The best root beer is sweet, bright, fizzy, and tastes like some sort of root (or at least a chemical approximation of a root) was used in the making. It shouldn’t taste like plain old soda. Root beer is sophisticated and all-American. Let it shine. Over the course of two separate taste tests, I’ve tried 30 different root beers in order to find the best root beer brands.
I’m relatively new to root beer, which is surprising considering home much I like anise-y spirits and how many bottles of Fernet I can guzzle. But as a child, it was just too…not Coke. I didn’t have a root beer float until I was in my very late teens. But once I did taste root beer, I was in. I was invested. And I continue to search for the best root beers—for all those times when it’s unacceptable to drink Fernet.
It turns out, a lot of you are on the same journey. This is an update of our original best root beer ranking, which went live in April of 2022, and we have received lots and lots of feedback on it. Just scroll down to the comments to see the ire it inspired. Okay, you’re back? Wild, right? People really do love their root beer and they have opinions when it comes to the question, what is the best root beer?
After reading through the comments, I sourced a few more root beer brands from a specialty soda shop in L.A. (shout out Galco’s!) and a couple of them made the cut. Here is an updated list of the best root beers.
The following article contains affiliate links that may generate a small commission to us when you make a purchase through the link. Learn more about how we work with affiliates here.
Best of the Big Brands
MugAmazonI understand this is a controversial pick. People who love Barq’s really love it. And, yes, A&W from the tap is extremely good. But I encourage you to do your own side by side of the big bottled brands and then come back to me. Most of the big root beer brands actually just taste like plain cola. Mug, though, tastes like root beer. It holds onto that signature bite and has some herbaceous notes. If you want to buy a big, giant bottle of root beer or are catering for a child’s pizza party, Mug’s is the best root beer to buy in bulk.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Amazon
6/10
Sporks
Best Spiced
AbitaAmazon“I grew up drinking this,” said Sporked senior staff writer Jordan Myrick, who spent part of their childhood in New Orleans. “I love this as a special treat.” One taster noted that it tasted a bit medicinal, but I think that’s par for the course with a more crafty root beer. To me, it tastes like Christmas. It’s filled with notes of cinnamon and clove. It’s not too sweet, but it is very aromatic with a gorgeously foamy head (thanks to the inclusion of yucca, apparently). If you’re looking for some seasonal cheer in a bottle, Abita is the best root beer brand.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Amazon
7/10
Sporks
Best Diet
Hank’s DietAmazonThis is the best diet root beer I tried, for sure. It’s really fizzy, which helps keep the flavor bright and vibrant. Too often, diet sodas can taste flat from the lack of real sugar, so that extra carbonation goes a long way. On its own, I’m not sure you’d be able to even tell it was diet. Compared to the classic Hank’s, though, there is a bit of a difference—it’s less sweet. But that just makes it all the more refreshing.
7.5/10
Sporks
Best Packaging
SprecherAmazonIf you are a child and you want to pretend you’re drinking beer, we found the best root beer for your purposes. (Do not do this, children, enjoy the innocence of your childhood.) It comes in an extremely pleasing, chonky-as-heck bottle. And the label features a fun-loving blackbird or crow or raven brandishing a frothy mug of root beer and a bottle. But it doesn’t just look good. It also tastes good, with a rich, dark quality. Perhaps that’s because it’s sweetened with honey.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Amazon
8/10
Sporks
Best with Lunch
Dad’sA few of the root beers we tried had some fruity notes to them, including this one, which has an almost cherry-like flavor. It tastes like a root beer that has been garnished with maraschino cherries—but the good ones, not the neon red ones. “It needs to be paired with a sandwich,” Sporked contributor Danny Palumbo said. “A turkey sandwich with chips—it completes an old man’s lunchbox.” The acidity from the fruit flavor makes it food-friendly or, specifically, sandwich-friendly. But it’s not so fruity that you don’t know you’re drinking root beer.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
8/10
Sporks
Best with a Burger
Hank’sTotal WineIt’s been a few years since I had A&W from the tap, but this is the best root beer that approximates that flavor as I remember it. It’s quite sweet with lots of very fine bubbles. It’s not too herbaceous at all, but it still has that signature root beer twang. Drink this with a burger instead of Coke—preferably out of a frosted mug.
8/10
Sporks
Best Grown-Up
IBCLooking for a licorice punch? IBC is the best root beer for your palate. It’s light, extremely dry (as in, not sweet), and very, very fizzy. Personally, I loved it. It didn’t overwhelm me with sugar, which kept me coming back for more. I would sip this on its own—almost as a replacement for an after-dinner digestif. It refreshes your palate and settles your tummy with its slight hint of bitterness. It’s been around since 1919 for a reason.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
8.5/10
Sporks
Best for Root Beer Floats
River CityRiver City advertises this root beer as being the best root beer made for ice cream. And, guess what? They did it. It has a ton of vanilla flavor to welcome in the ice cream and a nice, sharp fizz to cut its creaminess. “Oh yeah, that’s the root beer we know and love,” Jordan said. “That’s a craft root beer.” Plus, it has a riverboat on the label, so you feel like you’re down at the docks, swiggin’ an old-timey sodee pop in your best seersucker suit. That’s what I’m looking for in a root beer.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Albertsons
9.5/10
Sporks
Best Deli Root Beer
Stewart’sAmazonI love the toasty, holiday smell of this root beer. I wish I could have potpourri that smelled like Stewart’s root beer. It tastes like a grown-up root beer, with a pleasant balance of sweet and herbal. I feel like the only place I ever really see Stewart’s is in the fridge at the deli, and that makes sense. This is a perfect deli sandwich root beer—it’s not too cloying so it won’t overwhelm all the meat flavors. Grab a cold one and enjoy it with your Italian sub and tiny bag of kettle chips at a picnic table while staring out into the distance and mulling over what it means to be an adult.
9.5/10
Sporks
Best Sweet
FrostieAmazon (12 pack)You can’t deny the appeal of the packaging. It features a loveable little old man who might be one of the forgotten dwarves from Snow White—Frostie, one assumes. To me, this tastes the way the best root beer is supposed to taste. It’s like a better version of your childhood memories of root beer (I can only assume, having been afraid of root beer, as I mentioned). “This is perfect root beer,” Sporked managing editor Gwynedd Stuart said. “It’s creamy,” Danny commented. It’s all of these things wrapped up in a downright adorable package. And, in our first taste test, it was the best root beer. But it has since ceded the crown to…
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
10/10
Sporks
Best of the Best
Dr. Brown’sTargetYes, Dr. Brown’s has taken the title of best of the best root beers from Frostie. Frostie is a perfect root beer, but Dr. Brown’s is just a touch better than perfect thanks to an added layer of spice and intrigue. It still has the sweet, sweet goodness of Frostie’s, but then there’s this celery seed earthiness that just keeps you coming back sip after sip. I really could not get enough while we were tasting it. Congratulations, Dr. Brown’s. You are the best root beer.
10/10
Sporks
Share your favorite fruit roll ups and fruit strips with us using #SporkedTasteTest for a chance to be featured on our social pages!
ncG1vNJzZmiroKS%2FrLHDZ5qopV%2BWv7W1wqWcaJqVqMFuvs6oq2aalZq%2FcA%3D%3D