Cosmo's Root Beer Reviews

Ward's Root Beer

2012-01-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

Hello root beer enthusiasts... i know it has been a couple months since i have posted and for that i apologize, but the good news is i just took a cross country trip with a friend and rounded up several more root beers to go through. Not promising a high volume of posts, but hopefully i will have less breaks in between. Anyway, we planned our trip so that we would pass along the southern united states from North Carolina to Arizona. Unfortunately we only made it as far as Baton Rouge, LA before Richard's car broke down and i had to catch an early flight home for work and school. BUT!... luckily we did pass through Mississippi before that, and that is where today's root beer hails from. Ward's is a chain of fast food restaurants in Mississippi. I heard about Ward's a few years ago from one of my friend's little sisters. She had married a guy from Mississippi and they knew i was doing this blog and told me i had to try the root beer there. He was emphatic that it was fantastic, but I figured i would probably never get a chance to get down there since i had no reason to go to Mississippi. Then my friend Richard moved across country and asked me if i'd help him drive, so i told him as long as i could plan out the route i was up for it.

Talking about the Ward's restaurant we visited in Gulfport, MS i can't say much. It was really small and typical of a fast food restaurant in structure and arrangement. We were there at 7:00 in the morning, but they served their entire menu all day. So naturally, Richard got the deep fried shrimp plate and i got a burger and fries. The fries were decent, but the burger was super bland. We didn't expect much though. Most of the reviews we read about the place said the food was not good (and they were right).

We both got drinks with our meal and helped ourself to the root beer that was so highly recommended. Normally this is the part of the blog where i talk about the bottle or can and the label, but this was just in a fast food fountain cup (not sure the volume in liquid oz.) and the label is the dumb Ward's logo on the cup in red and yellow. A triangle, some writing, you get the point. No big deal and nothing to get all excited about. i photoshopped the "root beer" onto the cup in the picture above just to make sure everyone knew what i was drinking. Also for me in case i forget. I sometimes do that.

Does Ward's live up to the hype of one guy i met a few years ago that is married to my friend's sister? Not really. It's not a bad taste, but i'm not a fan. I think i can nail it dead on by saying it tastes like syrup. Not like soda fountain syrup you mix with carbonated water to make soda, like syrup you put on your pancakes. Like maple syrup. It tastes exactly like a pancake. And it is SWEET. Too sweet. Way way too sweet. Now, i don't mind pancakes. I prefer waffles, but in both cases i use a generous amount of syrup. However, what i don't do is drink syrup directly from the bottle, which is basically what drinking this root beer was like. It was so rich and sweet that neither Richard or I could finish our cups and poured them out about a third the way through to get something else a little less... diabetes inducing.

My official review is that Ward's gets 4 (four) IBCs. Like i said above, just way too sweet. Not a fan. It's not that it tasted bad, but i couldn't even finish the cup, and for that i couldn't even bring myself to give it a 5. I don't know how you would make this better (or even bearable). Maybe thicken it up and pour it on some pancakes? No, that would be ridiculous. Everyone knows waffles are better.

Surf City Root Beer

2011-10-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

I wanted to review this one now for a couple reasons... one, it's been sitting in my fridge for well over a year now. Two, i feel like i have been phoning it in with boring reviews lately cuz i have nothing to say about the root beers i have reviewed lately, but this one comes from a really cool place i will talk about shortly. And three, my wife was supposed to bear our first child two days ago. Sadly, he's turtling and refuses to come out, making my wife increasingly miserable as he's just getting bigger the longer he stays in there. I swear we're going to have to pull him out by his feet while he maintains his kung fu grip on my wife's uterus and fights leaving his now cramped confinement. So what does that have to do with this root beer? Well although it's called Surf City, it is made at a place in Huntington Beach, CA called Brewbakers, and to me, that sounds like Babymakers. It's a stretch, i know, but sometimes my writings are desperate for clever, even poor showings like this one. Anyway, Brewbakers is a cool little spot in Huntington. I learned that they had their own root beer and thought it was a restaurant, but when my wife and i went there with some friends of ours last summer we found that it really wasn't geared toward being a restaurant. They did serve some food items (bread, pizza, pretzels and the like), but what draws customers there is the opportunity to individually brew their own little batches of beer (or root beer) using ingredients and recipes on hand. It was a really neat idea, and had we known we would have booked the time to actually make some Surf City ourselves. I have posted some pictures of the inside of the place, which is quite small but very neat.

There is basically just a long table in the middle of the room right when you walk in with a lot of bowls and weights and measures on it. Below the table are cabinets with large bins of ingredients; grains, flour, sugar, etc.

Along the right wall are several small kilns. Not sure if that's what they call them, but it's where the batches are brewed. To the left of of the counter is the cash register and bottles of different brews for sale. I would totally book the time to brew my own batch next time i'm in Huntington cuz it looks like a fun little evening activity to do with friends. As you can see from the pictures, it was pretty packed for how small the place is. Needless to say, this place is pretty popular.

The bottles are dark brown 12 oz. glass with no labels. The label you seen the one in the picture at the top is another one of my hack photoshop jobs. We bought two 3-packs because there were 4 of us and they don't specifically have 6-packs. Regardless, we got what we came for. They do other flavors as well, including a sarsaparilla, but i don't review those even though we did drink a couple. As far as the label i put on there, it's the logo of the soda line they create at Brewbakers. However, the other cool thing about the place is that you can actually design your own labels that go on your brewed batch. So if you decide not to go by a recipe on hand and make your own concoction and want to bottle and label it afterward, they are all set up to allow you to do that. Pretty cool set up. We were impressed.

As far as the taste goes, it's pretty good. It has a really nice aroma when you open the bottle, not much carbonation (although it HAS been sitting in my fridge for a year and i'm not sure the seal on the bottle kept it all in), and it doesn't taste like a cheap generic or a natural brand or anything. It's made with real sugar and is fairly sweet, and i can taste the anise which i don't normally care for but don't mind in this case. It's not an overwhelmingly obvious root beer taste, but it definitely works. By no means bad, and i think had i brewed it myself i would have enjoyed it that much more.

My official review is that Surf City gets 7 (seven) IBCs. I'm not particularly blown away with the taste. It's good, but not outstanding. But i must say most of my rating is applied toward the unique nature of the endeavor and the fact that is can be customizable and changed with each batch based on the taste preferences of the one making it. If you're ever in Huntington, look this place up. I'll definitely book some brew time next time i'm there.

Harris Teeter Root Beer

2011-10-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a root beer from the east coast, brought to me by a friend of mine currently residing in North Carolina. Harris Teeter is a grocery store chain in the south east United States, and this is their brand name root beer. There is no site specifically dedicated to the root beer, but here is the website for the grocery store (if any of you really care). I don't really have much to say about this root beer's origins and beginnings, so maybe i will talk about my friend in NC instead. He's a dentist with the navy right now and keeps asking us to fly out there and visit, but we simply reply that for the same price we could fly to Hawaii and stay with my wife's cousin. So basically, he now has to sell us on the idea that NC is better than Hawaii. Granted, i've already been to Hawaii and have never visited NC, but it's still kind of a hard sell. And since he's already scoured the area over there for root beers to send me, that avenue has been closed off. Sorry Richard. Looks like we're gonna save our money. But you're more than welcome to come visit us if you'd like. Except you can't stay with us. We don't have room for you.

This root beer was brought to me in a 12 oz. can, but i am betting you can probably get it in a 2 liter bottle if that's what you prefer. The label is pretty typical for a generic brand; brown color scheme, simple design, lots of bubbles. It has kind of a cartoon quality to it, with pretty below average sketches of root beer mugs. But again, i can't fault them too much for lack of good design since the objective of a generic brand is to make a product as cheaply as possible.

As far as taste is concerned, i again don't have much to say. I'm at the point where i've tasted enough root beers to make it hard to pick out what makes one distinguishable from another unless it's obvious. But as is standard of generics, it tastes like this root beer is copying A&W. Good carbonation, standard taste, typically generic. It's probably really inexpensive though.

My official review is that Harris Teeter gets 5 (five) IBCs. Even though it tastes good, it's so unoriginal that i can't in good conscience give it anything higher than a 5. And again, i don't have much else to say, so i think i'll just leave it at that.

BJ's Handcrafted Root Beer

2011-08-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

I should have written this review a while ago when i went to dinner with my wife and some friends of ours. BJ's is a restaurant and brewery which brews its own beers. It's a franchise, so there are several of them around, and there is a large dining area as well as a sports bar area for people just looking to try their brews. It was started in California in 1978, but the food and atmosphere seems to have a Chicago influence (i was probably tipped off by the fact that the BJ's logo says "Chicago style pizza" at the top of it, although i am still keenly observant without that little bit of help). It's not terribly expensive and i think everyone in our group that night really enjoyed their meals. But ultimately, i'm here to talk about the root beer. So let's get to it, shall we?

