Root beer

I've never seen it. When you travel you experience the good and the bad about other cultures. You'll be fine without it.

Hi SamSn,
I don't even drink it! I saw a post that said it was against the law in Italy. I was surprised. My kids do drink it, however, so it will be good to tell them ahead of time that they won't see any there. :-)

True no Root Beer in Italy......for Italians. But foreigners can purchase limited amounts at government run stores located in every village and city, ask your hotel for the location. To purchase you will need your passport and a special permit you can obtain at the immigration check when you enter the country. Tell the immigration official "La squadra S.U.A. ha dato dei calci al team' italiano; asino di s nella tazza di confederazioni in giugno." and they'll set you up. Under no circumstances should you resell this root beer to the locals, it's a very serious crime and you will be imprisoned for it. Rent the movie "Midnight Express".
......Bet seriously my previous post about it being illegal was an inside joke:) A couple of years ago someone posted a question about the topic, and she seemed to be in a bit of a panic about not being able to get the stuff:) It's been a running joke ever since. Also, be sure to tell your kids Reeses Peanut Butter Cups are outlawed as well;)

According to a website Discover Soriano (the Real Italy):

Dr. Pepper
There is no Dr. Pepper in Italy, but people that like it usually find that they really enjoy Chinotto.

Root Beer
There is no Root Beer in Italy, but people that like it usually find that they really enjoy Chinotto.

This has come up more than once before, but I’ve never understood why. Is root beer really that important? Perhaps it's just a mildly interesting factoid. More noteworthy might be the fact that Starbuck’s isn’t there…thank goodness!

I am quite certain that Mt. Dew is unheard of in Europe. Most the teens I know that have traveled here (being from France and UK) had not even heard of it.

However, sort of related....in the former communist countries - be on the lookout for something called "Coka". Apparently it was the Soviets answer to the western, captialistic Coca-Cola. After the end of the cold war it fell out of popularity, but is gaining momentum again.

We tried it in Slovenia - it is nasty. A cruel trick to play on your kids!

We thought it would just taste like generic Coke. Nope, nothing like Coke.

Well, root beer was invented in the States during prohibition. Since there never was something like the prohibition in Italy there was no need to drink something like this.

What's intersting is also a look at the other side: many Europeans who come to Northamerica see root beer and want to try it, expecting something similar to the beer they are used to. Imagine their surprise! The most common response I get from my European visitors is a comparison to toothpaste ....

Shouldn't this have been posted on 4/1/10? (^_^)

We also tried the coka when in Slovenia and will agree with previous poster--not so good.

Too funny, I took my husbands cousin through an A@W ( burger place) drive through when she and her boyfriend came to visit us from Germany last summer. As I am ordering the drinks I asked her if she wanted a "root beer",, as A@W is famous for theirs. She said yes so confidently I assumed she knew what it was. Moral of story,, her english isn't quite that good,, she only understood the "beer" part.. LOL

She almost spit it out and choked when she sucked on the straw,, she though "root beer" was a type of Canadian beer,, and was shocked to taste sweet pop. She was also shocked when I told her our fast food places cannot sell alcohol.

Pat,

My kids love the A@W stuff but we get pop only for very special occasions. Like when we get visitors from Germany. Last year it was my cousin's girl friend who likened root beer to tooth paste. This summer, my aunt is visiting from Leipzig and I'm already looking forward to her face trying out root beer :-)

Don't let anyone talk you into buying that carbonated cola looking soda pop that tastes like Amaro (midly bitter cherry flavor). Bleck!!