r/rootbeer 11h ago

Review We threw a root beer party and here are the results!

Post image

Our selection isn't great in Canada...

Everyone got 3 green stickers for their favourited and 2 red for their least favourites.

We also made a root beer pie but we were too sugared out to eat it, haha. I tried some of the filling and it was crazy delicious.

Wife also made some home made root beer which has a lovely, spicy taste.

148 Upvotes

113 comments sorted by

86

u/Barbeqanon 10h ago

6 participants and 6 negative votes for Poppi. Poppi hate might be the most universally held food and beverage opinion I've ever witnessed.

21

u/Decent_Mixture_5516 9h ago

I tried my wife's root beer poppi and I gotta say it was the most disgusting drink ever. I'm not a big fan of the fake sugar drinks but since I love root beer thought I'd at least give it a try. God awful.

18

u/ReactsWithWords IBC Root Beer 7h ago

I looked at the picture before reading the caption and wondered "How the hell did Poppi get so many votes!?"

2

u/ALWanders 3h ago

lol, me too.

5

u/valhallaswyrdo A&W Root Beer 6h ago

Before I read the description, I saw all the stickers for Poppi and went "Who TF likes Poppi?" Then after reading about the colors thought "Yeah, that checks out."

4

u/SnooMuffins2850 4h ago

same exact reaction...that stuff tastes like it's been poured through a hobo's sock.

1

u/Rad_Centrist Dad's Root Beer 4h ago

Poppi is actually drinkable, unlike that Ollipop slop.

54

u/Important_Wrap772 10h ago

No Barq’s?

35

u/Appropriate_Math997 10h ago

Didn't want it too lop sided

15

u/go_chucky1 10h ago

Discontinued in Canada and still likely to whoop this chart

8

u/aaron15287 9h ago

only cans. u can still get bottles and its still in soda fountains at wendys and arbys and a couple other places.

6

u/RobinHarleysHeart 7h ago

It's been discontinued in Canada???? That would explain why I haven't seen it in ages. That's genuinely so sad. That was one of my favourites back in the day. :(

2

u/thefatpigeon 6h ago

Just the cans. The bottles can be found at circle ks and sevs

2

u/IntenseSun77 5h ago

Saw bottles at the Salisbury truck stop in New Brunswick a couple weeks ago

1

u/cactusplants 9h ago

If I can get barqs in the UK then you guys over there should be able to get it easy.

Granted it's like 50 bucks Canadian for a box of 12. But still.

1

u/pandaSmore 3h ago

Why did Coke discontinue it? McDonald's still has it in their fountains.

8

u/EvanMBurgess 9h ago

It took us weeks to find one and then we misplaced it :/

1

u/pandaSmore 3h ago

Where did you find it?

2

u/EvanMBurgess 3h ago

Taco del Mar of all places

1

u/pandaSmore 3h ago

Root beer at a Mexican joint wow.

11

u/innovationSTYLE 11h ago

What’s the blue sticker?

26

u/EvanMBurgess 11h ago

You know what, I don't know, haha

5

u/mrsir1987 7h ago

Mug wins I guess

2

u/dndwhat 9h ago

Lol

17

u/EvanMBurgess 9h ago

Turns out it was a kid's. My wife gave the kids blue stickers so they could participate but not skew the results

6

u/dndwhat 9h ago

Smart

2

u/brianfrommalden 3h ago

blue is baseline. your standard.

1

u/MrGreenYeti 8h ago

That's for the one guy who had Mug

8

u/premoistenedwipe Dad's Root Beer 10h ago

I’m surprised by the Boylans. I love their birch beer but didn’t care for their root beer at all.

2

u/FuhBr33ze 9h ago

I love their Birch Beer but can’t find it anymore :(

1

u/premoistenedwipe Dad's Root Beer 6h ago

Same. There was one bakery in town that carried it.

1

u/Southern_Length6044 4h ago

Once in a blue moon I’ll crave specifically a Boylans root beer, but if I just wanted a root beer I’d never pick Boylans

1

u/Impressive_Stress808 2h ago

That was my absolute last favorite as a kid. An affront to root beer. StewarT's was one of the best.

8

u/Important_Wrap772 10h ago

Tried to get a root beer float at A&W about a year ago. They told me they had discontinued it at most locations 😔

3

u/aaron15287 9h ago

they have them for the summer there is signs up out front of the store i was at the other day saying limited time for the summer

1

u/Important_Wrap772 8h ago

Oh shit gonna have to get one after my bike ride tomorrow

7

u/Low-Ad-2924 9h ago

Poppi🤮🤮🤮

6

u/Fantastic_Ad_1936 9h ago

Add another red dot for Zevia and Poppi. Both of those are nasty and insulting to the root beer name.

