Abita Root Beer is a Louisiana-made soft drink produced by Abita Brewing Company.
It is brewed with artesian water from Abita Springs and 100% Louisiana cane sugar, giving it a distinctly regional identity. Abita describes the drink as naturally caffeine-free and gluten-free, and the company sells it year-round.
Although Abita is best known for beer, its root beer has become one of the brewery’s most recognizable nonalcoholic products.
It is rich.
It is sweet.
It is creamy.
And unlike many modern sodas made with high-fructose corn syrup, it leans heavily into the flavor and identity of Louisiana cane sugar.
Who Makes Abita Root Beer?
Abita Root Beer is made by Abita Brewing Company, the Louisiana craft brewery founded in 1986.
The company began in Abita Springs on the Northshore, roughly 30 miles north of New Orleans. It started small, producing about 1,500 barrels of beer during its first year. By 1994, the brewery had outgrown its original location and moved to a larger facility nearby.
Abita later expanded beyond beer into sodas and other beverages.
The company says it has been making sodas since the early 1990s.
Root beer became the best-known of those sodas.
What Makes Abita Root Beer Different?
Two ingredients stand out immediately:
- artesian water
- Louisiana cane sugar
Those are not incidental details.
They are central to how Abita presents the drink.
The company says its brewing water comes from deep artesian wells connected to the Southern Hills aquifer system around Abita Springs.
That same regional water source used in the brewery’s beer production also becomes part of the identity of its root beer.
Then comes the sugar.
Abita uses 100% Louisiana cane sugar rather than corn syrup.
That makes the drink feel especially tied to Louisiana agriculture.
Why Louisiana Cane Sugar Matters
Sugar cane has been part of Louisiana agriculture and food culture for generations.
Using Louisiana cane sugar gives Abita Root Beer a connection to that history.
It also changes the flavor.
Cane sugar produces a clean sweetness that many people associate with older-style sodas.
That can make the drink taste slightly different from mass-market root beers that use corn syrup or other sweeteners.
The difference may be subtle.
But it is part of why Abita Root Beer has developed a loyal following.
Is Abita Root Beer Alcoholic?
No.
Despite being made by a brewery, Abita Root Beer is a soft drink.
It is not beer.
It does not contain alcohol.
That sometimes causes confusion because the product carries the Abita name and is produced by a company famous for craft beer.
But root beer itself is sold as one of Abita’s sodas.
The company even offers root beer and other soda experiences so children and nondrinkers can participate when visiting the brewery.
Does Abita Root Beer Have Caffeine?
No.
Abita says its root beer is naturally caffeine-free.
That makes it different from many colas and some other soft drinks.
For people who want a soda without caffeine, especially later in the day, root beer can be an easy choice.
Is It Gluten-Free?
Yes.
Abita identifies its root beer as gluten-free.
Again, that does not mean the brewery’s alcoholic beers are necessarily gluten-free.
The root beer is a separate nonalcoholic product.
What Does Abita Root Beer Taste Like?
Root beer traditionally combines sweet, herbal, spicy, and creamy flavors.
Abita’s version leans toward a smooth, rich style.
The cane sugar gives it a straightforward sweetness.
The overall flavor is often described as creamy and traditional rather than sharp or highly carbonated.
That makes it particularly well suited for drinking over ice or using in a root beer float.
Abita itself promotes both uses.
What Actually Is Root Beer?
Root beer began as a drink built around roots, bark, herbs, spices, and sweeteners.
Historically, different recipes used ingredients such as sassafras, sarsaparilla, wintergreen, licorice, birch bark, vanilla, and other botanicals.
There was never one universal root beer recipe.
Each producer developed its own flavor.
Modern commercial root beers usually rely on flavor blends rather than the exact ingredients used in early homemade versions.
The result is still recognizable.
Sweet.
Herbal.
Creamy.
Spiced.
That is the basic root beer profile.
Is Sassafras Still Used?
Traditional root beer was strongly associated with sassafras.
But commercial soda production changed after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibited safrole, a naturally occurring compound found in sassafras oil, as a food additive.
Modern root beers therefore use alternative flavorings or safrole-free sassafras extracts.
That means contemporary root beer can still taste like the old style without using unsafe levels of safrole.
The familiar flavor survived even as the ingredients changed.
Why Does Root Beer Work So Well with Ice Cream?
A root beer float is one of the classic American soda combinations.
Vanilla ice cream adds creaminess and richness.
Root beer adds sweetness, spice, and carbonation.
The foam created when soda hits ice cream becomes part of the experience.
Abita Root Beer works particularly well because its cane sugar sweetness and creamy flavor already lean toward dessert.
Add vanilla ice cream, and the result becomes richer without losing the root beer character.
That is why root beer floats are one of the ways Abita itself recommends serving the drink.