The root beer was served in a large glass mug, as seen in the picture. Please note, i have taken to editing pictures of root beer where no logo is present to include a logo. This is the case for the picture in this post. I don't know the dimensions of the glass, but i was free refills, so that's kind of irrelevant since once you commit to having root beer with your meal, you swim in it for all the restaurant cares. I like the whole root-beer-in-a-mug experience, but my only complaint is that it wasn't a frosty mug. A minor pleasure i concede, but i like seeing the frost on the mug when it's delivered and all the fun and excitement that accompanies that experience. I believe A&W drive-ins do the frosty mug, but it's been a while since i've been to one. All i will say is that any place that serves root beer in a mug that isn't frosty should reconsider their business model. Put the fact that it's in a frosty mug on the menu and i guarantee sales will increase exponentially (*note* all guarantees expressed in this blog are opinion based only and cannot be relied upon for future business projections whatsoever). I won't comment on the BJ's logo except to say it's fine just fine. It's technically the logo for the restaurant anyway, not the root beer, and what do i care about restaurant logos, right?

So is this handcrafted root beer worth the $2.95 you'll be paying for a bottomless mug of it? I would say go ahead and get it. I don't know that the root beer alone is good enough to draw me to the restaurant, but it is very good, and the food is great too so you really can't lose. It could have used a little more carbonation, but other than that i was impressed with what the BJ's crew could throw together. It was sweet, creamy, and had a good vanilla and root beer flavor to it. My guess is that putting ice cream in it would be an excellent decision. I don't know that the root beer had as much of a Chicago influence as the food and atmosphere, but the only other Chicago style root beer i can compare it to is Goose Island, which was also very enjoyable. Oh, and i guess Berghoff also, but i find this stuff much better than Berghoff. Ultimately though, i think Chicago may be on to something with the way the citizens craft root beer.

My official review is that BJ's gets 7 (seven) IBCs. I was impressed with it. Add a touch more carbonation and put it in a frosty mug and i think you've got a real winner there. There are a few BJ's locations here in the Valley of the Sun and several littered around California i know, but you'll have to check out their website to see if there is a BJ's near you. If so, take and evening and go enjoy some good food with some good root beer. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Stars & Stripes Root Beer

2011-07-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

Well, they changed the format on Blogger (supposedly for the better), but i am trying to get used to it still. Not sure i like it just yet. Anyway, i thought this one would be appropriate given the month. I would have liked to have reviewed this last week on the 4th, but my wife and i take a trip every year for the 4th up to a small town in Utah to do some camping with her extended family. Therefore, this is a little late, but still appropriate. The root beer i am reviewing today is Stars & Stripes Root Beer, from the Cott Beverages line (which also makes Vess and RC brand soft drinks, or at least owns distribution rights to them). You can see in the picture on the website a case of Stars & Stripes Cola, though i didn't look hard enough to find a shot of their root beer. While a truely American and patriotic root beer, in my mind this falls into the "generic" category of root beers. I was actually tipped off to this one long ago by a loyal reader and was told i could find it at the local Dollar Tree store. Well i happen to live less than a mile from a Dollar Tree, and while i don't frequent it very often, i did go in a few times to look for Stars & Stripes to no avail. I found other brands of root beer there, such as Shasta and Big K, but i basically chalked this one up to an "east coast thing" (Cott is apparently quite big in Canada as well). But my lovely wife discovered a bottle of this root beer here in Phoenix not long ago, and no less, at a Dollar Tree store she happened to be visiting. So thank you to the loyal reader who tipped me off. I have long since forgotten your name (and am too lazy to go back and try and find it among the many comments i have received over the years), but please allow me dedicate this review to you and your love of root beer.

The bottle in the picture is actually a 3 liter bottle. I'm not sure what my wife paid for it, but i am assuming it was around a dollar, which makes this root beer a pretty good buy. The label is a little drab. Not as patriotic as i would hope. Not even an American flag on it. That's probably those silly Canadians' doing. But it's called "Stars & Stripes" for crying out loud. You'd think they would stick a picture of Old Glory on there somewhere. Instead it has a brown, wooden background that i assume is supposed to represent a root beer barrel, but looks more to me like a table top or a church door or something. Then there's the blue and white logo of the brand name, followed by a rather large decal saying something about Hoover's Barrel Root Beer. Now, i don't know who Hoover is (unless we're talking about our former US President, but i doubt it) and i don't know how he got his name to be attached to this root beer, but all i have to say is this: knock it off. Does this root beer have two names? What's going on? It's just confusing. One of them needs to be eliminated (and my sights are set on taking out Hoover).

For a generic root beer, this one is pretty good. It's very sweet, has good carbonation, and a rich root beer flavor. I hate to keep comparing root beers to A&W, but i gotta say that's the one i think it tastes most similar to. However, it still has a distinct taste that is very un-A&W-ish (man, i'm good with words). I told my wife last night that i think it tastes (and smells) like pancakes and syrup. She had a drink and said she could see where i came up with that. So my assignment to you is to get your hands on some of this and try and let me know if it tastes like pancakes and syrup to you as well. Maybe i'm just crazy. Maybe i've lost all reasonable tasting ability and should no longer be relied upon for accurate root beer judgement (although, we all know that's completely ridiculous). Regardless, give it a shot and send me a comment. I'd be interested to hear what you think, even though it will hold absolutely no sway on my final judgement. I mean, come on... who's the expert here?

My official review is that Stars & Stripes gets 7 (seven) IBCs. It's a good root beer, and the fact that it's inexpensive can only help. Most generic or store brand root beers are either way too sweet or really watery and don't make much of an impression, but i gotta say, S&S does well to taste like a reasonably good root beer. Give it a shot, regardless of what month it is. It's your civic duty, like voting and jury duty and openly mocking British people. So enjoy.

Food Lion Root Beer

2011-06-21T15:24:00.001-07:00

This is another one brought to me from my friend in North Carolina. It is from a local grocery chain there based out of Salisbury, NC, and the root beer bears the same name as the store. Food Lion has it's own line of generic products in all varieties, much like Kirkland or Kroger. So going into this, i wasn't expecting much more than a generic root beer from a grocer, much like many other stores have done. That being said, their isn't much back story or information i can dig up on this one that isn't completely irrelevant or boring. So i'll skip all that.

This root beer was brought to me in a can, as were several of the root beers my friend brought me from North Carolina. I suppose they are easier to pack into a suit case that way. But regardless, i doubt it comes in a glass bottle anyway. The label is a bit drab, but typical of a generic. Very few colors, just white and a few shades of brown, with a basic design showing the logo of the store (which somewhat resembles a family crest or insignia) and some circles and swooshes which can either be considered a new age kind of look symbolizing carbonation bubbles or something, or it could be a throwback to the 70's style designs. Could go either way really, but if i were you i wouldn't look to far into it.

It's definitely a generic root beer, and as such follows by having a lack-luster taste. It's fine. Some may say sufficient. But it definitely doesn't stand out. I would say it does it's best to mimic A&W like so many others do. And like i always say, if you're going to copy a root beer flavor, you might as well copy a successful one. Food Lion can't quite capture the true taste though. The initial taste is solid, very strong and sweet with good carbonation, but that fades very quickly to basically tasting like water. It's not bad, but definitely not good.

My official review is that Food Lion Root Beer gets 4 (four) IBCs. I suppose the appeal to this one is the low cost per unit, as is the case with most generics. And if that's the only draw, i say just get whatever generic is available to you (except Shasta or Big K, they aren't very good). There are no Food Lions here in Arizona, so i don't have regular access to their root beer. And i don't really know how common they are outside of North Carolina, but i wouldn't travel too far just to get the taste of their root beer. When it really comes down to it, this one's pretty unsatisfactory.

Culver's Gourmet Root Beer

2011-06-01T17:06:00.000-07:00

So i stumbled on to this one almost by accident when i met a friend to get some ice cream at Culver's, which is mostly known for their concrete mixers (which is basically just like a Dairy Queen Blizzard). Anyway, when i met him at the local Culver's, he told me that the fast food restaurant chain makes its own root beer, and as a result i was able to review a root beer i wasn't aware of. Craig Culver opened his first restaurant in 1984 in Wisconsin by converting an old A&W stand, which makes me think he has been making root beer from the very beginning, though i have no documentation of that. However, using my superior root beer knowledge, judgement, and wisdom i will say that must be true. Makes logical sense. I always drive past the Culver's here and confuse it with Carvel's, an east coast ice cream cake shop famous for Fudgie the Whale and other ice cream cake concoctions. So it never dawned on me to stop in and get some food, let alone see if they make their own root beer.

I can't really judge the packaging on this one, as it is clear from the picture that i made the label on the cup by pasting a picture of the label from the soda fountain (and it looks quite poorly executed at that). I doubt they bottle this root beer, but i may be wrong. It was easiest just to do it this way, and if i am being completely candid, i have plans to make my own label in a similar fashion for another root beer which i have yet to review. That one, however, is in a bottle, just without a label. So i won't hold any points in favor of or against this root beer for the packaging. It's just standard fast food fare as far as cups and lids and straws goes.

My friend, whom i have consulted with on root beers in the past, informed me that this root beer was pretty good. And he's right. It is pretty good. Quite creamy tasting and well carbonated, it has a good root beer taste. You would think it would taste like A&W since the first restaurant was converted from an old A&W stand, but i think it tastes more like a creamy version of Mug Root Beer. It's similar, yet distinct. But in any case, it's a good root beer, and the food and concrete mixers at Culver's aren't half bad either. Overall, i had an enjoyable experience.