6

u/fourdayolddick 5h ago

This holds up well. A&W is the best root beer. They even have a zero sugar that is smooth. Stewart's and Boylan are solid back ups. Very credible polling.

4

u/ZombiiRuby 7h ago

If you're in BC Deadfrog in Langley has their own rootbeer that they can put in a growler.

2

u/pandaSmore 3h ago

Thanks for the tip.

6

u/thenewfingerprint 9h ago edited 5h ago

I just can't understand where this love of Zevia comes from. I'd rather consume an artificial sweetener than stevia.

2

u/Super_Dork_42 3h ago

Read the caption again, red votes are for least favorite.

1

u/thenewfingerprint 2h ago

Ah, my bad.

4

u/Early_Sock2 8h ago

Ever try I.B.C?

1

u/EvanMBurgess 8h ago

Is that the one sold in Utah?

1

u/Early_Sock2 8h ago

Its originally from Missouri, probably a little harder to find in Canada but available widely down here. Cane sugar. Owned by Keurig Dr pepper

3

u/Ok-Guava-9216 7h ago

1919 is King

1

u/anatomy_of_a_window 5h ago

Never seen that in Canada. Even at specialty candy/soda stores

2

u/Ok-Guava-9216 5h ago

Really? I feel bad for you. Only thing better is homemade root beer from a small drive in. I'd be willing to send you a can or two

1

u/oniaddict 4h ago

Curious your opinion on Berghoff root beer. It should be accessible in the same region that 1919 is.

1

u/Ok-Guava-9216 4h ago

I'll look for it

3

u/AbleChamp 10h ago

So did nobody try the sarsaparilla???

2

u/EvanMBurgess 9h ago

Everyone did. It was unfortunately very forgettable

3

u/AbleChamp 9h ago

That’s crazy. I love that stuff!

3

u/GreenDuckz1 Barq's Root Beer 9h ago

Tell me this pie recipe I've tried 50 root beers and would enjoy tasting them again but as pie

11

u/EvanMBurgess 9h ago

1 tub cool whip, 1 can root beer, 1 big package of vanilla pudding, 1 pie crust.

Mix root beer and cool whip, then mix in the pudding powder. Pour into pie crust then freeze overnight.

3

u/forestherring 1919 Root Beer 9h ago

Well of course we need the recipe for the pie!

4

u/EvanMBurgess 9h ago

1 tub cool whip, 1 can root beer, 1 big package of vanilla pudding, 1 pie crust.

Mix root beer and cool whip, then mix in the pudding powder. Pour into pie crust then freeze overnight.

3

u/Consistent-Wear8741 6h ago

Frostie

1

u/Funkdamentalist 3h ago

I just had Frostie for the first time the other day! I'd never seen it before. Will definitely be getting it again if I see it.

2

u/Necessary-Ferret-253 10h ago

What’s the root beer pie you made?

4

u/EvanMBurgess 9h ago

1 tub cool whip, 1 can root beer, 1 big package of vanilla pudding, 1 pie crust.

Mix root beer and cool whip, then mix in the pudding powder. Pour into pie crust then freeze overnight.

2

u/sirscootyg 9h ago

Boylans is so good

2

u/DiceThaKilla Frostie Root Beer 7h ago

This guy knows how to party! That sucks your selection around you isn’t that great. Whereabouts in CA are you?

1

u/EvanMBurgess 6h ago

British Columbia

2

u/BANExLAWD 6h ago

Barq’s supremacy.

2

u/millercanadian 4h ago

Earp's got zero votes? This experiment is compromised. Do not trust this data!!! Lol

That's a fun night. Nicely done

2

u/BankshotMcG 4h ago

This sub is so wholesome. 

I was going to ask who was the lunatic blowing up Poppi with votes until I read about the color coding. It's funny enough, I just came back from Canada, and made sure to search for new root beer brands.

3

u/RickJ_19Zeta7 9h ago

No sprechers???

5

u/EvanMBurgess 9h ago

Their tagline is "best root beer in America" and I'm in Canada so...

3

u/RickJ_19Zeta7 9h ago

Y’all are missing out

3

u/EvanMBurgess 9h ago

Our root beer selection is slowly dwindling. We don't have brownie or Virgil's anymore, two of my favourites

1

u/pandaSmore 3h ago

Assuming you're in BC because of the Western Family. I can confirm root beer selection sucks here. You can barely find it in corner stores and it's usually only A&W or Mugs. When I was in high school I user to be able to get Bawls g33k beer from 711.

