I rarely drink cokes. We don't have them at the house, and I'll get iced tea at a sit-down restaurant, but if we're getting fast food I'll often order root beer if they have Barq's. Otherwise, a cherry coke or Dr. Pepper. My husband and kids prefer Sprite/ginger ale.

And yeah, every now and then, a root beer float is really hits the spot.

I don't think most people drink root beer (the calories and sugar). But I have never met someone who didn't like it. Root beer floats seem pretty universally loved.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have not seen root beer in years OP but enjoyed it as a very rare treat as a kid OP

So it's been years since you looked in a grocery store? Because pretty much every grocery store carries it.

LOL- my DH does the shopping in our house- so I have not seen root beer in years.

There’s a small German beer and sausage bar/restaurant we like to stop at after skiing and they have root beer floats on the menu for the kids.

When I was a kid in the 70s we’d always go with another family to a local pizza place and get pitchers of root beer for the kids. I still love root beer with pizza but I rarely drink soda.

Anonymous wrote:Now I'm craving root beer. Thanks, OP...

Haha, you're welcome.

So I didn't like root beer but there are certain foods, snacks and drinks I tried and liked when travelling around the US but that either weren't readily available in most UK grocery stores in the 80s and even early 90s, or certain foods/recipes that we only knew from visits to the US or from the movies.

Cherry Coke
Arby's
French Dip
A wider choice of ice cream flavours
Pumpkin pie
Reuben sandwich
Aunt Annie's pretzels
French's mustard
Caesar salad

All available in the UK today but still quite a novelty in the 1980s (except in London maybe).

Also
Salad bars
The hot dog vendor in the street
Drive thru foods and drinks

Anonymous wrote:In recent decades there has been a resurgence in craft root beer. AW isn’t very good. But some of the craft root beers are awesome and so tasty. I also like sasparilla which you can find some places.
But I think it’s sort of a niche taste. Only one of my kids drinks root beer. But the others don’t really like soda generally. Soda consumption is down.

I agree that the fancy root beers are where it's at. I like root beer but don't drink it, or any soda often. I impulse bought a MUG root beer this weekend, I drank it but it was too heavy on the wintergreen flavor.

Now I'm craving root beer. Thanks, OP...

Anonymous wrote:I have not seen root beer in years OP but enjoyed it as a very rare treat as a kid OP

So it's been years since you looked in a grocery store? Because pretty much every grocery store carries it.

Anonymous wrote:No, it’s not popular, but it is readily available in stores and in restaurants that have fountain sodas.

Which means it's popular, or it wouldn't be widly available everywhere. Dimwit.

Anonymous wrote:I keep sugar free root beer stocked in our house at all times. It's great with a little bit of cream.

We do the same. Really good on a hot summer day.

Anonymous wrote:I like it, but I don’t drink it that often. But British person, here’s the deal. That flavoring is used in the UK for either medicine or something like toothpaste, so the association is bad. I think Ribera is disgusting (and yes, I know you’re supposed to water it down), because that blackcurrant flavor tastes like cough syrup to me - we use that for medicines.

I am OP. I agree that Ribena is awful. Children over here like it, but it's very bad for children's (and adults') teeth. I never liked Ribena.

In recent decades there has been a resurgence in craft root beer. AW isn’t very good. But some of the craft root beers are awesome and so tasty. I also like sasparilla which you can find some places.
But I think it’s sort of a niche taste. Only one of my kids drinks root beer. But the others don’t really like soda generally. Soda consumption is down.

There’s a whole restaurant chain based on root beer.

https://awrestaurants.com/

(Granted, I haven’t seen one of these in years.)

I like it, but I don’t drink it that often. But British person, here’s the deal. That flavoring is used in the UK for either medicine or something like toothpaste, so the association is bad. I think Ribera is disgusting (and yes, I know you’re supposed to water it down), because that blackcurrant flavor tastes like cough syrup to me - we use that for medicines.

Anonymous wrote:It's a child's drink.

What do humorless adults drink?