My official review is that Culver's Gourmet Root Beer gets 7 (seven) IBCs. It's a really good root beer. Maybe even worth an 8 considering i just got it out of a soda fountain and couldn't experience it in a glass bottle the way the root beer gods intended. So if you find yourself near a Culver's (not sure how nationally dispersed the franchises are), stop in and grab a bite to eat and wash it down with some of their delicious root beer.

American Fare Root Beer

2011-05-22T19:09:00.001-07:00

This is another one of the root beers my dear friend Richard brought me from North Carolina, although i am sure it's available several other places (just not here in Arizona). It's called American Fare Root Beer, and it's another generic brand from the good people at Kmart. The website on the can is for Kmart.com, but when i go there and type in "american fare root beer", this is what comes up. So basically, the information i am getting about this root beer is coming from the can. From what i can tell, it's made in Hoffman Estates, IL (a suburb of Chicago) and i have no idea how long it's been around. It was really nice of Richard to bring me all these root beers i don't have access to here. In repayment for bringing me 5 root beers, i brought him to a Mexican restaurant in someone's backyard, which in turn brought us both a raging case of explosive diarrhea and has subsequently been shut down. It's a shame too. I would have gladly risked another case of the runs for the chance to enjoy their delicious food. Seriously, it was really good.

This root beer is typical of a generic. The 12 oz. can looks like it has a generic label, very few colors used and typical of those used by most generics. It's several shades of brown and cream colors with a little splash of blue in the logo. There are some decals of frothy root beer mugs running up the side with lots of little bubbles of carbonation making up the majority of the background. Not as dull and boring as some labels i've seen, but still nothing super special to get excited about.

As far as taste is concerned, this is another copy of A&W, not unlike Parker's (which is Safeway's generic root beer). So in that sense, it's a good root beer and probably fairly inexpensive. But there is still something about it that makes it not all that great. Maybe it's just the psychological effect of knowing you're drinking a rip off that makes you think it's just not as good. So whatever it is, it's a good root beer, it's just not as good as the root beer it is intended to taste like. It has good carbonation and a distinct A&W flavor, but i swear near the end of it the flavor was fading fast and it was mostly just watery and sweet.

My official review is that American Fare gets 6 (six) IBCs. It's probably a bargain because it's a generic and the price for a lot of this stuff is most likely quite low. However, it cannot be rated as highly as what it is intended to taste like because it simply is not quite as good. I think i rated Parker's as highly as i did A&W, and with good reason. Unfortunately, American Fare does not meet the same standard. Still, it's not a bad root beer, and a 6 is considered better than average. So maybe it's something you might want to pick up if you're on a budget.

Langers Root Beer

2011-04-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

Piggy-backing off my last post, this is the other root beer i got from Rocket Fizz on my root beer reconnaissance trip to California last summer, but i have i since seen it in select grocery stores. Langers is a company formed in Southern California (L.A. area) that produces natural fruit juices. It's a family company that has been around since about 1960. As it turns out, they also make a root beer (and perhaps other flavors of soda). To follow the trend of their fruit juices, this root beer is crafted from natural ingredients, meaning there is no high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors in it. Sounds like another fly-by-night hippie operation, right? That was my first impression too. I figure if you want to make your juice that way, knock yourself out, but don't take something good like root beer and try making it "healthy". Next they are going to try and make cheese fries healthy. That just sounds awful. I want my cheese fries served with a heaping side of regret when i have stomach pains later. That's how you know they are working.

The bottle and label are a pretty professional set up. The label is pasted on the brown 12 oz. bottle with a glossy sticker and doesn't look cheaply thrown together. There is nothing particularly spectacular about the label, but nothing i can say really repels me, besides the fact that it has a hint of "generic brand" look to it. But i can't complain too much. The company has been around for over 50 years now, so they seem like they have everything in order. Plus, they have an Egyptian Sphinx looking lion on their logo, so that's kinda neat. Right? Maybe not. I'm probably just grasping for something to say about the label. It's dull, but fine.

I don't know that i would classify it as what i consider a "natural" root beer, which more often than not carries some pretty heavy implications that it tastes like hot garbage. To be honest, this stuff doesn't taste too bad. It's lacking in carbonation and definitely has a taste of honey to it, but overall i'm not completely put off by it. The label claims it contains vanilla extract (from Madagascar no less...) with cream and honey tones. Like i said, i can definitely taste the honey, and the vanilla is a nice touch. The root beer flavor could be more prominent, but overall i think these hippies did a decent job of not bottling piss and calling it root beer for the sake of being healthy. So for that i say well done.

My official review is that Langers gets 6 (six) IBCs. Again, i hesitate to even call it a natural root beer, but if that is indeed what it is then it's one the better ones i have had (calm down Langers, you don't have very stiff competition in that department). I wouldn't say this stuff is worth going out of my way to purchase, but i will say it was certainly a pleasure to drink considering what i was expecting. So congratulations Langers, I don't hate you.

Myer's Avenue Red Root Beer

2011-03-22T21:04:00.001-07:00

Hey there root beer enthusiasts, here is your root beer for the day. It's called Myer's Avenue Red Root Beer, and it's brewed out of Naperville, IL by Cripple Creek Brewing. According to the website though, this root beer was first brewed in Cripple Creek, Colorado in 1893 beneath the majestic Cow Mountain, making this one of the older ones i've encountered. You can see details for yourself on their webpage if you care to go there, but this root beer has apparently been sitting silently for the last 100+ years while the world passed by unaware of its existence. So i am not sure how long it has been being produced on a wide scale operation. I do know that i came across this one on my California road trip last summer when i went looking for new root beers. I visited a place in Thousand Oaks (west of Burbank) called Rocket Fizz. It's a retro candy store with tons of old sodas, candy, and so much more from my childhood, and even long before I was born. I even met the owner (I think his name was Rob) who was really nice and very cool about answering my root beer questions. He even gave me a free bottle of Spruce Beer, which is completely white and opaque and tastes like liquid Vicks Vapo-rub. Rob runs a cool store there in Thousand Oaks and is expanding pretty aggressively. Since i talked to him last summer, at least 3 to 4 more stores have opened in California and across the country, including one here in Phoenix now. He asked me if i wanted to open a franchise, but i'm terrible at business so i declined. If you're interested though, there is franchise info on the Rocket Fizz website.

This root beer comes in a clear glass 12 oz bottle, which i have little to no luck with in most cases, and has a really cool label. I think Cripple Creek did a good job on this one. It looks like an old stock certificate or bank note and is very detailed but still simple. The color tone selection gives it the sepia feel of old paperwork or photographs and the font style and set up just work well. Well done on the label. If nothing else, you get extra points for presentation.

The website and label both mention how root beer this is flavored with cinnamon, and it's definitely noticeable. It works very well though, and i actually really like the taste. To be completely honest, it doesn't taste all that much like root beer, but it's not bad still. My wife has been craving french toast a lot lately, so we have been eating it more regularly recently, and to me this root beer tastes like french toast. It's lightly sweet, has good carbonation, and isn't overpowering or unpleasant at all. Again, i would like more of a root beer taste in it, but i can't complain with the flavor they are giving me. A refreshing change from the spate of regular old root beers i have been drinking lately. The website boasts this root beer is responsible for the famous "black cow" root beer float. So if you try this one, maybe you should drop a scoop of ice cream in it and see how that treats you.

My official review is that Myer's Avenue Red Root Beer gets 7 (seven) IBCs. I almost gave it an 8, but kinda hoped for more of a root beer flavor. It's definitely better than many of the mundane root beers out there though. So stop by a Rocket Fizz and grab yourself one.

Blumer's Root Beer

2011-02-21T21:54:00.000-08:00

Ok gentile readers, you know that i care about you and about the work i do on this blog, but i am just gonna phone this one in for the sake of getting it done. It's been a long couple weeks and i just need to get one done for the month. I promise March will be better. Anyway, this is a good root beer. It's called Blumer's, and it's from Monroe, WI. The company has been around since 1845, making it one of the oldest root beers around. But i couldn't find a website for them (probably cuz they've been around since 1845 and haven't heard of the internet yet). The site i got this root beer from is the Soda Pop Warehouse. It's a good site, and this is one of many of the root beers i have ordered from it. I recommend it for trying out different root beers, although shipping plus the cost per bottle makes it a little more expensive of a way to go when getting root beers. I thought i had seen a site for them before and want to say they do more flavors than just root beer, but i have nothing to back that up. Not that i need it since my word is final, but for those of you looking for credibility, you probably won't find it on this posting (or any of the other ones on this blog for that matter).

It comes in a common 12 oz. brown glass bottle, although the label says it only has 11.16 fluid oz. The label is a little funky. It has little half circles cut into the top and bottom of it, making it look a little like a postage stamp. There is a big barrel on it's side behind the logo, and the whole thing is a beige color (or as they spell in Canada, colour). The label is fine. I don't really have anything funny or witty or clever to say about it. It does the job.

This root beer is pretty good. It's quite sweet, but it doesn't gross me out as some sweet tasting root beers do. It's not sweetened with cane sugar and it has nothing really spectacular about it, but it's a solid root beer with decent carbonation and a good flavor. It's a little better than middle of the road, but i wouldn't mortgage my home to buy loads of the stuff, and that's only partly because my house isn't worth that much. Yeah, that's right. I live in a dump. What's it to you?

