Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie

Ach! damnable MeFi. Every so often there will be a food thread over there, and everyone will chime in with their thoughts or favorite brands of said food, the inevitable result of which is that I immediately want to go out and get some of it, like their infamous discussion of potato chips shortly before the Super Bowl this year.

Today, the subject is root beer, which I love and have not enjoyed in quite some time. Now I'll probably have to go get some IBC, or maybe I'll even spring for some Saranac (which is also a fine microbrewery for real beer).

By the way, the MeFi thread's original poster says that root beer isn't much known for mixed drinks, but here's one that simulates the flavor of birch beer, for those who like that stuff (and I do): simply mix one shot of peppermint schnapps (preferably Rumpelminz) with 12 oz. of root beer (preferably IBC or Stewart's, not A&W or Mug, although Barq's is OK). Be careful you don't use too much schnapps, though, because the result will taste strongly like Scope Mouthwash.

True story: a particularly dense supermarket cashier once carded me when I bought a six-pack of IBC root beer. Since I was under 21 at the time, she actually had to have the manager come over and OK the purchase, because, you know, the label said "beer" on it.