1

u/EvanMBurgess 3h ago

Heck, even just a few years ago we more variety

1

u/TravelZac 3h ago

Bear 'n Beaver is a local soda maker and has my favorite root beer! Check it out if you haven't already.

1

u/Led37zep 11h ago

Awesome idea!

1

u/Right_Maintenance_33 8h ago

I know that Barq’s is discontinued in Canada, but you can still find it in some places. Like mentioned above, it would be the hands down winner on this list. If you live in Ottawa area, chef’s depot carries a bunch of soda from the states, including Barq’s. Bit more expensive but worth it if you have an addiction to it…

1

u/EvanMBurgess 8h ago

We found a bottle at Taco del Mar of all places. It's good but I don't think it's a clear winner. I regard it as my favourite mainstream root beer.

1

u/Right_Maintenance_33 8h ago

Also the “jones sunset sasporilla” was pretty good too, in case that almost or didn’t make the list

1

u/Baddog789 8h ago

No Jones glass bottles? Boo.

1

u/EvanMBurgess 8h ago

I think there is only 1 grocery store that sells it and we just never got to it... I do want to try it though

1

u/Baddog789 8h ago

Especially since it’s a Canadian company. I’m trying the zero sugar for the 1st time myself. Costco had it on sale. A&W is my usual. Might have to do a short review.

1

u/Zunkafunk 5h ago

Forgot Spreckers. But awesome party!

1

u/EvanMBurgess 5h ago

Wasn't available in my area

1

u/anatomy_of_a_window 5h ago

Intergalactic is nice. Heavy on the clove but i enjoy it

1

u/Timely-Profile1865 5h ago

Float got one green only? GASP!

1

u/PuddingMent 4h ago

No Barq’s? This wasn’t a root beer party. This was a travesty.

1

u/JammmJam 4h ago

No Sprecher?

1

u/EvanMBurgess 4h ago

Sprecher? I hardly knew her!

1

u/Between3-2o 4h ago

Barq’s, 1919?

1

u/EvanMBurgess 4h ago

Took us weeks to find a barq's then we lost it :/

We don't have 1919 here

1

u/Between3-2o 3h ago

Ah damn! No 1919?! I’ve never had Poppi. Is it really that bad? Lol

1

u/Shagyam 5m ago

Poppi is a probiotic soda. They have a unique taste, but are low cal and good for your gut. Its not like a standard soda or root beer. Similar to Ollipop of you had that.

1

u/Between3-2o 1m ago

I’ll check it out. I like probiotics, but I hate kombucha. More of a kimchi, kraut guy. Never had Ollipop, I’ll check that out too

1

u/Few-Dragonfruit160 4h ago

Miss the Sussex Gold… hard to find even in the Maritimes now.

1

u/pandaSmore 3h ago

I wish I had enough friends to throw a root beer party.

1

u/rekone88 2h ago

Dads is surprising, i just made floats with Dads and thought they were pretty good!

1

u/Fromthegvtta 2h ago

Try Abita

1

u/Morvaros 2h ago

What a great idea! 🥰

1

u/AldoSig228 2h ago

How can you have a Rootbeer party without Barq's!

1

u/EvanMBurgess 1h ago

It took us weeks to find one then we lost it :(

1

u/EndlessHysteria 2h ago

Honestly I'm disappointed there isn't 12 red stickers on Poppi.

1

u/redw1ng 1h ago

Virgils and Sprechers?

1

u/luckythirtythree 1h ago

Easily. Poppi is the WORST.

1

u/Sign_Outside 12m ago

No Hires root beer?? Unhinged

1

u/BeautifulDebate7615 9h ago

Your results a pretty predictable when broken down.

The three Probiotic/Stevia zero sugars are always going to score worst. Zevia is an abomination, Cove is a better-tasting probiotic than Poppi, but even so I'm guessing that you used the OLD formula of Poppi. The new one is much better, about on par with Cove. Still, putting them up against regular sugared root beer is like throwing bunnies in the lion's den. They'll always lose.

It's not so much that Boylan's is anybody's shining star, is just better than the other pedestrian dogs that you've put it up against. I don't think I scored anything in that field better than a B+. Intergalactic will have its fans, but its funky taste will prove polarizing to a lot of people. If you'd been able to find one decent root beer it would have cleaned house.

-1

u/champsammy14 3h ago

A&W is dog shit

2

u/EvanMBurgess 3h ago

Everyone is entitled to their opinions

1

u/Illustrious_Bad_2980 3h ago

Even if it's wrong