My official review is that Blumer's gets 6 (six) IBCs. I know this review was short and i didn't put a whole lot of effort into it, but i don't have much to say about it besides it's a good root beer. Give it a shot if you'd like. If not, then don't. It doesn't make much difference to me. I don't know much about the company without a website to look at, but i am sure there are people out there who know about this company. They have been around for a long time, so i am sure they have some loyal customers. Anyone in business this long has to be doing something right.

Old Town Root Beer

2011-01-19T05:38:00.001-08:00

The Old Town Root Beer Company has stores in different locations around California, most popularly in San Diego, Temecula, Chico, and Barstow. I think there are a few more also. They make a root beer with their label as well as a few other flavors. This is actually one of the root beers i had on my list last summer when i went to California with my wife and a few friends on a root beer round up. Unfortunately, we didn't get out to Temecula, the closest place that had these. But luckily i have a great street team who is willing to do root beer hunting for me all over the U.S. A buddy of mine found this at Cost Plus World Market here in Mesa. I swear i looked there before, but it was a while ago. Anyway, i am glad he picked one up for me, but from what i have read online it might have been worth the drive to actually go to the store in Temecula and get it myself. I tried to find an official site for them but had a little trouble. There is even a website listed on the bottle (www.oldtownrootbeer.com), but when i type it in the browser it just takes me to google and gives me a bunch of links relating to it. There is an official Facebook page for the store in Temecula, but i morally oppose Facebook so i wouldn't recommend anyone spending too much time on that page. But from what i have read on other sites about the store in Temecula is that it sells over 800 kinds of soda, including 99 kinds of root beer, and i think they also serve food there, like a little restaurant with a big soda store attached or something. I don't know the details, but it makes me want to go see this place for myself. If there really are 99 different kinds of root beers there, it might work out that there are one or two i haven't tried.

The bottle is a pretty standard brown glass 12 oz. bottle and the label is fairly well made. The logo is simple, yet professional. It almost looks like it's designed to be a wave, but it doesn't look like a wave. There is a big foamy mug of root beer wrapped in text against a white and red background. It's tasteful. As mentioned above, they list a website on the label, but i am wondering if it used to be up and running but it isn't now. Regardless, there is no lack of presence on the web. I found plenty of links relating to the stores/restaurants (whatever they are) on google.

As far as taste goes, it's not a bad root beer. Not at all. I feel like it's a recycled taste though. Not completely unoriginal, but not anything to get excited about either. To me it tastes like a lot of other root beers, but the first comparison that came to mind was Abita. There is a bit of a honey taste, not much, followed with a sugary root beer flavor (they use cane sugar) with a vanilla after taste. It's not a bad root beer at all, but it's not quite my cup of tea. I feel like the flavor fades really quick and all i am left with is a sugar taste in my mouth. It's not as bad an effect as Olde Rhode Island, but it's similar. Anyway, that's about i have to say about that.

My official review is that Old Town Root Beer gets 6 (six) IBCs. This is a bit of a short review, i know, but i feel like i don't really have much to say about this one. Like i said, i feel like it's a taste i've drank several times already. It's not bad, and i still do want to visit one of their stores (maybe in San Diego). I just wouldn't rush out and buy a case of these. Get one with a burger, sure. I bet it goes good with ice cream too. But it's not going to be one i keep stocked at home. That's all.

a request from across the globe...

2011-01-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

Hi all! Happy New Year! I feel like we need to catch up and chat a bit. How are you? How are things? That's great. Now let's talk about me some more.

I am doing fantastic, with a really exciting way to start the new year. I was lucky enough to be able to take part in a study abroad for my school program and had an opportunity to go to Dubai for two whole weeks. Dubai is literally the other side of the world from Phoenix, AZ. There is an 11 hour time difference, so when i got in this morning 10:30 AM Monday morning and skyped my wife, i was talking to her at 11:30 PM Sunday night. In other words, i was talking to her... FROM THE FUTURE! Anyway, i wanted to send out a request in regards to this blog to ask anyone who knows anything about this region (or that of London, UK as that is our connecting flight) if they know of any root beers i can get in either of these two locations. I was actually lucky enough to find one here called Zest-o in an enormous store that is probably best comparable to Walmart. So if anyone knows of any others i might want to track down, i would be appreciative.

This was sparked by a reader comment from someone in the UK. He mentioned the lack of root beer variety there and named a local brand, but going back through the comments i was unable to find the one he left. I know i don't respond much to comments, but i do appreciate them for suggestions and tips. Not so much for criticism, though i get plenty of that also. I don't much care what those people think anyway, mostly because i am far superior to all of you, but by all means, please don't let that discourage you for telling me your dislikes about myself or the reviews i write. I welcome them. One in particular that i thought was quite amusing was on the Walmart Root Beer review (warning: there is quite a bit of swearing in it). I had a good laugh at it though. He must have been really proud of himself for that one.

Anyway, any hints would be much appreciated. I am also going to start a drastically different blog about my short time here called Two Weeks in Dubai. It will probably be more... journalistic? Don't hold me to that too closely though, as i am not a journalist, i'm a root beer expert.

That's right... expert.

Squamscot Root Beer

2010-12-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

The next root beer to be reviewed on this wonderful journey we are all now a part of comes to us from Newfields, NH. The Conner Bottling Works Co. is a family run company and has been around since 1863 producing a vast number of flavored sodas. The beverages have gone by the name Squamscot since 1930. I don't know what a squamscot is, but the obvious mental picture i immediately get is Sasquatch and the Jack Link's Beef Jerky commercials. And that inevitably leads me to my favorite mythological creature of all time, Manbearpig (who i have already talked about numerous times in this blog). Anyway, Squamscot really has nothing to do with Sasquatch or Manbearpig, but i was really surprised from the website as to exactly how many flavors they produce. They even have one called "yup". No idea what that's supposed to taste like. They also do a spruce beer, which i have tasted (from a different brand) and tastes like liquid vapo-rub. So i think yup could turn out to be very interesting.

This root beer comes in a clear glass bottle. The cap has kind of a cool little emblem of a CBW (for Conner Bottling Works) which also appears on the label, although you can't see it in this picture. Besides that, the label is pretty simple and plain. The Conner family prides the fact that they run their business the old fashioned way, and try to stick to an old fashioned style as much as possible. This is somewhat reflected in the label. It has a very narrow color scheme and cuts right to the chase with everything printed on it. Basically just the basics. And that's fine. I got no problem with that.

However, i do have somewhat of a problem with the taste. Maybe problem is the wrong word. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's a bit watery for me. Not much carbonation, nothing to make it really stand out. I've definitely had worse, but this is no ground breaking revolution. I figure they just like sticking to the old way of doing things. To applaud them, they use cane sugar, which isn't all that hard to find in a root beer these days, but if you like that kind of thing you can add Squamscot to your list of acceptable root beers. There isn't much of a root beer flavor in this. It's very faint. I mostly just taste sugar and water.

My official review is that Squamscot gets 5 (five) IBCs. The more i review, the more i find that the world is full of mediocre and lack-luster root beers. Unfortunately, i would have to put Squamscot into that category. Nothing against them. It's "perfectly adequate", but it seems most people like reading either my really highly rated or really lowly rated root beer reviews. So that makes for a lot of reviews that kind of just go by the wayside. From the site, it seems like they pride themselves on their ginger ale most of all. So if you're a fan of ginger ale, maybe give theirs a shot. The root beer you may want to pass on though given a better option is available.

Steelhead Root Beer

2010-12-16T12:37:00.001-08:00

This is one i have been trying to track down for a long time. Steelhead Root Beer has been around since 1997. The Pop Shop here locally told me a long time ago that they expected to get some Steelhead in, but it never happened. So after months of checking in with the Pop Shop, i eventually went looking for it myself. I picked up a 6-pack of this stuff on my root beer trip to California this past summer. This was obtained from the Steelhead Brewery and Restaurant in Irvine, CA, which was a pretty nice get up from what i saw of it. There is also a brewery in Eugene, OR and Burlingame, CA. They brew this stuff on site, and i assume they distribute it locally but i searched around and eventually just went directly to the brewery to get it. These guys are pretty confident about their root beer too, because they put a link on their website to several private reviews of their root beer. I of course and not listed on there because i am just now reviewing it. Guess who is though... my root beer nemesis. They tout how he gave them a good rating. I think it was just to get his name on their site. Can anyone say, "publicity stunt"? Seems suspicious.

The label is pretty fancy and well decorated. There is a big picture of a Steelhead fish, which is similar to a trout but lives in the ocean. This is obviously where the brewery and root beer get their names. But the subtle intricacies of the label are what catches the eye. Notice the pin-striped background, like the nice tailored suit of a business man. The bright, vibrant logo catches the eye and doesn't crowd the label. It's well done. One thing that really caught my eye is this little strip on the right edge of the label though. It's a series of letters and numbers separated by lines. If you can't make it out in the picture, it says;

J F M A M J J A S O N D 3 4 5 6 7 A B C D E F G

Now, i have read all of Dan Brown's novels, almost all of which deal with symbology and secret messages. But i am not ashamed to admit i have no idea what this means. I can make out the name "Jason", but other than that i don't see much order outside of the sequence of numbers and alphabet from about half way on. If you want to take a stab at it and let me know what you think, i'll be happy to entertain your thoughts. Maybe i'm just a dummy. Most of that Dan Brown crap didn't really sink in anyway.

