Shine Classic Root Beer

There is a line of grocery stores here called Fresh & Easy, which coincidentally is what i occasionally call my wife. It's a chain of smaller grocery stores that are supposedly more personal and sell local produce and what not, or something to that extent. Personally, i don't do much shopping there. I went in once and wasn't too impressed with the particular store i visited, but i have been to other ones which were nicer. Anyway, that's not really the point of this post. The point is that i ventured in one day to pick up some ice cream because it was on the way to another engagement and i stumbled upon their generic store brand in a happy accident. Well, maybe not happy. Not sad, but... just kind of middle ground i suppose. It's called Shine Classic Root Beer, a brand i had never heard of previously, and true to it's generic nature it comes in basically every flavor in the soda spectrum. Unfortunately (but not surprisingly) i never found a website for it. It's that lame of a product i suppose. But whatever. It just means i have no extensive details on the origin or distribution of this beverage. I see on the label that it is bottled by Cott Beverages out of Tampa, FL. But truthfully, it probably doesn't matter cuz this stuff really isn't worth going out of the way for. Oh no, did i give it away too early?

I chose to pick up a 2 liter bottle instead of a 12 pack of cans. It embodies the generic root beer mantra down to the label style. Brown and silver design, some bubbles, and kind of a new age font, though this stuff is anything but cutting edge. It lacks a lot of imagination and if i weren't meticulously scouring the root beer section of every store i go in this one probably wouldn't have grabbed my attention.

I had a reasonable expectation for this one when i opened the bottle. The release of carbonation allowed a familiar A&W aroma to permeate the air and i was thinking i would be treated to another decent knock off of a true classic. However, i got much less than i bargained for. It honestly tastes like nothing. Not root beer, not soda, not anything. It's almost like drinking water, except not refreshing. It really does smell good, and i must admit there is a split second of remote root beer flavor right as it hits your tongue, but that fades so quickly that it almost doesn't register. Ultimately, i am left feeling cheated and bored. And i still have 2 liters of this crap to finish off.

My official review is that Shine Classic gets 3 (three) IBCs. Maybe i am being a bit harsh on this one. My wife seems to think so. But i really disappointed by it. So i couldn't in good conscience cut it any slack. Plus, it left a really bad taste in my mouth (also typical of generic brand). Yeah it's cheap, but don't waste the time or money. This one is simple not "woth it". (spelled wrong intentionally)