Why Make Soda at a Brewery?
At first glance, making root beer at a brewery may seem unusual.
But the processes have similarities.
Both involve careful use of water, flavoring ingredients, carbonation, and beverage production equipment.
Root beer also has historical connections to brewing.
Early versions were often lightly fermented.
Modern commercial root beer usually is not.
For a brewery with good water and beverage-production equipment, soda is a natural extension.
Abita took advantage of that.
The Importance of Abita Springs Water
The name Abita comes from Abita Springs.
Water has long been central to the town’s identity.
The brewery says its water comes from deep wells drawing from the Southern Hills aquifer system and is naturally soft, with a mineral profile suitable for brewing.
Abita makes that water part of nearly everything it produces.
That gives the root beer a geographic connection most national soda brands do not have.
It is not merely produced in Louisiana.
The water itself is part of the story.
How Long Has Abita Made Root Beer?
Abita says it has been making sodas since the early 1990s, and company materials describe root beer as its main soda product.
By 2024, the brewery reported producing approximately 9,100 barrels of root beer, showing that the soda had grown into a substantial part of the company’s beverage lineup.
That is far beyond a novelty product made occasionally on the side.
Root beer became part of the Abita brand.
Why Root Beer Became the Flagship Soda
Abita makes other nonalcoholic beverages, including cream soda and seasonal products.
But root beer remains particularly recognizable.
Part of that comes from the fit between the product and the company.
A traditional brewed-style soda makes sense coming from a craft brewery.
Louisiana cane sugar reinforces the regional identity.
The artesian water reinforces the Abita Springs identity.
And the flavor appeals to both children and adults.
It fits naturally beside the brewery’s beer lineup without competing directly with it.
A Drink for People Who Do Not Drink Beer
One advantage of root beer is that almost anyone can participate.
Someone visiting a brewery may not drink alcohol.
A child obviously cannot.
A designated driver may choose not to.
Someone may simply prefer soda.
Offering root beer means those visitors still have something connected directly to the brewery.
Abita has leaned into that idea, including soda flights and nonalcoholic options at its facilities.
That makes root beer part of the hospitality experience.
Root Beer and Louisiana Food
Root beer pairs naturally with the kinds of foods common across Louisiana restaurants.
Burgers.
Po’boys.
Fried seafood.
Barbecue.
Hot dogs.
Sandwiches.
The sweetness and carbonation provide contrast to salty, fried, or smoky food.
It also works especially well with casual meals.
You do not need a special occasion for root beer.
That makes it an easy fit in family restaurants and neighborhood spots.
Why Cane Sugar Sodas Have a Following
Many consumers specifically seek out sodas made with cane sugar.
Part of the appeal is nostalgia.
Older soft drinks were commonly made with sugar before corn syrup became widespread in American soda production.
For some people, cane sugar sodas feel closer to that older style.
Others simply prefer the flavor.
Abita benefits from both.
The use of Louisiana cane sugar gives the drink both a taste difference and a story.
Is Abita Root Beer Only Available in Louisiana?
No.
Abita distributes beyond Louisiana.
The brewery has expanded into multiple states, and its root beer has even reached international markets, according to company materials.
Still, the product remains strongly identified with Louisiana.
That is similar to many regional foods.
They may travel.
Their identity stays home.
A Louisiana Product with Broader Appeal
Abita Root Beer is an interesting example of a regional product that does not require someone to understand Louisiana culture before enjoying it.
Anyone can drink root beer.
But the details make this one Louisiana.
The spring water comes from Abita Springs.
The sugar comes from Louisiana cane.
The company grew out of the Northshore.
That regional identity sits underneath an otherwise familiar American soda.
Why It Belongs on EatBayou
Louisiana food culture is not limited to gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish, and po’boys.
Beverages matter too.
Coffee and chicory tell part of the New Orleans story.
Cocktails tell another.
Root beer made with Louisiana cane sugar and Abita Springs water tells another.
Abita Root Beer shows how a familiar national beverage can take on a specifically Louisiana identity through local ingredients and local production.
More Than a Brewery Side Project
It would be easy to think of Abita Root Beer as something the brewery makes on the side.
The numbers suggest otherwise.
Abita has been producing soda for decades.
Root beer became the company’s flagship soda.
It is sold year-round.
And the brewery continues to promote it alongside its beer lineup.
That makes it part of the Abita story rather than an afterthought.
A Louisiana Root Beer
Abita Root Beer works because it combines something familiar with something regional.
Root beer is American.
Cane sugar is deeply connected to Louisiana.
Artesian water connects the drink to Abita Springs.
A Louisiana brewery brings everything together.
The result is a soda that does not need to be complicated.
Cold bottle.
Foamy glass.
Maybe a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
And a little Louisiana cane sugar in every sip.
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