Adios A&W. Customers Say This Walmart Soda Beats The Fizzy Brand By A Mile

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If you root for root beer, listen up. We've got news that will get the best root beer into your fridge at a bargain. Many root beer enthusiasts have declared Walmart's Great Value Root Beer even tastier than the most popular root beer brands like A&W. One of the top Walmart copycats that shopper say are better than the name brands, Great Value goes for roughly $4.75 for a 12-pack, depending on where you live. The same quantity of A&W can cost as much as over $8 and Barq's price can climb as high as $12.

Various users on Reddit claim that Great Value's root beer is not too dissimilar from A&W's and Barq's in quality, but is creamier and smoother with more pronounced vanilla. Walmart shoppers tend to agree, adding that the soda is packing so much flavor and rich creaminess for a fraction of the price of name brands. Of course, the flavor of root beer is complex.

When root beer was invented, it employed sassafras and sarsaparilla to achieve its signature profile. But in 1960, it was discovered that safrole, an oil in both of those ingredients, is a carcinogen. Thus, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned their use. While some producers use sassafras extracts where the safrole has been removed, it's more common that brands recreate root beer's unique profile with vanilla and wintergreen, plus anise, juniper, licorice, ginger, and dandelion. Walmart's ingredient list is vague, with "natural and artificial flavor" listed for Great Value root beer, but it's clear their specific recipe has won a following.

"Yes, it is a generic Walmart brand," notes one reviewer on Walmart's website. "Still, one of my top root beers. It hits that craving very well." Another online shopper describes Great Value's root beer as "perfectly balanced with creaminess and sweetness with neither being overpowering," with another user adding that it's an "just as good as A&W, if not better."

"I grew up as a Barq's Root Beer drinker," another reviewer adds in comparison. "I bought two 12-packs of Barq's and I had a couple of Great Value Root Beers, and the Barq's seemed to have too much carbonation. I stayed with Great Value ever since." On Reddit, the sentiments are similar. "It's surprisingly good, I like it better then A&W," noted one Redditor. "I decided to try every brand my store had," another Reddit user chimed in. "I was very surprised that I liked the Walmart brand the best."

On both Walmart's website and different Reddit forums, Great Value fans don't just recommend enjoying this soda on its own but also endorse it in classic root beer floats as well as for elevating pulled pork with root beer flavor. If you do crave a float, you can conveniently grab one of Walmart's tastiest Great Value ice cream varieties for affordable, one-stop shopping.