A popular
root beer owned and distributed to the world by
Coca-Cola. Made famous through the series of commercials claiming "Barq's has Bite" (TM) which accentuated the heavy
carbonation and
caffeine that exists in this root beer.
Barq's Root Beer debuted in 1898, originally bottled in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Barq's root beer was owned by the Barq's family until 1976. The new owners,
John Koerner and John Oudt, began expanding the reach of the localized brew until it became the nation's second best root beer. Koerner and Oudt also moved the headquarters of the company to
New Orleans, which, interestingly enough, was where Edward Charles Edmond Barq, the drink's original owner and inventor, was born.
Some question whether Barq's root beer meets the strict definition of root beer, claiming the lack of a
lasting foamy head and the
introduction of caffeine give it a cola feel.
The agreement between Barq's Inc. and Coca-Cola seems to be divided along the borders of
Louisiana -- within the borders of Louisiana, the brew has a different label and the additional copyright of "'Copyright Barq's Inc' " not seen on labels distributed outside of Louisiana.
Another drink from "Barq's", is Barq's
Red Cream Soda. It isn't as widely available, however, so you may need to ask for it by name.
Byzantine says: Barq's used to be available as "Vanilla
Cream Soda," but I haven't seen that for several years.
Sources
http://www.root-beer.info/brews/barqs.html
http://www.angelfire.com/tn/traderz/barqs2.html
http://www.angelfire.com/tn/traderz/barq.html
-k.