This week's haul was Virgil's, Ithaca, and Saranac.

1* Virgil's -- now I understand. Man, this one was odd. First mouthful was pretty good, I was trying to understand why so many people dislike it. Then the second, and it tasted like a completely different drink, not even root beer anymore, I've never had that experience. After that, it got less unpleasant, but again, it was different every sip. I can check it off my bingo card, but I don't see myself revisiting this one.

2* Ithaca -- smooth, pleasant, but not a lot of character. Not bad by any stretch, but nowhere near the top of the list, probably somewhere between OK and good. Would have again.

3* Saranac -- now I understand! Great flavor, very good carbonation, was as tasty at the end of the bottle as the beginning. It's absolutely the class of this haul, and it's now on my top tier. Will buy it every chance I get!

They regularly have root beer, cream soda and orange dream. Can't pass it up.

Jones gets a 7.5/10 from me. It’s got good fizz and a great flavor. Some wintergreen and a touch of vanilla I think. I’m never really sure if I get the flavor profiles right, but either way this one is tasty. Maybe a touch sweeter than I’d like, and lacking a little bite. Not so amazing I’ll be going out of my way to find it, but definitely one that I’d pick up a bottle or pack of if I see it. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn’t tried it yet

OK, it’s time to start drinking my wall down, not just collecting! That means I’m going to knock out a few of these bad boys every weekend in ABC order. I have NEVER TRIED anything I’m reviewing!

1919 Root Beer : This one isn’t found in the Carolinas, but I’ve heard the hype for a long time. Guess what? It’s all true. This starts very creamy and quickly settles into that rich, classic taste. It doesn’t do anything extra but doesn’t need to. The CO2 doesn’t steal the show, but there’s a perfect amount of fizz present. A 1919 can is a damn meal.

1896 Pearson Bros : On one hand, following a 1919 act probably isn’t going to go well for any root beer, but this Cracker Barrel staple really is unique. A sour, sweet note hits immediately, and then it lands in the world of that old-timey cola flavor. It’s trying to do something different than cola, but I’m not sure it quite gets there. Tasty, but root beer diehards will be confused here.

I like this Rocky Mountain root beer. It was a little on the sweet side, so I enjoyed over ice. Nice “crafty” flavor, slightly medicinal, but pleasantly so. Nice fizz. Would recommend.

Just had a can earlier and was delicious. Tasted like licorice which I love

A local store to me now carries 1919 root beer, but it's $18.99 for a pack of 12 cans. I've heard so many great things about this root beer. Is this product worth that seemingly insane price?

it’s definitely nowhere near as good as I remember. The 365 (Whole Foods store brand) was actually much better. D tier for Virgil’s and b for 265.

Courtesy Benny Capitales in Raleigh NC

As some already mentioned, some legislation in Europe made it very difficult to find RootBeer. In France, I used to be able to find A&W from time to time in supermarket stores, but even those seems to be discountinued now.

Here is the legislation : https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2008/1333/oj/eng it is mainly because of some additive that are considered dangerous.

Making my own root beer seems a bit too much to satisfy my one-off desire. So I wonder if anyone has find ways to get them.
Especially, when I visited U.S.A some months ago I've been able to try other brands... and now A&W seems like the most boring of them :D

Marketing…. This company is all clever marketing. This tastes awful.

I’d give this a 7/10. Super solid RB, with good taste, but nothing crazy. I don’t get a lot of vanilla or wintergreen or anything else, just good RB. It’s not breaking into my top 5, but I’d absolutely get more if I see it around. I had their sarsaparilla and it was good, but not amazing. This I liked a little more. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good RB

Found a four banger at the Meijer. I have never tried it before but I decided to give it a go. It has an interesting smell. I couldn’t quite place it at first but it reminds me of walking through the fog at a junior high dance. Only without the sweat, axe, and hormones. It has a medicinal taste which I personally enjoy. Not terribly sweet. Not drenched in vanilla. The clove and wintergreen can really clear the sinuses. Makes me burp but, unfortunately, no fog…

I’d drink it again. At least 3 more times anyway.

does anyone have any alcoholic root beer recommendations? i’ve been trying to get my hands on Not Your Fathers Root Beer but it’s been sold out all near me

As stated what could I use this for

Let’s hope it lives up to the hype.

Hey, folks. A few months ago, I moved to Dublin from the US, and have had terrible luck with finding root beer since then. The only places I've reliably found it so far is in a Coke Freestyle machine in the Five Guys near my grocery store, and Bundaberg in another nearby grocery store (though it tastes like medicine, so I stay away). Most stores don't tend to have bottled or canned root beer at all. Do any of y'all know how I might be able to get my hands on some without paying obscene import taxes or similarly high shipping fees?

Edit: For clarity, I am in the Republic - not Northern Ireland. I do know of a store in Belfast that sells root beer I like, but I don't have the time to take that train most weeks.

My buddy and I went to Galco's grocery in LA and got just a few of our favorites + some new ones. We're not addicted to root beer, we can quit anytime... 😂