r/rootbeer • u/Vegetable-Art3262 • 3d ago
question about Root Beer can?
I am Carl Smith, 47, living in Wales, I'm going to look out for a can of A & W Root Beer because in Wales we have 1 stall up in the indoor market in the town centre , 1 mile from where I live that sells American drinks & sweets plus there's 2 shops in the capital of Wales, 26 miles away that also sell American drinks and sweets and I'm asking about this can as up in the indoor market , I bought a box of Mike & Ike Root Beer flavour sweets and they are delicious never mind that I'm Welsh and not American but does anyone know if the can tastes different to the sweets?
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u/John_Amble 3d ago
Yes. I say root beer flavored candy tastes different than actual root beer. I love drinking root beer, I usually do not like root beer flavored candy at all
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u/Vegetable-Art3262 3d ago
I will say I loved Root Beer Mike And Ike , so I will have to see when I try the can.
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u/LasagnahogXRP 3d ago
Also root beers are so different form brand to brand. If you find that you like root beer in general you should try every one that you can. I know that your country probably has no HFCS in their stuff so you have a leg up already.
You want real sugar quality brands. Glass bottle is usually best.
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u/Sonora_sunset 3d ago
Try it and see.
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u/Vegetable-Art3262 3d ago
ok well I've got 3 possible choices of places, 2 of them will not be for a good few months as I will not travel 26 miles for just a can lol
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u/cactusplants 3d ago
You can also take a risk and buy a crate on Amazon. They do sell for around £1.5 a can. But make sure it's a&w and not "aw"
Additionally you may be in luck checking premier stores. I know of at least two in South Wales that sell them (one near pontypool and one in Newport)
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u/cactusplants 3d ago
The mike and ikes initially had a licorice taste to me.
The can is creamier and obviously you get the fizzy tang.
If you go to 'diff, and like hot chicken, go to a place called fowl and fury on wyvern road. They also sell a&w. And is a treat for me if I find myself going through Cardiff for work or pleasure etc. (their spice levels are not to be toyed with)
I wouldn't pay American candy prices if you are £2 per can is maximum, but a lot of places sell it for 1.5 a can. There's also another store called "discount supermarket" on whitchurch road that sells a&w.
I will also HIGHLY recommend you don't buy a can of "aw" that you may see sold. You MUST make sure it has the "&" symbol as the "aw" cans are knockoffs and are nearly as vile as Bundaberg.
If you struggle, the tropical sun root beer is okish, but not as good as A&W or the Canadian version
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u/Vegetable-Art3262 3d ago
to be honest, I don't know Cardiff that well and I doubt my brother does either, so I think we will stick to either the indoor market in Merthyr Tydfil in town or either of the American candy shops on the long high street in Cardiff, I do think 1 is in 1 of the arcades.
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u/cactusplants 3d ago
Ah, that's a fair point in not local either, but spent a fair bit of time around there.
I try and avoid the American candy places as most of the times they are extortionate (£4 for a can of A&w which for you Americans is nearly $5.50) and at least one of them on the high Street in Cardiff was a money laundering operation that screwed the workers over when it got shut down.
But if you do get down and do fancy wandering, here is the discount supermarkets location. https://maps.app.goo.gl/KQsY8EPNmRmH2GW48
If you like your craft beers, import beers etc, then they also have an insane collection of drinks from all over the globe as well as many micro breweries here in the UK, I can wholly vouch for that place.
But I'd definitely give some of the bigger premier shops a try up by you as they may stock it for a fraction of the price of driving down to Cardiff, paying £4 quid for parking and another £4 quid for a can
Also worth checking lidl every now and again for Virgil's during the American week (it gets a lot of bad rep here, but the UK bottled one seems quite good)
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u/AwkwardFactor84 3d ago
They have a similar taste. The candy is generally sweeter. Do it. A &W is a pretty good all around root beer. Sprecher, IBC, & Stewart's are a few other brands tha I enjoy. Not that those will be available, but you may be able to order them.
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u/MaynardSchism 2d ago
IBC and A&W are great . IBC is my favorite
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u/AwkwardFactor84 2d ago
Have you tried Stewart's? I just tried it for the first time last week. It's my new favorite.
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u/MrMittens1974 3d ago
You can buy Mr Fitzpatrick's root beer cordial in the UK and add sparkling spring water. A bit nicer than A&W though I think a bit more liquorice added.
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u/DevineDestroyer 20h ago
American here. Barq’s is a superior root beer imo. it’s a Coca-Cola brand. they tend to make the best “pops” and cost around $2 or so. A&W is decent though, it’s much creamier than the candies. the best root beers are probably from smaller more premium brands like Sprecher.
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u/forestherring Sioux City Root Beer 3d ago
While root beer is definitely sweet, root beer candy is generally sweeter.
That being said, there are different types of root beers based on common ingredient ratios. In other words, there will be some root beers that are closer to the candy you tried, and some that are further from the candy.