beer manufacturer the coca cola company country of origin usa introduced 1898 variants diet root beer red creme soda diet red creme soda french vanilla creme soda french vanilla diet creme soda discontinued floatz discontinued related products a & w root beer mug root beer dad s root beer sarsi barq s b rks is an american soft drink . its brand of root beer is notable for having caffeine . 1 barq s created by edward barq and bottled since the turn of the 20th century is currently owned and bottled by the coca cola company . it was known as barq s famous olde tyme root beer until 2012 . 2 contents 1 barq s products 2 history 3 references 4 external links barq s products edit nutrition facts serving size 12 fl oz 355 ml servings per container 1 amount per serving calories 160 3 calories from fat 0 % daily value total fat 0 g 0 % saturated fat 0 g 0 % trans fat 0 g cholesterol 0 mg 0 % sodium 70 mg 3 % potassium 0 mg 0 % total carbohydrate 45 g 15 % dietary fiber 0 g 0 % sugars 45 g protein 0 g vitamin a 0 % vitamin c 0 % calcium 0 % iron 0 % percent daily values are based on a 2 000 calorie diet . your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs . diet barq s root beer contains no caffeine . available in root beer and vanilla cream . barq s red cr me soda 4 barq s yellow creme soda was also produced until the early 1990s . diet barq s red cr me soda barq s french vanilla cr me soda discontinued diet cr me soda barq s french vanilla discontinued barq s floatz which is designed to taste like a root beer float . 5 j & j snack foods corporation once licensed the brand name for barq s floatz ice cream squeeze tubes . history edit the barq s brothers bottling company was founded in 1898 in the french quarter of new orleans by edward charles edmond barq and his older brother gaston . the barq brothers bottled carbonated water and various soft drinks of their own creation . early on their most popular creation was an orange flavored soda called orangine which won a gold medal at the 1893 world s columbian exposition world s fair in chicago illinois . citation needed edward barq moved to biloxi mississippi in 1897 with his new wife . the following year he opened the biloxi artesian bottling works . 1898 is often given as the debut year for what was later to be known as barq s root beer but some sources say this particular product was not produced until some two years later . 6 it was on the mississippi coast that barq met and employed a young boy jesse robinson . robinson was mentored by barq and later moved to new orleans to find his fortune . in 1934 edward barq sr. and robinson sign a contractual agreement on barq s product rights . the agreement was unique from other franchises in many aspects . one that robinson was allowed to make his own concentrate . the two men remained close their entire lives working on flavors and production challenges . a distinctive difference between the biloxi based root beer and the louisiana s was that the louisiana bottle was printed in red versus biloxi s blue . this was to distinguish ownership of bottles as blue labeled ones were returned to mississippi and vice versa . there were also regional taste differences between the various barq s bottlers . while there may have been minor formula differences water generally defined these differences . for many decades barq s was not marketed as a root beer . this was in part a desire to avoid legal conflict with the hires root beer company which was attempting to claim a trademark on the term root beer . it was also due to differences from other root beers at the time . the formulation was sarsaparilla based contained less sugar had a higher carbonation and less of a foamy head than other brands . 7 the traditional slogan was the simple affirmation drink barq s. it s good which first appeared on the classic diamond necked bottle patented in 1935 by ed barq . 