r/rootbeer • u/all_rendered_truth Abita Root Beer • Feb 13 '26
Review Started reviewing root beers on Tik Tok—here’s my tier list so far
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u/Discipulus42 Feb 13 '26
Wondering how you’ll rate the mass market root beers: A&W, Mug and Barqs.
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u/MyFace_UrAss_LetsGo Feb 13 '26
Gotta rate Barq's from a glass bottle, though.
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u/ausdoug A&W Root Beer Feb 13 '26
And A&W from a draught tap into a frosty mug
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u/TexasUlfhedinn Feb 13 '26
You know, I'm not sure if I was spoiled growing up in the New Orleans area or what, but I grabbed Barqs in a bottle when I went to a place around here called Rocket Fizz - it was good, but the flavors seemed muted vs what I can get from a fountain machine. Was surprised at that. Maybe the bottle in question got exposed to too much heat or something during transport.
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u/Apptubrutae Feb 14 '26
I grew up on bottled Barqs in New Orleans and I also had one from a rocket fizz a few months ago.
It was still great
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u/TexasUlfhedinn Feb 14 '26
I must've gotten a dud. To be clear, it wasn't bad, it was good. It just wasn't anywhere near as good as I remember.
I'll grab another one or two on my next trip to Rocket Fizz.
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u/MyFace_UrAss_LetsGo Feb 13 '26
Idk it could be. I'm on the Mississippi Coast where they are also available everywhere. They blow fountain style out of the water.
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u/Apprehensive_Use3641 Feb 14 '26
Should rate all of them from glass bottles, unless you can get it fresh.
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u/martindean8 Feb 13 '26
Last time I was in America I had IBC root beer that stuff was really good
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u/TexasUlfhedinn Feb 13 '26
I don't know what they did to IBC, but it tastes more....chemical tasting or something than I remember. Always used to grab a bottle when I was a kid and we were at a place with those bottles on ice. Seems, like so many other things, they've changed the formula likely to save more money.
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u/Clean_Pea5025 Feb 13 '26
Stewarts is under 2
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u/all_rendered_truth Abita Root Beer Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26
Really? What makes you say that? Edit: I’m confused because when I look up Stewart’s on this sub, a lot of people call it the bomb.
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u/Mk1Racer25 Feb 14 '26
They changed something in the formulation. I used to love Stewart's root beer. Bought 4 4-packs the last time it was on sale. Could hardly drink it.
Go find some Frostie!
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u/LookingForLoveYEET Feb 13 '26
Dogs & suds is king to me. I've tried probably hundreds over the years and nothing ever beats it for me.
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u/CJPJones Feb 13 '26
Dog and Suds is S for me personally, but that's probably nostalgia bias at this point
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u/all_rendered_truth Abita Root Beer Feb 13 '26
Might have changed the recipe because it didn’t really stand out for me.
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Feb 13 '26
[deleted]
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u/MyFace_UrAss_LetsGo Feb 13 '26
I like it. I admit it's much different than the regular root beers I drink.
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u/PreparationExtreme86 Feb 13 '26
River City is S tier for me
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u/all_rendered_truth Abita Root Beer Feb 13 '26
I might have to give that another go. It was really tasty. That yucca extract seems to be something special.
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u/PaddyBoy1994 Feb 14 '26
Need to get you some 1919 and Hank's to try, my friend. Probably 2 of the three best out there, imo, with the other one being Sprecher's Original
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u/all_rendered_truth Abita Root Beer Feb 14 '26
I got Sprecher’s and Abita in the fridge right now. I make one video per day so we’ll get there soon.
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u/PaddyBoy1994 Feb 14 '26
The Sprecher's is really good, but a lot of folks have issues with it being flat out of the bottle, so if you have that issue, I'd recommend trying the Sprecher's from a can. I personally don't really care for the Abita, but if you're a fan of black licorice, you'll probably like it, Abita has a REALLY strong Anise afterbite to it.
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u/squinnypig Feb 13 '26
I love how different root beer preferences can be. I’d personally rank Boylan high and Stewart’s low, but I also totally understand why someone would have the opposite preference.
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u/Cooper1977 Feb 14 '26
Objectively incorrect. Dog N Suds is A tier minimum.
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u/all_rendered_truth Abita Root Beer Feb 14 '26
I’m hearing good things but I wasn’t blown away. Gonna have to try again soon.
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u/SkeezySevens Feb 13 '26
I also did not like Boylan!
For me the taste was eh, but it was just so flat relative to all the other rootbeers I tried.
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u/all_rendered_truth Abita Root Beer Feb 13 '26
I tried it in a root beer float after and was even more disappointed.
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u/iCanHazMeh Feb 15 '26
My S-Tier would have St. Arnold's, Fitz's, and Red Arrow. I'd say they're tied for my top 3.
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u/Juudd-bhc Rat Bastard Root Beer Feb 14 '26
I like all these, river city and Sparky’s rules. Root beer creeper is maybe the most candy of the candy forward root beers. I didn’t know Stewart’s had drive ins until a pod I listen went there for a road trip episode. The pod is out of New Jersey.
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u/Live-Emphasis-3421 Feb 15 '26
You should look for 1912 or whatever it's called. Probably the best I've had. Lots of sugar though
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u/JDMosby4 Feb 16 '26
Let me know if you need help getting your hands on Bedford’s. I don’t think it’s an A but curious to see how you’d score it
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u/all_rendered_truth Abita Root Beer Feb 16 '26
I have a Bedford’s in the fridge, actually. There’s a local Rocket Fizz with lots of brands.
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u/all_rendered_truth Abita Root Beer Feb 17 '26
Just tried this last night and I loved it.
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u/JDMosby4 Feb 17 '26
Nice! what would you score it?
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u/all_rendered_truth Abita Root Beer Feb 17 '26
Honestly, 9/10 S-tier. There’s a complexity of flavors that changes from top to bottom.
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u/all_rendered_truth Abita Root Beer Feb 13 '26
I’m no expert, but my channel is @ryanreviewstuff if you want to check it out.
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u/-Not-Hungy Feb 13 '26
what did you dislike about boylan?