Let's talk taste. Steelhead is good. It was a bit lacking in carbonation for my likes, but it was good. Steelhead uses cane sugar, natural vanilla and honey flavors. I can taste all of these things, and they work well. In the end though, it just tastes like Thomas Kemper to me, except that i don't want to smoosh a kitten after i drink Steelhead. The honey is not overpowering, which is a good thing for me. I don't much care for honey in my root beer. I often think it just doesn't belong, like dreadlocks on white people. It's subtle enough that i don't mind it though. I like the vanilla, and there is maybe just a hint of anise/black licorice flavor in there. It's not a bad soda though. Not my number one pick, but good enough to enjoy a 6-pack without feeling like you wasted your money.

My official review is that Steelhead gets 6 (six) IBCs. That's not bad for a root beer, and i would almost give it a 7. Maybe if it had more carbonation. But 6 isn't bad. It's definitely better than middle of the road. I wouldn't mind eating at the restaurant sometime also. Perhaps on my next trip to California, i'll stop in for some dinner and see how the root beer goes with the food.

Vess Root Beer

2010-12-14T09:05:00.000-08:00

So my finals are over and i am officially done with another semester. That being the case, i feel like i need to do a little catch up on my reviews before the end of the year, so i hope to review a few more within the next couple days and finish out the year strong. This root beer came to me via a good friend who now lives in North Carolina. He came to visit for Thanksgiving and brought me an offering of several root beers from back east that i don't have access to here in Arizona. For repayment my wife and i took him out to dinner for mexican food where we all got food poisoning. So i figure we're even. Anyway, Vess is a company that has been around since 1916. They produce several flavors of soda from their factory in Maryland Heights, MO, which i am taking the liberty of assuming is a suburb of St. Louis. I didn't find an official website for Vess, so you'll have to refer to the source of all truth for questions or deeper research. From what i gather, this is a brand similar to the likes of Shasta and Big Fizz that mass produces this stuff and spams it across the nation to willing retailers. I could be wrong on that, but let's face it, i'm rarely wrong.

Richard (my friend from NC) was unable to find it in anything smaller than a 2 liter bottle, so he conveniently poured some into what suspiciously looks like a 20 oz Dr. Pepper bottle and pasted the label from the 2 liter on it. This is why it looks so ghetto in the picture above. I don't blame him for not wanting to fly a 2 liter across country though, so i am fine with the arrangement. As you can see, the label is mostly brown, orange, and white. The big Vess logo dominates the label, and there is a little decal of a root beer mug in the upper left corner. The label is similar to that of the companies i mentioned above (Shasta, Big Fizz, etc.) which is what leads me to believe this company is basically the same set up. Nothing exceptionally special about the label. It's rather bland, but to the point. No big deal really.

This root beer was flat when i drank it. I am not going to hold that against them though since i am sure most of that was due to being put in a 20 oz. bottle and flown in a suitcase across the country. As far as the taste goes, i am not all that impressed. It's fairly watery with a very sugary aftertaste. Sure, it tastes like root beer, but just barely. Also, it may just be a psychological thing, but i can almost taste the traces of Dr. Pepper in it. I would think Richard would have rinsed the bottle before making the transfer though. All in all though, i am not ready to give this thing a glowing endorsement. It is what it is, and what it is isn't worth much.

My official review is that Vess gets 4 (four) IBCs. I feel quite generous with this rating too. I was about to give it a 3, but i don't want to penalize the root beer for the lack of carbonation, and i feel like i would have enjoyed it at least a little bit more had it been carbonated. So i will let it slide with a 4. Not sure what this thing costs, but i am assuming it was fairly inexpensive. Probably about $1.50 for a 2 liter (again, i'm rarely wrong). Anyway, my advice is to save your $1.50 for something with a lot more substance.

Point Root Beer

2010-11-24T15:21:00.000-08:00

I really gotta stop using school as my excuse for slacking off on this blog, but it's true. I have been very busy this semester. The good news is that it's almost over. But more importantly, this post is going to be an exciting one for a few specific reasons. For starters, this is one of the root beers in the mural at the top of my blog. In fact, it is the only one i haven't reviewed at this point besides Pirate's Keg, which as far as i know if off the market completely. The website for Pirate's Keg says that it is served at the Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas, NV, but when i went there to get a bottle last year they told me this stuff had been discontinued for quite a while. So if anyone knows any different about Pirate's Keg, i would appreciate the tip. Otherwise, i will consider the mural above "reviewed". Secondly though, and i will say MOST importantly, this root beer is officially the 100TH ROOT BEER REVIEWED! Exciting, right? I know. Yes, it has taken me over two years to do, but that's not important. What's important is that it's an amazing accomplishment for anyone, but especially so because i did it. And i am sure my nemesis is sitting and thinking right now about how he has reviewed far more than me, which is technically true. However, he reviews everything from diet root beers to sarsaparillas to ginger beers. I stick strictly to root beers (as defined by me cuz i'm smart and go to college). So he has a larger pool to draw from. Whatever. Good for him, good for me. He's got is own thing going, and i have mine. (But for the record, my thing is way better.)

Well with that far-too-long introduction out of the way, let's get down to the nitty gritty of this 100th root beer to be reviewed by me. Point Root Beer is no stranger to a lot of people. It is made by the Steven's Point Brewing Co. in Steven's Point, WI and it's been around since 1857. In addition to several alcoholic brews, Point also makes a few other flavors of soda, including vanilla creme, orange creme, black cherry, and the like. According to the website, it's the 5th oldest continuously operating brewery still in existence. They definitely have the history to back them up.

The 12 oz. brown glass bottle carries a lot of prestige in it's label. Very professional and distinguished, as should be expected from a root beer this old and well established. There is a faded background picture of what looks the old brewery littered with people dressed in 1800's attire. They also have a picture of a bearded dude with a pointy head on the back of the label and on the cap named Nicholas C. Point. He looks like a conehead and on the cap he is saying, "pop my top!" (if i had a nickel...). The font is bold and prominent, and the label displays an award from the Beverage Tasting Institute, which i didn't even realize was an actual institution. I'm sure they've seen my work by now and will ask me to head the board soon. Too be honest though, i'm pretty busy as is. Not sure if i want another task on my plate. Suggestions from my loyal readers would be appreciated. I'd like to have a response for them before they contact me.

So how does the 100th root beer taste, you ask? Well, some of the ingredients they boast include pure cane sugar, natural vanilla, and honey, none of which are a real shock to anyone at this point (no pun intended). But what matters is how they all work together in just such a concoction. Well, to be honest, it's quite good. I like few of the root beers that boast a honey taste, but this one works. It's subtle enough to not make me murder a kitten, yet present enough to remind me what IBC must taste like after it's been processed through the human body. The recipe works well, which again must pay tribute to why these guys have been in business so long. I like it. And i think you should too.

My official review is that Point Root Beer gets 8 (eight) IBCs. I was originally thinking a 7, but then i thought, what the heck... it's good enough, right? And given the milestone occasion i am feeling generous. So i bumped it up to an 8 cuz it deserves it. So grab yourself a Point if you get a chance. They make a mighty fine brew.

Happy 100 to me!

Root Jack Root Beer

2010-10-20T20:40:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone, and happy October. I chose to review this root beer this month because at first glance, with the orange decal on the bottle i assumed it was Halloween themed. Well, it turns out it's pirate themed, which is close enough since a lot of people dress like pirates for Halloween these days. That Johnny Depp is so hot right now... Anyway, Root Jack Root Beer is a different breed. It follows the trend of the energy drink, combining a root beer base with an energy drink kick, not unlike Bawls Guarana Root Beer that i reviewed a while back. The story on the website is a story of the fair pirate wench Astrea who created this brew to combat the effects of scurvy. The tale is full of adventure and pirate treachery, but i'll let you read it for yourself if you're interested. As far as how long this root beer has actually been around, what i gather from the website is that it has been around since about 2007 and is bottled in Osceola, IN, a fierce pirate port by all accounts. This is all well and good, but the thing i found of much more interest was an advertisement on the bottle as well as the website for something called Pirates, Vikings, & Knights II. Turns out it's an online video game, and i just so happen to love two things in life; root beer and video games (oh, and my wife). So naturally i was intrigued. Now i haven't played it yet, but from what i gather it's free to download and it's a first-person shooter (FPS) in the genre of old school Doom, or probably more accurately, Unreal Tournament (this game came out in 1999, so UT was probably the standard back then). You probably guessed it, but you can choose between Pirates, Vikings, and Knights to run around and murder each other online. I watched a video, and it seems decent and silly (for example, when the knight talks, it sounds muffled like his helmet is on). There are plenty of cliche phrases thrown around, including some classic Monty Python lines, but it could be fun for those of you interested in looking into it. I most likely will.

