By Angela Twining
It all started with Sega.
Bruce Edwards and his best friend, Jeff Neeley, started a Saturday late-night tradition last year where they played Sega, talked and drank root beer.
Edwards, 22, a junior from Diamond Bar, Calif., majoring in mechanical engineering, said an old roommate claimed one brand of root beer was the best, so Edwards decided to test that claim, and it has become an incredible hobby.
The roommates have a collection of 19 brands of bottled root beer, eight from Provo, one other from Utah, and the rest imported from out-of-state.
'To qualify, it has to be in a glass bottle and be something we haven''t tasted before,' Edwards said of additions to their collection.
'It''s exciting to see how many we can collect and from where,' he said.
Neeley, 22, a junior from Newhall, Calif., majoring in information systems, said their initial collection was stolen, but that only enticed them to make their new collection bigger and better.
'Over Thanksgiving and Christmas we sent people out from our ward who hunted for us,' Edwards said.
Neeley said their collection includes root beer from Missouri, Ohio, Maryland and Washington. One of their prized bottles was bought from the restaurant where Chris Farley died in Chicago, he said.
Neeley said sometimes people say their apartment has gone too far with root beer, but he disagrees.
'It''s the thrill of the chase,' he said.
'There''s nothing like a Henry Weinhard''s to make everything better at the end of the day,' he said.
Edwards said Henry Weinhardts, the reigning brand in terms of flavor, makes any bad day better.
Edwards and Neeley were elated when they discovered the BYUSA Golf and Root Beer Club, and they made a goal to become presidents.
The 3-year-old club had 10 members when they inherited the presidency at the beginning of this semester, Neeley said.
Now the club boasts over 50 members and activities planned include a tour of a root beer brewing facility in Orem and a homemade root beer fest, he said.
The roommates said their ultimate goals for the club are to brew their own root beer and get in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The club also no longer carries the 'golf' title, Edwards said.
John Brown, 23, a senior from Claremont, Calif., majoring in accounting, is chief financial officer for the Root Beer Club.
'Everyone knows about their passion for root beer,' he said. Brown is also in Edwards and Neeley''s ward and is familiar with their late-night 'root beer chats.'
'They''re pretty vocal. They profess their love for root beer a lot,' he said.
Brown said he enjoys the Root Beer Club and looks up to the presidents as root beer connoisseurs.
'I''ve never been in a club before,' he said. 'This one is lenient and laid back, plus I love the root beer.'
Anyone looking for more information can contact the club at rootbeer_club@yahoo.com.