Rootbeer

So me and my wife have become connoisseurs of Rootbeer. It happens to be our favorite soda, and neither of us really drink a lot of soda other than Rootbeer. Rather than just the stuff that comes out of the soda fountain at the fast-food restaurant or the 2-liter of soda you can get at the grocery store, we really like trying obscure brands in glass bottles. It mostly started with Barqs. We lived in Alabama for a few months for work two summers ago, and out there it was common to find Barqs in a bottle in convenience stores or restaurants. We haven't found anywhere that sells it since. We have tried many other brands and have begun making a list rating our favorites:

Barqs 10
Jones 9.8
Sarsaparilla 9.8
Stewart's 8.5
Brigham's Brew 8
Virgil's 7.5
IBC 5
Frosties 5
A&W 4.5
Sioux City 3.5
Dog and Suds 3
Bundaberg 0

One of the best parts about Rootbeer in a bottle is that the soda lasts better in bottles, meaning most companies will make the soda with real sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. Our ratings are usually based on taste (apart from just tasting good or not, some Rootbeers are made with a heavy taste of liquorish which neither of us likes), and amount of carbonation. Barqs in a bottle is pretty much perfect. Jones also has a great taste but needs just a tad more carbonation. Sarsaparilla isn't technically Rootbeer but is more like the grandfather of Rootbeer. We often buy Sioux City Sarsaparilla which has a great taste very close to Rootbeer. Stewarts is one of our fall back brands. It's not spectacular but meets all the general requirements and is a good 4 pack to have in the fridge when you want a good Rootbeer. Brigham's Brew we tried only recently. It could use a tad more carbonation but overall has a good taste. Virgil's is mostly cool because it comes in a really cool bottle. It's downside is the liquorish taste. IBC tastes good but is way too carbonated. Frosties is undercarbonated with a decent taste. A&W is a rather poor Rootbeer with little flavor. Sioux City Rootbeer (as opposed to the Sarsaparilla) has a very heavy taste of liquorish and we rated it rather low. Dog and Suds was overcarbonated and tasted like liquorish. Bundaberg scored a zero because it was such a bad taste we couldn't drink it and threw it away.

Provo recently opened Pop N Sweets, which has walls full of obscure brands of Rootbeer. It's sort of a haven for people like me and my wife. We've been trying new brands there and will continue to add to our list of ratings. Feel free to post opinions or favorite brands here in the comments. Pop N Sweets doesn't currently carry our favorite, Barqs. We requested it to them and expect it to be in in a few weeks. They said they'll carry anything at least once and will continue to carry it if it sells well. I expect that Barqs will sell very well and seems like exactly the type of thing they ought to have there, so we may finally have found somewhere to get Barqs in Utah. Anyone who likes Rootbeer and has tried few or no bottled brands, I highly recommend that you look into it and it might just change the way you drink Rootbeer from now on. Good luck!