mini-marts with sick dogs slobbering out front, and meth-addled teens passed out in back!
:P

A&W.  Still ranks pretty high with me today, right behind IBC Root Beer. :)

Have to go with A&W. I remember going to their drive-ins and getting it in REAL mugs. They had three sizes-Papa, Mama, and Baby. I would always get the Baby and it was such a cute little mug-I wanted to bring it home with me but my mother would never let me.  :(




Cat

Stewarts and A&W. I LOVE ROOT BEER!!!!!!!!!! YUMMMMMMMMM

Saw others out there(not sure how long they've been around?):
Moxie(a New England brand)
And  Sioux City

Didyou see how they are tying to 'capture' the rootbeer taste and make Barq's Frozen Root Beer Float?

It tastes watery and they say it's like ice cream and root beer mixed, more like root beer ice and skim milk!

Keep trying!

I BLEW this poll! A LOT of votes were for A & W but my mistake was NOT clarifying it to be a poll about ONLY store bought Root-Beer....I also LOVE A & W from the restaraunt....but the store stuff does NOT compare :-[

A&W with hires very close behind

Keeping in mind that this poll is about your favourite root beer from STORES ONLY....NOT restaraunts...like A & W ::)  Unless you actually like the canned A & W better than ANY other store brand..... ???

Barq's!!

A & W was big in the 1970's/early 1980's. We had A & W root beer stands and hot dogs. A & W originated in Lodi, California, so for me, it's a home grown kind of thing.. :0)

My boyfriend is a root beer lover, so we make raids to Beverages & More (Bevmo) and you can find at least half a row dedicated to Root Beer from all over the country. Some have some very unique flavors - some minty, some creamy, some more barky (lol) flavored - and so on.. If anyone has a BevMo around and has craving for root beer, go check it out! And yes, Sarsaparilla still does exist as a drink - they have them at BevMo as well.

It was a toss between A & W or Hires...I chose Hires, but I love them both so it was tough. 

Anoter vote for A &  W

Mug Rootbeer

Dads

Dad's

Other:

Pop Shoppe Root Beer!!!

(For the Canadians in da house!!!) ;)

Other:

Pop Shoppe Root Beer!!!

(For the Canadians in da house!!!) ;)



*sigh* i simply adored Pop Shoppe  8) ;)

Other:

Pop Shoppe Root Beer!!!

(For the Canadians in da house!!!) ;)



Pop Shoppe was great, I'd forgot all about it till now 8)

Whatever happened to the Pop Shoppe?  They used to have a few locations around here, and suddenly in the early 90's (i believe it was), they just vanished  ???

Whatever happened to the Pop Shoppe?  They used to have a few locations around here, and suddenly in the early 90's (i believe it was), they just vanished  ???


out of business I guess, I remember them opening the outlet here around 77 or 78 I think :)

out of business I guess, I remember them opening the outlet here around 77 or 78 I think :)


yeah mid-late 70s for sure in nova scotia..memories of cream soda,lime rickey,cola and grape..wasn't there a club soda or tonic as well  :P?