Root Beer Anybody?
It will be very hard for you to find Root Beer here in Australia unless you go to a special import/USA store that they have around some places. You will find sarsaparilla though, but sarsaparilla really never cut it anywhere as a substitute as it generally has a strange aftertaste am I wrong? Also, being that the most popular sarsaparilla here is made by Bundaberg, a company in Queensland that has similarly awful tasting rum, you can’t compare it to A&W, I.C.B, Dads, or Barqs. “So why no Root Beer?” You ask in the wonderment of incorrect English. The reason I accidentally found out a few months into my stay here is because the word “root” here and in the UK refers to sexual intercourse. You therefore don’t “root for your favorite sports team”, why that’s just crass, you instead “barrack for your favourite sports club”.
Once I was talking about this magical drink called “root beer” to a co-worker and he slyly said, “Isn’t all beer root beer?” And that is when it clicked in this yanks head that we’re not in Kansas anymore. You can naturally draw the conclusion that a “root beer float” is something that puzzles the average Australians dirty mind as well and when I proceed to say, “Oh they’re delicious!” They just sort of nod and gin, but then frown, but then grin again. When I explain to those who have actually had root beer, they think the idea of vanilla ice cream and cough medicine sounds disgusting. I’m craving one right now all the same.
The Australian equivalent to the American Root Beer is Ginger Beer. I know that some of you American readers think you have had Ginger Beer in the US before and probably wanted to vomit it out of your nose like I did, but truth be told, it’s actually much different here and tastes a lot better. I’m not saying its better than root beer, but it’s nice on a hot summer day. I have had a few of my Aussie friends try Root Beers before and to most of them it’s the American Vegemite experience. It tastes like bad medicine and is not something they’re accustomed to. Sarsaparilla isn’t very popular for that matter either, but I guess if you are an American that must have a fix, it’s your closest solution.
