Popular Root Beer Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

Believe it or not, root beer has been around for hundreds of years, dating all the way back to the 16th century. At its core, it’s a sweet, caffeine-free soft drink with flavors that typically include vanilla, licorice, wintergreen, and sarsaparilla. Suffice it to say, root beer is a pretty polarizing beverage: you either love it or you hate it.

Today, there are a number of brands making some version of root beer, but not all of them are created equal. Thankfully, we've gone ahead and ranked them for you. These are the most popular root beer brands, ranked worst to best.

#RootBeer #Brands #Soda

13. Mug | 0:00
12. Zevia | 0:51
11. Frostie | 1:21
10. Dad's | 2:04
9. Bundaberg | 2:45
8. WBC Chicago Style | 3:37
7. Stewart's | 4:14
6. Sioux City | 4:52
5. Virgil's Handcrafted | 5:39
4. IBC | 6:27
3. Sprecher | 7:00
2. Barq's | 7:45
1. A&W | 8:28

[MashedFood]

Which root beer brand is your favorite?

[treywest]

A&W in a can is really tasty but doesn't compare to their Root Beer that was served in a nice frosty mug at their restaurants.

[tyannaist]

No way Mug should be at the bottom of the list while Henry W didn't even make the list.

[ralphmills]

Hires was THE root beer in my youth (back when sarsaparilla root was legal). I don't see Hires available at stores around me. My go to is now A&W diet. In my long and storied root beer drinking I've also had Ted's, Cott's, Ramblin', Barrelhead, Mug, Dad's Barq's, IBC, Stewart's, Polar, Waistwatchers, Captain Eli's and a half dozen generic store brands. I've also drank the Wyler's Root Beer flavored powdered drink mix.

[Jambi]

Buy A&W in the restaurants - they make it fresh in store with real cane sugar and no preservatives. The bottle and can product uses high fructose corn syrup and needs to have a preservative added. Quite different if you ever have the chance to have them side by side. Also, when in an A&W restaurant, always ask for yours to be served in a chilled glass mug (sometimes the counter person will just hand you a paper cup).

[janbofanny]

A&W with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla for the best root beer float ever.

[TheRocketMouse]

Mug ranking last is a certifiable Mug Moment.

[SafetyScout]

I’ve been drinking root beer since I was a kid and now drink from bottles only. I have collected and have on display in my rec room over 50 brands now of just root beer bottles that I’ve tried. It’s a great way to rank brands for me.

Was raised on Hires and A&W. Remember going to A&W car hop where they would bring out the root beer in heavy frosted mugs with onion rings. The servers were on roller skates.

A great drink is a root beer float with chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla.

Better than root beer is birch beer. Hard to find nowadays. It has a distinct woody flavor-more than root beer but once you’re hooked, you’re hooked on it.

[jodiecarlson]

The absolute best root beer is very local to southern MN, from Schell's Brewery in New Ulm. It's called 1919 (for the year they started making it due to Prohibition) and it's best from a keg. People will get kegs of it for graduation parties and wedding receptions, it's so good.

[fredbloggs]

The best root beer, which I found recently in Publix Supermarket in Florida, is a Abita root beer, produced by the Abita brewing Company in Louisiana. Its ingredients list Louisiana cane sugar, spring water, root beer flavor, caramel color, and phosphoric acid. It is more of a wintergreen and licorice/anise flavor, although I am sure vanilla is in the mix. It has body and bite, good carbonation, and comes in glass bottles with non-screw off caps.

[RobertKFall]

I can rememerb back in the late 60s buying A&W by the quart at the A&W drive in. They had paper milk carton containers they filled straight from the tap.

[jonny]

Surprised Boylan's didn't make the cut. Usually wins out in every taste test it's a part of. It is also the one I hand to people who usually don't like root beer. They end up liking it and wanting more.

[rikeshpatel]

How did those mass produced root beers get in the top 2?

[xtrabiggg]

Faygo Root Beer from Detroit has been aged in batches on Gratiot Avenue since 1909. and is foamy, rich and tasty! Now let me tell you about their ginger beer...

[bwest]

I wasn't expecting A+W to be #1. I like it, but find Virgils a lot more interesting. But everyone has different tastes. Kudos to A+W, it's easily found everywhere and not expensive.

[wjcorrinne]

The best I’ve ever had is Hire’s Root Beer. Unfortunately the same company that has the rights to A&W also has Hire’s and it’s not being made anymore. It lost out to better advertising campaigns. Also Dog & Suds root beer was pretty good, but again you can’t get it anymore.

[patriciayohn]

Growing up Hire's Rootbeer was THE BEST, it wasn't dead sweet it had a nice peppery kick and fantastic carbonation. I really miss it and rarely drink root beer anymore because it is just to sweet with no character.

[urluvjones]

Hires should have at least received an honorable mention because it was the first brand to really gain large commercial success.

[daneschmidt]

Idk how popular this is but my vote would be Henry Weinhard’s:)

[cyrilmauras]

Barq's started in Biloxi, Mississippi. My favorite root beer not mentioned in this post, is Frostop root beer, from a Frostop hamburger stand, with a Lot-o-burger hamburger!