Nothing says summer like....

A nice frosty mug of root beer! Does anyone remember those frosted mugs with the root beer that had a "head"? Was it Weber's who served them?

I used to (and still do) loved to slurp the foam off the top of a glass of root beer. No matter how you pour it, it gets a "head" just like beer. And the "head" is the best part. Actually, it sweet, root beer flavored air with a tiny bit of moisture. After the "head" is gone, you get to the real root beer.

And there are differences in root beers, did you know that? My favorite has always been Hires. But it's net to impossible to find any more. My second favorite is the kind that you get at Weber's Burger Drive-Ins (are they anywhere but in New Jersey?).

But, usually I settle for Stewart's brand. Don't ever drink home made root beer. It's terrible.

Root beer must be served cold. I drink most "soda" right from the can, right from the box, right from the laundry room floor where it's stored. But not root beer. Root beer either has to have been sitting in the fridge for 24 hours or more, or it needs to be served over ice. Of course, if served over ice, it tends to dilute, but if it's a real sweet root beer, like Stewart's, that's okay. Hire doesn't hold up well in ice because it's not real sweet.

I love pouring a can or root beer over crushed ice. It tastes like a snow cone -- a root beer snow cone. Remember them?

Down on the corner of The Pike and Clements Bridge Road there was a snow cone stand. It was open May through September. And for a nickle you could get shaved ice with whatever flavor you wanted. I usually got root beer syrup poured over my ice. Sometimes I got chocolate, and rarely I opted for vanilla. So, when I can I put crushed ice in a glass then pour the root beer over the crushed ice. Yum! It reminds me of those summer days in Runnemede several decades ago.