Welcome to Brews Of Root Extraction Online. This post reviews A&W draft root beer…the kind that comes in a cold glass mug at the restaurant, not the kind you buy in the store. This is considered by some to be one of the original “blueprint” root beers (along with Hires and IBC). Whether that’s true or not, there’s something very satisfying about going to a burger joint and having a tasty, substantial beverage along with your meal. I didn’t take note of how much a single mug of draft root beer costs at A&W, but when I substituted it for the “normal” soda on my combo meal I think it added $1.
I use five criteria I score from 1-5 to evaluate brews.
A. Sweetness: 5. Just right. I don’t know for sure, but I would swear it uses cane sugar by the weight and the caramel-y tone of it.
B. Lightbody spices: 4. Lots of added wintergreen is a perfect counterbalance to the vanilla.
C. Heavybody spices: 4. Lots and lots of rich vanilla.
D. Uniqueness: 3. It’s just standard root beer, but since it’s been copied more than it copied others, I gave it a point or two.
E. Mouthfeel: 5. It’s balanced and has a fine, zippy carbonation. Since it’s served in a frozen glass mug, there’s no ice added…which means it won’t get watered down. It’s not too syrupy either.
Total score 21/25. I don’t make it to an A&W more than once per year, but when I do I make sure to order their draft root beer in the mug.
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