The 12 oz brown glass bottle has a good label. I am impressed with Root Jack in that they did a good job with an original logo and what not. The prominent display in the center of the label is a bosomy pirate lass who i can only assume is the notorious Astrea from the Root Jack Tale on the website. She's straddling a cannon in full pirate garb. The label is nearly all in orange on the front, based on the fact that this drink has orange flavoring and vitamin c (which is how it is able to combat scurvy). One thing i thought was interesting about the label is that it contains a warning saying that this drink is "not recommended for children, pregnant women, or those sensitive to caffeine". I assume that's just for legal reasons since it is considered an energy drink, but i still thought it was a funny little addition. All in all, i think it's well done.

As far as the taste, we know that it has an orange flavor, that it contains guarana, and that it's an energy drink masquerading as a root beer. How does that all measure up? Unfortunately not too favorably. It has decent carbonation, which is a plus, but i really don't taste any of the root beer flavor. I do get a very slight hint of the orange flavor, especially when i burp afterward, but overall it mostly just tastes like an energy drink (which i am not all that fond of to begin with). If i were to pin-point it for you, i would say that it tastes like how a craft store's fake flower and potpourri section smells. That's the image that comes to my mind with each drink i take. Or is it those really bad decorative soaps? Either way, i'm unable to shake it. It's unsettling and ultimately i don't like it. Too bad, cuz this one had a lot of potential.

My official review is that Root Jack gets 4 (four) IBCs. I don't want to rip on them too much cuz i think they had a decent idea, but ultimately i am not one for the energy drinks. It's not undrinkable, but i almost feel like i am being punished with each drink i take, like i am washing my own mouth out with soap. I even looked to give extra points cuz i thought the liquid itself might be orange colored, but it's simply the regular root beer color. Oh well, better luck next time guys. My suggestion would be focus more on making it taste like a root beer and less of an energy drink. But at least i can check out this new online video game. In fact, i think i'll do that now (instead of homework).

Jenn, don't be mad at me. And i love you. And root beer and video games.

America's Choice Root Beer

2010-09-12T22:53:00.001-07:00

I am gonna do a quick one for this root beer. It's called America's Choice Root Beer, and it's a brand owned by the A&P grocery store chain that is popular in the Midwest and on the east coast. I had to make a deal with my root beer nemesis to get my hands on this since we don't have A&P's here in Arizona, or any of the surrounding states to the best of my knowledge, but i actually have visited an A&P about 10 years ago in Brampton, ON, Canada. All i remember is that it was kinda expensive (and considering i was using Canadian dollars and the exchange rate was much more in our favor at the time, that's saying something). So much like any grocery store, they have their own brand of sodas. The source of all truth says that the brand was started in the 1990s, so i'll go with that. And i don't have much of a website, except this link for an online shopping and pickup service for a specific A&P in New Jersey. But other than that, i didn't do much research on this thing as it's a pretty unremarkable root beer.

As you can see, it's a 2 liter bottle with a brown label with little to no imagination. There is a root beer mug decal, not unlike several other labels i have seen on different brands. The America's Choice logo is posted at the top of the label, and the flavor is typed below in big, Helvetica print (p.s. i actually watched an entire documentary about the font type Helvetica, cuz i have that kind of time). Nothing else to it though. I find myself straining to come up with a way to describe this label, and i hate to strain, so i won't. Just see for yourself in the picture above.

Ok, i know i am blazing through this post like i have other things to do, but it's true... i have other things to do (namely, video games). But you might get the impression from this half hearted review that this stuff is no good. On the contrary, this stuff is quite good. How good? A&W good. The fact that it's unremarkable is due to the fact that it tastes just like A&W. And why the heck not, right? A&W is a good root beer. I said it with Parker's and i'll say it again; if you're gonna rip off a flavor, you might as well rip off a good one. So there you have it. I don't have much else to say about this root beer.

My official review is that America's Choice gets 7 (seven) IBCs. I gave Parker's a 7 because i gave A&W a 7, and i'm giving this one a 7 because i gave Parker's a 7. It is very inexpensive from the posting on the website i linked. Only $1 for a 2 liter. But again, it's not that i didn't enjoy the taste of this root beer, there was just no originality to win me over with. Oh well, in the end it still got a very good rating (as far as my rating system goes). Congrats America's Choice. I'm probably giving you more credit than you deserve.

Wild Harvest Natural Root Beer

2010-08-29T22:40:00.000-07:00

School has started for me again for a new semester, and my schedule is just as busy as ever. With all my down time this summer, i really didn't do much for root beer reviewing (other than mail ordering and traveling the continental U.S. to obtain new root beers). But i don't want to get behind now that school has started for me again. I picked up this little root beer at an Albertson's in Huntington Beach when my wife and i took our little weekend trip over to California. Wild Harvest is a natural root beer and falls into the category of those sweetened with real cane sugar. The company is kind of like an organic conglomerate of farmers, mostly in California, but from all over the U.S., Canada, and even internationally. I looked briefly through the site trying to find a date when and exact origin where the soda was created, but it's kind of hard to get that kind of cold data from the website (I did see that it is currently distributed from Eden Prairie, MN, for what it's worth). And for any further details... well, i will leave that investigative journalism to you fine folks, if you feel so inclined. These guys have an approach which is very similar to that of an interesting documentary my wife and i watched called Food, Inc. I don't get too caught up in that kind of stuff, but i will say it's interesting to think about if nothing else. It just seems so hard to eat healthy, but i think with the whole green movement and the global warming marketing scam going on that organic food is catching on in a big way. I'm telling you, going green sells.

I picked this root beer up in a 6-pack of cans. Not sure if it's packaged any other way, but i would highly doubt an opportunity to try this stuff from a glass bottle. No big deal though. I have my preferences, but i'll take what i can get. The Wild Harvest logo is accompanied by an image of a frothy mug of root beer and the typical natural/organic mumbo jumbo you can find pasted on a root beer label. Its design is not unlike several other labels of natural root beers i have seen. 365 Root Beer comes to mind, as well as Santa Cruz Organic. So it's nothing overly novel or exciting. I don't expect too much these days, though it's been a while since a root beer label really knocked my socks off.

Wild Harvest makes only 4 flavors of soda, root beer being one of them. And as far as taste is concerned, i gotta say... it's not too shabby. Not what i expected from an organic root beer. The fact that it's sweetened with cane sugar is a big step in the right direction. Unlike Zevia. Are you kidding me? That stuff tastes awful. And for those of you who left me comments on my Zevia post... i rarely do this ever, but i will respond briefly... Quit kidding yourself that it's "healthy". Try drinking natural fruit juice or purified water if you want healthy. I want good tasting root beer. If it's a ginger beer, call it a ginger beer (which i also like, and which Zevia tastes nothing like). But don't call whatever that crap is a good ol' fashioned root beer. What Wild Harvest has to offer was a surprisingly tasty root beer. The root beer flavor is fairly subtle, but still there. It also has a bit of a pepper aftertaste to it, which sounds weird, but think Dr. Pepper and you'll know what i mean. It really works quite well though. I have to say, it's definitely one of the best natural/organic root beers i've tried.

My official review is Wild Harvest gets 6 (six) IBCs. For a natural root beer, that's very good. I mean, let's be honest... it's not my first choice. Nowhere close. But i'll give credit where credit is due. If Wild Harvest operates the way they claim to, then they make a fine root beer product with the business model they have. It's not bad.

Oh, and hippie from Seattle... sorry to hear that you sold your soul to use the Internet and respond to my Zevia post. Heavens knows it must have killed you to up your carbon offset by consuming the electricity to power your computer. Zevia sucks. I RULE!

Dr. McGillicuddy's Old-Fashioned Root Beer

2010-08-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

I ordered this root beer along with several others from a website called sodapopswarehouse. This silly little root beer with a funny name comes with a bit of a funny personal story, but i don't really feel like sharing it with you. You'll have to ask me to tell you about it at another time. So anyway, Dr. McGillicuddy's root beer is one of the few things made by the company that isn't a hard liquor, specifically schnapps. How the fine doctor parlayed this into a line of root beer is beyond me. The doctor's name is given on the site as Dr. Aloysuis Percival McGillicuddy, born 1808, and from all accounts is a fictional character used only for marketing, joining the ranks of Tony the Tiger and Joe Camel. The company that makes Dr. McGillicuddy's was bought in 1870 by a man named Thomas H. Handy, but it is unclear when the good doctor began making root beer. Most of the site is devoted to the schnapps aspect of the company, which likely is their bread and butter. However, i feel it was kind of them to put out a root beer so that i might review it for the masses.

The brown 12 oz. glass bottle is nothing out of the ordinary. The clear sticker label is very basic also. Only one color is used, a kind of beige/cream color for the entire label. As you can see, lots of text with a few different font styles relays the message that this is indeed a root beer you are drinking. Overall though, it's quite lack luster and there is nothing fantastic about it.

However, what Dr. McGillicuddy's lacks in label innovation, he makes up for in taste. This is a GOOD root beer. Not the best, but it's one of those that pops out of a sea of ordinary to sweep you off your feet. My wife particularly enjoyed it, saying that it tastes like Delta in-flight airline cookies (which, if you've ever flown anywhere with my wife, you will know she thoroughly enjoys because she won't stop talking about them until the plane lands). My description isn't that specific, but i would say that it has a mellow, kind of underwhelming root beer flavor combined with some smooth vanilla and a touch of minty-ness for a fantastic aftertaste. It's not as carbonated as i usually like, but it's not too shabby. Overall, i would definitely say it's the best root beer made by a doctor, and there are quite a few doctors putting out root beers these days...

