4 - Mug Root Beer
Mug Root Beer is a popular brand you can find in plastic bottles, cans, and even in restaurant fountains. Mug is caffeine-free and is easily found in most large grocery stores.
Mug is owned by PepsiCo, although it was originally owned by Belfast Root Beer when it began its life in the 1940s. Pepsi bought Mug in the 1980s and has made it ever since.
Branding
I have always enjoyed dogs, so the fact that Mug has incorporated a bulldog into their logo is fun and different from the other mainstream brands.
Taste and Ingredients
When I went to try Mug, I had it in mind that this was one of the root beers I didn’t care for. However, when I took a sip, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a decent root beer.
I feel like the root beer flavor is strong, while the consistency goes down smoothly. The drink seems fizzier than 1919. In fact, due to the higher carbonation, it doesn’t take much to make you eructate.
There is not really a vanilla flavor, but there is definitely something there. Perhaps a bit of light licorice. You’ll notice the root beer smell as soon as you open a can or bottle.
Here are the ingredients that don’t help much when trying to figure out the flavor profile:
Unfortunately, Mug uses high-fructose corn syrup as its sweetener. On the other hand, the drink is surprisingly made up of a small number of ingredients, most of which are ones I’ve heard of.
The Wrap Up
Mug turned out to be a bit of a surprise. I liked it, even with the high-fructose corn syrup and my mixed-up memories.
While Mug isn’t my favorite mainstream root beer, it’s still something I would pick if I needed a good caffeine-free root beer that was easy to find.