Dad's Root Beer

Dad's Root Beer, one of America's most popular soft drinks, was developed in the 1930s by partners Barney Berns and Ely Klapman in the basement of Klapman's Chicago-area home. Dad's unique and delicious flavor earned a loyal following. The Dad's Root Beer brand was famous throughout the Midwest and by the late 1940s, was one of the most consumed brands of root beer throughout the United States.

Dad's Root Beer distinguished itself as a brand and industry innovator when it became the first product to use the six pack format invented by the Atlanta Paper Company in the 1940s. Dad's also introduced the half-gallon bottle, becoming the first brand to market this size. Dad's was marketed as a family. "Junior" bottle size was the smallest, 7, 10 or 12 ounces. "Mama" was a quart bottle, and "Papa" was a half gallon bottle.

The Klapman and Berns families sold all rights to the Dad's name and logo to IC Industries in the 1970s. The Monarch Beverage Company of Atlanta acquired Dad's from IC Industries of Chicago in 1986. In 2007 Dad's Root Beer was purchased from Monarch, and licensed to The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC.