Root Beer and Root Beer Floats

I know I focus a lot on food, here.  A large part of this is because I need to be able to demonstrate these American things here at work - and there aren't a lot of non-Food things I can easily bring in to work that she hasn't already experienced.

A few weeks back, I had mentioned that if it kept getting this warm, I would have to bring in Root Beer Floats.

I've been conditioned over the last few months - every time I mention something that is an American Institution, I glance at Dasha - just to see if she knows what it is we're talking about. And there aren't many things as American as Root Beer. Well, depending on whose version of the history you listen to.

My favorite root beer is Bulldog Root Beer, but it's too creamy to be good in a float - floats require a slightly less smooth root beer.

The two best root beers for floats (in my opinion) are A&W and Henry Weinhard's. They're both root beers with a slight edge to their flavor that is perfectly mellowed by the vanilla ice cream. Both of them are not bad for the drinking, either (even if they're not my favorites).

The first thing I did was put a bottle of Weinhard's root beer in front of her.

"Am I allowed to drink this?" Dasha isn't 21, yet. And Weinhard's comes in a dark brown bottle that looks like a beer bottle. And, of course, the word "Beer" appears prominently on the label.

"It's not alcoholic," I told her.  In fact, alcoholic root beers are hard to find these days.

I cracked it open for her. She then sniffed at the bottle. "We have a medicine that smells exactly like this." A quick swig. A quick "DO NOT WANT" expression.

Then: "Does it have cinnamon in it?"

Most Root Beer these days derive the bulk of their flavor from the Sasparilla plant. In fact, the biggest difference between the various brands (so far as I can tell) is the type and ratio of vanilla that they add to the mix.

This, of course, is before you add the ice cream.

Now, I've seen people make floats with a huge variety of ice creams. It's the easiest part of the whole thing.  For Dasha's introduction to floats, I just grabbed the cheapest bucket of ice cream I could find. Seriously. As long as you're using vanilla ice cream (not French Vanilla, not Vanilla Bean - just plain old boring Vanilla Ice Cream), you're golden. Seriously.

After a skeptical sip: "It's still too strong and smelly, but with ice cream, it's just perfect."

"It's really good. Very good, actually."

At the end of the day, I sent her home with some root beer so she could introduce her husband to the delight of the float.

Verdict: Win on the floats, Fail on the root beer itself.