Barq’s Frozen Root Beer and Vanilla Ice Cream Float

EDITOR’S NOTE: This review is from 2020. Aldi is selling the same Barq’s Frozen Root Beer and Vanilla Ice Cream Floats in April of 2025 for $4.39. 

When I was a kid, my town had an A&W restaurant. They sold hot dogs, burgers, fries … and, of course, root beer. You could get root beer in a frosted glass mug, and you could also add ice cream to it, making for an outstanding root beer float.

Recently, Aldi sold a unique little version of a root beer float.

The box calls them a Barq’s Frozen Root Beer and Vanilla Ice Cream Float. They’re currently listed as a Seasonal Product on the Aldi website. That means they’re in stores for longer than an Aldi Find, but not all year. Aldi stocks these during the warmer spring and summer months. Aldi does not offer online ordering for these if they’re not in stock at your local store.

In 2020, we paid $2.99 for a 24-ounce box of 8 tubes, or about 37 cents a tube.

In April of 2025, they cost $4.39. That comes out to about 55 cents a tube.

We found them in the frozen section, and they should be kept in the freezer when you get home.

One 3-ounce tube has 90 calories, 2.5 grams of total fat (3% DV), 1.5 grams of saturated fat (8% DV), 25 mg of sodium (1% DV), 16 grams of total carbohydrates (6% DV), no dietary fiber, 14 grams of total sugars, 12 grams of added sugars (24% DV), and 1 gram of protein.

If you’re looking out for allergens, these contain milk.

It should also be noted that these contain caffeine. The fine print on the package says each serving has less than 0.1 mg of caffeine. For comparison, an average 8-ounce cup of coffee has about 150.5 mg of caffeine.

Each tube is tapered, with a flat end at the bottom and a round opening at the top. The top is covered with a thin plastic cover that you peel off.

To eat, you slowly push the frozen concoction up from the bottom of the tube. It slides pretty easily, and while we can’t make any promises with kids, most adults should be able to eat these without too much mess. It gets maybe a little trickier as you get toward the bottom of the tube, since you have to push the remains up almost like a toothpaste tube, but as long as you’re not too reckless you should be mostly okay.

They tasted decent. The tubes certainly have the flavor of ice cream and root beer. The problem, of course, is that they’re not carbonated, so that bubble you get with a true root beer float isn’t here. Instead, you get the caramel-like flavor of root beer and the vanilla flavor of vanilla ice cream.

The Verdict:

If you’re looking for something that is quick and easy, these tubes make for a decent little ice cream treat, although without the carbonation of a true root beer float. All things being equal, we’d rather make a real one with root beer and ice cream. Still, these aren’t bad, especially if you want something simple.