8 in 1976 the biloxi barq s company was purchased from the 3rd generation of barq family members by john oudt and john koerner . an aggressive television campaign was developed based on the barq s got sparks theme . their plans to market the brand nationally were complicated by the existence of the louisiana based barq s companies which were owned and operated by robinson s heirs . there were extended legal conflicts over the rights and ownership of the trademark barq s barq s sr. and barq s root beer . the legal battle went all the way to the united states court of appeals 5th circuit which ruled in favor of the robinson heirs . the last family held louisiana barq s was sold by robinson s heirs to coca cola in 2000 . in 1990 barq s partnered with the pick n save grocery store in dekalb illinois to create the world s largest root beer float . it was mixed in an above ground swimming pool in the parking lot and consisted of 1 500 gallons of barq s root beer and 1 000 gallons of vanilla ice cream . in recent years barq s has been marketed with the slogan barq s has bite citation needed regular barq s has 22.5 mg of caffeine per 12 ounce serving similar to green tea while diet barq s has no caffeine . barq s also contains sodium benzoate as a flavor protectant which under the right conditions is a precursor to the known carcinogen benzene . 9 the barq s that is dispensed from coca cola freestyle machines is caffeine free . 10 11 this is because the system uses the same concentrated microdosed ingredient for both barq s and diet barq s ; the only difference between the two is the sweetener that is added . references edit caffeine database caffeine and ingredients in barqs rootbeer overcaffeinated.org s report on the ingredients in barq s rootbeer coming soon barq s root beer redesign . bevreview.com . 2012 02 22 . retrieved 2014 01 25 . the coca cola company product nutrition . retrieved 2014 10 26 . review barq s red creme soda . bevreview.com . barbara powell june 14 2003 . coca cola launches drink that mimics a root beer float . the augusta chronicle . retrieved 2015 10 31 . digging for facts . bottlebooks.com . root beer an exclusively american soft drink . grub americana . retrieved 2015 10 31 . lockhart bill 2010 . bottles on the border the history and bottles of the soft drink industry in el paso texas 1881 2000 pdf . society for historical archaeology . the society for historical archaeology . p. 495 . retrieved 29 june 2016 . barq s root beer caffeine levels . caffine informer . retrieved 2015 10 31 . statement by coca cola on facebook 16 january 2016 . retrieved 25 may 2016 . ingredient list on barq s freestyle cartridge external links edit barqs.com official website gourmetrootbeer.com history.html the history of root beer v t e root beer 1919 a treat a & w abita b & k barq s barrelhead berghoff berks county big ben s blue sky boylan bundaberg capt n eli s chicago dad s dog n suds dominion dr. brown s fanta faygo filbert s fitz s frostie frostop goose island grandpa graf s hank s henry weinhard s hires hosmer mountain ibc jones mason s mug nanton nehi point the pop shoppe ramblin saranac sarsi sea dog shasta sioux city sprecher stewart s ted s thomas kemper tommyknockers towne club twin lights virgil s white rock zevia v t e the coca cola company brands soft drinks ambasa ameyal barq s beat beverly bj re julmust cannings chinotto citra coca cola fanta fioravanti fresca fruktime frutonic gold spot guaran jesus hit inca kola iron brew joya kinley kola inglesa krest kuat lemon & paeroa lift lilt limca mare rosso mello yello mezzo mix mr. pibb nordic mist ok soda pibb xtra portello quatro quwat jabal ramblin root beer rimzim red flash royal tru santiba sarsi seagram s senzao smart sparkle sparletta sprite stoney surge tab tanora thums up tiky urge vault vegitabeta victoria yoli juices and teas ayataka cappy capri sun delaware punch enviga far coast five alive fruitopia frutonic fuze glaceau gold peak hi c honest tea innocent maaza matte le o minute maid nestea oasis odwalla qoo royal tru simply sokenbicha sparkle tum e yummies vitaminwater zico energy and sports drinks aquarius bpm energy burn full throttle gladiator mother nos powerade relentless rockstar bottled water ades arwa ciel dasani deep river rock malvern water smart water valpre coffee based caribou coffee georgia illy dairy based fairlife swerve vio joint ventures beverage partners worldwide coca cola femsa philippines 49 % my coke rewards coca cola european partners 18 % coca cola beverages africa 11.3 % former columbia pictures tristar pictures other coca cola freestyle limca book of records retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title barq % 27s & oldid 743808356 categories root beercoca cola brands1898 introductionscompanies established in 1890history of new orleanshidden categories articles with hrecipesarticles with hproductsall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from may 2016articles with unsourced statements from november 2015 navigation menu 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