My official review is that Dr. McGillicuddy's gets 8 (eight) IBCs. In reality, it's probably more like a 7, but i let my wife influence me and talk me into at least giving it an 8. But regardless, it's a good root beer, and one i suggest you try if you're anywhere near a bottle.

Wegman's Fountain Root Beer

2010-07-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

This post has been long over due considering i have several root beers in my fridge to review. I don't even really have an excuse. Just that i was busy. So whatever... mind your own business. But anyway, i hope to keep this thing a little more up to date while i have some time off from school (less than a month before it starts again). So with that, let's get down to it... I did a bit of wheelin' and dealin' with my root beer nemesis to get my hands on this one. We did an east coast/west coast exchange program (although Phoenix isn't really considered the west coast). Wegmans, from what i can tell, is a grocery store based out of Rochester, NY and located in several states in the northeast. However, on the label this root beer claims to be a "product of Canada". I personally have never heard of Wegmans, but they make and sell Wegmans Fountain Root Beer. Not sure how long they have been making this stuff, but from general appearances, it's just another generic store brand root beer. Nothing to it. Or is there? Let's just find out.

This root beer came in a 2 liter bottle, but i can't image it would be hard to find this in a 12 oz can either. Anyway, the label has a wooden decal background, like that of a root beer barrel, if you will, and the Wegmans logo is pasted right across the front with a picture of a mug of root beer. Nothing outrageous about it. Modern, catchy, and perfectly adaquate. Not much else to say about it.

This stuff is a generic store brand, so it has nothing fancy or mysterious to it. It is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, contains several artificial flavors and preservatives, and is very well carbonated. However, it also manages to be gluten free, lactose free, caffeine free, and vegan approved. So if any of that stuff matters to you, then that's good to know. Why am i telling you this? Because the root beer tastes just like a root beer should. It's good. I would even say very good, in a very unoriginal and uninspiring way. It's sweet and has a great root beer flavor, and the high carbonation gives it quite a bite (sorry Barq's, but it's true). I even tried it with some ice cream and made a root beer float, not that this was suggested or recommended on the label, but more just because i had the ice cream in my freezer and i thought it might be good. Honestly though, it wasn't amazing. I think i just like the root beer more by itself.

My official review is that Wegmans Fountain Root Beer gets 6 (six) IBCs. I'll admit, this review was probably fairly boring to read. I know there isn't much sparkle to this root beer, but it's a valiant effort. I like it quite a bit, but i couldn't justify giving it any higher than a 6. It's good though, and i would say very similar in taste to A&W, although A&W is much more creamy. Not bad though for what it is. You right coast weirdos probably already know all about this stuff, so i don't have to tell you about it, but anyone not familiar with it i would say it's worth trying out. Cheers.

JJ Lazlo's Real Draft Root Beer

2010-06-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

Hello out there root beer lovers! You will be pleased to know that my much needed free time this summer has been spent hunting down more root beers to review and i currently have a good stash built up. It should last me a while, so don't fret little ones.

This root beer was luckily right here in my own backyard. I made a trip to the Pop Shop just to see if there might be something new, and i found this, JJ Lazlo's Real Draft Root Beer. You may not be able to tell from the picture, but the bottle is bigger than your standard fair. It's the same 22 oz bottle that Sonoran comes in. Coincidence? Not really. The hippie at the counter told me that the guy who brews Sonoran sold the recipe and started JJ Lazlo's, so it's brewed right here in the Valley of the Sun (that's Phoenix and the surrounding suburbs for all of you who may not be familiar). When i talked to Zach, one of the brew masters for Sonoran, he mentioned that they were working on something else. However, the brew master for JJ's is named Scott. Not sure what their relationship is to one another. But i give JJ's some props for their involvement with local schools here. There is a page on their website dedicated to fundraising. You can see pictures of root beer labels drawn by little kids. These labels were put on bottles of root beer and the money earned from the sales went to directly to the school. So that's neat. Well done. JJ's is also looking at making three more flavors of soda, but for now just the root beer is available. You can see details on the website if you really care.

As i already mentioned, the bottle is the same 22 oz bottle that Sonoran comes in. The label for this bottle of JJ Lazlo's was not made by a grade school kid. It looks to have been made on a computer, or at least drawn by hand and then scanned onto a computer and just printed off on sticker paper by any run of the mill ink jet color printer. I'm sure it saves money and i know the guy is just getting it started up, so it may change in the future. The Sonoran label is much more sleek and slick, so maybe it will go that route once Scott gets himself more established. As you can see in the picture, the label features a cool dude with his fedora pulled down low over his eyes. Kinda the old gangster vibe or something. Decent i suppose. I don't have any complaints really.

One of the other things that the hippie in the Pop Shop told me is that since these root beers were made by the same people, that they are almost exactly alike. First of all, my credo is "Nunquam Fides a Hippie", which is latin for, "Never Trust a Hippie". So i decided to put his little theory to the test and taste tested Sonoran and JJ Lazlo's side by side. And as i suspected, that hippie is a filthy liar. It is true they use a lot of the same ingredients (including cane sugar) and both don't have much carbonation, but they taste pretty distinctly different. The JJ Lazlo's label claims a smooth vanilla flavor, but i get more of a honey taste than vanilla, like a lighter version of Thomas Kemper's flavor. Sonoran is more sweet than JJ's, and i still maintain Sonoran tastes like smarties candies. They are both decently good, but taste quite different. One other thing the label of JJ Lazlo's mentions is that it is great over a scoop of ice cream. So my wife and i decided to put that claim to the test also and made a couple root beer floats with this stuff. And it's true, JJ's over ice cream = good, but i think that was mostly due to the ice cream. All in all though, it's a fairly good root beer.

My official review is that JJ Lazlo's gets 6 (six) IBCs. I like that it's made locally and that they work with schools. That's kind of a neat little project, and it indoctrinates kids at a young age of the splendor of root beer. So that's something i can get behind. But ultimately, i think i like Sonoran's flavor more. Just by a little bit though. I still have a hard time getting behind the honey flavor. And it's not over powering, but it's still pretty prominent. So since i gave Sonoran 7 IBCs, it only makes sense to give JJ Lazlo's 6 IBCs. That's still a decent rating though, and i say if you get a chance, grab some of this stuff. It's not bad.

Zevia Natural Ginger Root Beer

2010-06-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

Just a brief update, i've made some good strides in obtaining some new root beers to review now that school is out for the summer and i have more time to devote to this important task. I had to order some online, plan to do some light traveling to a couple states to pick some up personally, and even made a few "deals with the devil", if you will. But the good news is that my supply will increase, which ultimately means that you, my gentile readers, will not have to wander through the root beer wasteland without some much needed guidance.

Anyway, Zevia comes from Seattle, WA and from the best i can gather, it started around 2009. Honestly, this root beer (if you can call it that) wasn't really worth doing all that much research on. Feel free to do it on your own if you really care to. Today's featured root beer was found at the local Whole Foods grocery store, which means it's another one of our wonderful "natural" root beers. Which means it's not good. Which means you shouldn't bother with it. Not much reason to keep reading this review now, is there? My bet is that you will anyway.

I picked up a 6-pack of this soda, which is unfortunate because it ran me about $6. Not the cheapest stuff out there. There are several flavors of Zevia distinguished by the color of the can. The label on each is identical (except for the name of the flavor of course). There is a bit drop of something on the label with a couple little leaves dotting the "i" in Zevia. The wavy parallel lines on the background of the label remind me of Max Headroom, which is either totally awesome or completely lame based upon your childhood memories of the TV show. But other than that, i don't really have much of an opinion about the label. It's fine i suppose. Nothing to write home about though.

Zevia's website focuses largely on educating people what stevia is, which is the plant Zevia gets its sweetener from. As a result, it does not contain sugar OR high fructose corn syrup. If you're truly interested in what stevia is, Zevia has a page on thier site dedicated to the topic. Feel free to browse it for yourself, but since i don't plan to ever drink this crap again, i am going to go ahead and not care what stevia is. Basically, Zevia tastes like nothing with an aftertaste of gross. It largely just tastes like soda water. The gross aftertaste i allude to is likely the crushed hopes and dreams of countless hippies in Seattle congregating to exact revenge on the masses. I don't taste root beer, i don't taste ginger; all i taste is dissatisfaction with my purchase.

My official review is that Zevia gets 2 (two) IBCs. Very disappointing, but then again, i kind of expected it being a natural soda and all. All i can say is that outside of going to school and reviewing root beers, i spend most of my time preparing for the zombie apocalypse, and that entails stocking up on quality root beer. Let's just say Zevia won't be in my bunker with 10 inch thick reinforced concrete walls.

Oogave Root Beer

2010-05-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

I got lucky on an errand i was running and stumbled across a new root beer to review. Oogave Root Beer hails from Denver, CO. Although it was created in 2005 by a guy named Esteban Anson, it wasn't bottled and distributed until January of 2009. If you care to read more about the conception and birth of this root beer, you can check out the website. It's not very interesting though (i.e. lack of explosions, saving kittens from burning building, etc.) I was at Whole Foods when i found it, which may give you an inclination as to what kind of root beer this is; the natural kind. I have a brother that lives in Denver now. He moved there from Flagstaff. So basically he just transferred from one hippie haven to another. They have definitely influenced him a lot over the past decade or so. I worry about him.

