I have to vote for IBC, but A&W is pretty good. Of interest to this forum, there was an A&W restaurant in PVD. Not in the city served by the airport, but in the terminal of Theodore Francis Green Airport itself. We'll have to see if it survives the current renovation. Not that a root beer, greasy cheeseburger and onion rings are really what I'm after before a bumpy ride on an RJ. :)

I'll have to try Bear Tooth before I leave ANC. Problem is, their regular beer isn't bad, either.

The absolute best root beer ever: Lost Trail Root Beer.

It's sold all around the Kansas City area, but can also be had at the website: www.louisburgcidermill.com/beverages.

Edited to add: not sure if this link works, but you can google "Louisburg Cider Mill"

One Word
 

Faygo

You can get it at the grocery store - my dad picks it up in 32oz bottles.

A&W, which I think is still the country's best-selling root beer. Although I agree it doesn't taste like it did years ago.

My favorite root beer at Ellis Island in Las Vegas. Really enjoyed it with their steak special. Couldn't get enough of it.
A&W from a tap (versus a can) would probably rate second.

I don't think you can fairly compare draught versus stuff from a bottle/can.

We had a bit of a root beer tasting (of bottles and cans) at my friends place a few months back. Personally, my favorite there was Henry Weinhard's. It's somewhat tough to get in Vancouver but I think a local grocery chain is starting to carry it. I used to have to bring a few case back during trips to Seattle. A&W and Boylan's Birch Beer were a tie for second for me. I like A&W's caramelly sweetness while Boylan's sugar cane sweetness was interesting in a good but different kind of way. Thomas Kemper and Hires are ok. Virgil's didn't do anything for me.

There is a big difference in the fresh A & W rootbeer we can pick up in a plastic gallon 'milk jug' & the bottled kind in the stores. The fresh has a vanilla taste & so good

IBC, absolute fave. Henry Weinhard and Barq's second choice. A&W a pretender nowadays.

I was disappointed in the ANC Moose's Tooth "homemade" root beer - kinda flat. But that was a number of years ago, maybe I should try it again.

Although not the best, sodaclub's diet RB syrup added to sodawater works for us. It is nearly impossible to find RB in Israel, so i bring this syrup back from the US. it is kosher too, and sweetened with splenda, two points that are important to us.

http://www.sodaclub.com/sodaclub.html

anyone out there ever make their own?

I've noticed at my local A&W there are two spouts on the big root beer dispenser at the counter: one looks like a tap and the other looks like a standard fountain drink dispenser (like what you'd see on a soda machine).

Has anyone else seen this, and if so, does anyone know if the products coming out are the same or different? What would the difference be?

Also, I'll cast another vote for the fresh stuff from Moose's Tooth/Bear Tooth in ANC. BTW, we can sample some if anyone wants to fly up for the DO on Tuesday (see the sig)...

Ever since this thread came out, I have made a deliberate attempt to try different root beers ! Here are the results of my taste tests to date:
1) Boylans Birch Beer
2) Hanks Root Beer
3) IBC Root Beer
4) Boylans Root Beer
5) Virgils Root Beer
6) A&W Root Beer
7) Thomas Kemper Root Beer

I still have several more brands to try !!!

You haven't tried Red Ribbon ?!? As a side note, that same company (Natrona Bottling of PA) just came out with a fantastic grape soda.

Sprecher
 

Sprecher Brewing in MKE makes an excellent root beer with notes of honey and vanilla, very robust root beer. IMHO, better than any of the mass-market root beers. I believe availability is limited to the Midwest.

P.S. Sprecher makes excellent beers as well (Black Bavarian and Weiss for me)

Hank's Gourmet Root Beer...hands down the best I've ever had! :)

New York Times: A Drink in Search of a Frosty Mug (6/25/08)
 

I grew up with BlackPine Sarsaparilla or "HeySong Sarsi" (黑松沙士) in Taiwan. It's a popular drink with a long history. We always have it with a bit of salt (almost like the way drinking margarita). :)

Didn't know there's such a variety of root beer until I came to the States. A&W gets my vote so far but I have to admit I haven't tried too many brands. I had such a bad experience with a store-brand coke that I decide not to blind test any soft drinks.

I was surprised A&W didn't even make it to the top ten list in the recent New York Times root beer review. But they did highlight the importance of the sweeteners (cane sugar vs. corn syrup), like the other thread about coke with real sugar in Mexico.

Here's the NYT list:

1. Sprecher (Glendale, Wis.)
2. IBC (Plano, Tex.)
3. Abita (Abita Springs, La.)
4. Sea Dog Old Style (Portland, Me.)
5. Thomas Kemper (Seattle)
6. Dr. Brown’s Draft Style (New York)
7. Fitz’s (St. Louis)
8. Gale’s (Riverwoods, Ill.)
9. Whole Foods’ 365 All Natural (Austin, Tex.)
10. Stewart’s (Rye Brook, N.Y.)