Do you remember the first time you had a root beer float? I bet you do! I was about 5 years old and my dad had wanted us to taste one of his favorite refreshments!
It was a hot summer day, deserving of this frothy delight! I remember my sisters and I anxiously waiting at the kitchen counter for our 3 scoops to drop into our frosty cold mugs. As he slowly poured the root beer on top, we'd watch the magic happen! There it was...the foam! As the ice cream began to float, the fluffy creamy bubbles would grow before our wide eyes, getting thicker and thicker by the minute! We'd each quickly lick the sides of our mugs before it would spill over onto the floor! We didn't want to waste a single drop! As the foam would start to retreat, Dad would be right there, ready to top it off with another splash of that refreshing cold "brew"! Now let's see, decisions decisions....spoon or straw? Maybe both!
Anna, Kyle and I all share the same memory of root beer floats from our days long ago...with our dads or grandpas. Such happy memories, that today with just a single sip, we're taken back to our times as little girls in the kitchen! Whether your tradition takes you to the local fountain shop, or to your kitchen refrigerator/freezer, we'd love to hear what memory you might have of this childhood favorite! Cheers!
Root Beer Floats
Ingredients
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream
- 4 bottles root beer
Instructions
- Spoon a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream into a tall glass.
- Slowly pour root beer into the glass, allowing the foam to rise and then recede before adding more root beer.
- Serve with straws and spoons.
Notes
Gr8 Tips:
If you want to make this into an "adult" beverage, use one of the alcoholic root beers (our favorite is "Not Your Father's Root Beer" which we buy locally at BevMo). This is delicious. (But a little dangerous because it tastes so good!)
"Please may I have some?"
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Gr8 Tips:
These "Spoon Straws
" are a fun addition to the floats. They also make a nice hostess gift!
If you want to make this into an "adult" beverage, use one of the alcoholic root beers (our favorite is "Not Your Father's Root Beer" which we buy locally at BevMo). This is delicious. (But a little dangerous because it tastes so good!)
I LOVE this story! What a wonderful childhood memory, Fred, and what a fun first job! I bet you were the envy of your town of 10,347! I can totally picture the walk-up ice cream stand! Not many of those anymore! Your father continuing the root beer fun with his own restaurant...can't beat that! I'll have to try your idea of adding the ice cream to the root beer! That might be my new trick! Food triggers Gr8 memories for all of us...I'm happy this brought back fond ones for you too! Thanks for bringing a smile to us today with yours!
When I was only 10 years old, yes ten, my first job was at the local Dairy Queen in our town of 10,347. The franchisee was a family friend and, after wearing out my kneecaps begging to work there, I was finally given a summer job in 1959. I worked Tuesday thru Sunday from 10am to 6pm and was paid $10 - FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK!! Frankly, I couldn't understand why I was paid at all - THIS was fun!!
It was one of those small, walk-up ice cream stands that measured about fourteen feet wide with two sliding screen windows. It was then and there I learned how to make and appreciate root beer floats. It was a thrill for me to extrude the soft ice cream from the machine. I learned that the best way to do it was to add the ice cream to the root beer in order to create the perfect balance of liquid, ice cream and froth.
Four years later, my father opened a drive in restaurant called the "Mug-N-Burger", modeled after Frostop. Everything root beer was our specialty. Needless to say I loved working there throughout high school.
Thanks for jogging some pretty fond memories!
Hi Janet! Oh my gosh! Reading your comment took me way back to my childhood days! How funny, we all have a connection to that frothy treat and the sticky hands of summer! I had to laugh out loud when I read that you used to use different ice cream flavors...my dad sometimes used whatever cold soda we had! But hey, we didn't care, the bubbly foam was all the same to us....pure deliciousness, even if it was purple from grape soda! Your ice cream social sounded amazing! We love hearing about the fun our Gr8 friends have! Next time, we might just show up;) Thanks for sharing your memories with us!
Root Beer floats were a summer tradition for this girl too. We used both chocolate and vanilla ice cream and even with all the delicious foam, we still topped them with whip cream.LOVE reading your blog ladies. It's so inspiring!!!
You would have loved coming to our neighbor ice cream social at our home two weeks ago when the adult beverages for that night were: Bourbon Chocolate shakes, Salted Carmel Bailey Shakes and Kahlua Creme Shakes The younger set had a food frenzy over the multitude of toppings to build their own sundaes!! I love summertime!!!