It comes in a clear glass bottle and the label is a clear sticker with a simple design on it. The name "oogave" is a variation of the word "agave", which is a plant native to the southwest that many of us who live in this region are very familiar with. So the label has a little decal of agave leaves above the oo in oogave, so it looks like a pair of eyes and a spikey haircut. Clever i suppose. Other than that, it's a pretty bland label. All the writing is in white and yellow text, and the rest of the label is just transparent. It's a new root beer in the bottling business though, so maybe the label with mature with time.

Addendum: I was actually just in the Pop Shop today and saw a case of Oogave with different labels. Much more grown up and sophisticated. Well done Esteban. However, the initial ranking remains the same. Sorry stupid.

I'll just remind you all that i am a fan of very very few natural root beers. This one doesn't quite make the cut either. It's not bad tasting and has moderate carbonation, but it doesn't even really taste like root beer. If i were to relate it to another natural root beer, i would say it's very close in taste to Dr. Tima's, which is heavy on the honey flavor. Although honey is not explicitly listed in the ingredients on the oogave label, the flavor does come across fairly strongly. From the story on the website, Esteban looked to use agave nectar as a replacement for processed sugar or high fructose corn syrup. I think the honey flavor may come from the agave nectar. But anyway, it is a healthier soda option for those of you concerned about that. In fact, it is certified organic, kosher, and vegan-approved, all of which make it that much less appealing. Again, the root beer flavor doesn't come across at all, but that's pretty typical of a lot of natural root beers.

My official review is that Oogave gets 3 (three) IBCs. Unless you're a dirty snaggletooth, i don't think you'll like this that much either. But there is still a market for those people out there who really love this kind of natural stuff. I can respect the fact that they don't want to put processed and chemically altered food into their bodies, but where i think they fall short is by lying to themselves and others by telling them products like this actually tastes just as good or better. You all know someone like this. And whether it's organic soda, or ice cream, or tofu, it's your duty to let them know they are simply wrong. Sorry, but it's true. Really though, I don't think you should bother with this root beer if you come across it.

Margo's Bark Root Beer

2010-04-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting at home after a long day of work and school contemplating my root beer future right now. This is the last one in the bullpen, kids. I have no other root beers on deck, and that is making me consider doing something against all my morals and better judgement. I may actually need to seek assistance from my root beer nemesis, which will most likely prove to be a terrible mistake. But i'm getting desperate at this point. To be continued...

On a side note, i am enjoying this root beer with some left over pizza from the renowned Pizzeria Bianco in downtown Phoenix. It's a pretty amazing place. I won't get into the details (you can look at their website for those), but essentially, it was started and ran by one guy who does everything by hand with just a few other workers. He ran the place for years and used authentic recipes with ingredients he grew right there on the property. The food is good and the draw is huge. The doors open at 5:00 PM and a line starts forming literally around 3:00 PM. It's a small place with only a few tables, so you usually have to wait a while, but it's in a neat, quaint part of downtown Phoenix and it's a fun atmosphere and everything. My wife and i waited 2 & 1/2 hours to be seated, but it was a good time. I've been told that Oprah flies to Phoenix just to eat there. And no, i don't mean she's magical. She flies on an airplane just like everyone else.

Anyway, today's featured root beer is Margo's Bark root beer from Los Angeles, CA. The website is well put together, the whole operation looks relatively new. I haven't gotten an official date on when it started, but from all accounts, it seems like this stuff has only been around since about June of last year (2009, for all you time travelers). The story is pretty neat and the drive behind it is compelling too. Oscar, a 7-year-old boy in LA, made homemade root beer for a school science project and it turns out people liked it so much that the family decided to start bottling it. Oscar named his root beer Margo's Bark after the family dog. The dog was adopted after being abandoned, and the proceeds of the root beer sales go to help fund dog shelters. So that's a nice little story. This root beer also makes me think of a really awesome band my wife and i enjoy called Margo and the Nuclear So and So's. Seriously, they are good and put on a fantastic live show. Check them out.

The bottle is your standard 12 oz. glass bottle. The label is dark in color with the name of the root beer written in kid's writing (presumably by Oscar), and there is a picture of Margo on the label. I am not good with dog breeds, so looking at the picture i would have said Margo is most likely a rottweiler. But as it turns out, the website states that Margo is indeed a black lab-pit bull mix. And of course, there is again mention on the label that the proceeds from sales go to dog shelters. One other notable thing about the bottle is that it is one of the few that i have encountered without a twist off cap. I had to break out my complimentary http://www.sodasamuri.com/ bottle opener, which has turned out to be a serious piece of garbage.

As soon as i got the cap off, i was overwhelmed with the scent of rich molasses. And indeed, that's what the root beer's dominant flavor is. But i gotta say, this stuff isn't too bad. It doesn't taste too much like a gingersnap cookie, which was my problem with the last molasses flavored root beer i had. And i gotta give them credit for keeping a good amount of carbonation even after sitting in my fridge for several months now. Still, there isn't anything really knocking my socks off by this stuff. I am assuming the recipe has been refined from it's original 7-year-old inventor's attempts. I don't even know what it is missing or what it would take to take this stuff from good to great. But the fact remains that it can still be improved upon. Not bad though, not bad at all.

My official review is that Margo's Bark gets 6 (six) IBCs. For all you dog lovers out there, i think you could really get behind this stuff. It's good and it goes to a good cause. I am by no means in favor of neglecting animals or anything, but i don't get all crazy about dogs like a lot of people do. I've never been much of a pet person. Nonetheless, i can respect what these guys are doing. So grab a bottle and check this stuff out for yourself. It's decent.

Red Ribbon Root Beer

2010-03-06T20:28:00.001-08:00

i hate to break it to you folks, but i am quickly running out of options. i am always on the lookout for new root beers to review, and i appreciate those of you who have offered suggestions. I will keep doing my best to bring you my reliable and honest opinion since you are desperately in need of it. It might be a bit slow for a while though. i don't have very many prospects on the horizon, as even mail ordering new brews is becoming harder for me. Anyway, enough of that. You came here for info on root beer, so let's get down to it. This root beer is called Red Ribbon Root Beer. It has been around since 1904 and hails from Natrona, PA. The name of the company is even Natrona Bottling. The website history section tells of a small company managed by the owner for several decades. I get the feeling they are struggling in their effort to fight the Coca-Cola and Pepsi companies of the world. But they seem to have pride in their work, and i suppose that's gotta be worth something. I think this needs to be brought up though... this picture is featured on their website, presumably from the days when the company was bought by it's current owner's brother in 1939. I don't know who the two men in the photo are, but all i can say is... it looks a little gay. Now, i don't have any problems with gay people, and to be as publicly open as these two were back then takes guts. Gays didn't exactly get preferential treatment back then. Maybe that's where the company gets all it's pride.

The bottle is simple, and so is the label, but i don't blame 'em. They are a small and presumably struggling company, so they gotta make this stuff on the cheap in order to make a profit. It's a simple clear glass bottle, and the label isn't anything fancy. Just the name of the root beer, a few different font types used, some pictures of root beer mugs, etc. Mind you, it at least has more imagination than Olde Rhode Island Root Beer. But suffice it to say, it covers the basics and that's all that needs to be done. No big deal, really.

The list of ingredients on the label are just a simple as the label itself. The root beer isn't bad. But just as the ingredients suggest, there isn't much to it. This root beer is sweetened with sugar instead of HFCS, and the taste reflects that. But even the root beer flavor itself is kind of weak. It's in there, but it's very subtle. At least this root beer isn't flat like most i have had from a clear glass bottle. So it deserves at least some credit for not falling into too much of the cliche.

My official review is that Red Ribbon gets 5 (five) IBCs. It's not a root beer i'd go out of my way for, but i feel like small companies like this deserve a break. So if you're in an area where this stuff is served and you'd like to give it a shot, i say what the heck. It's not like this stuff is gonna turn you gay, right?

Wait... this won't turn me gay, will it? Cuz i don't think my wife would like that.

Hank's Root Beer

2010-02-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

I am really bad at keeping up on these recently, but i am also a busy boy. However, this is a review that has needed to happen for a long time. The root beer on the docket today is Hank's Gourmet Root Beer, from Philadelphia, PA. Hank's has only been around since 1996, but the company that makes Hank's has been around for over 40 now. I knew a kid named Hank in grade school. He had a flat top. And glasses. And he was kinda over weight.
... Anyway, let's talk root beer.

I like the bottle. It's not typical and has a cool shape to it. I know that's not much of a description, but that's about as good as i can do. The label is cool too. It's kind of a metallic, gold color sticker that looks like an old coin that has been found and slightly polished up. I'd say to just look at the picture, but i realize it's kind of dark and may not do the bottle and label justice very well. But it passes the test as a respectable member of the memorable root beers club (which isn't a real club, but i think you get my point). By the way, i have a Chinese professor right now for one of my classes with a thick accent, and when he says the word "member", it sounds like "man bear". And that, of course, makes me think of Manbearpig. It's very distracting during lectures.

Now, i realize it seems like i have already been talking this thing up a lot, but i don't want to give anyone the impression that this is the greatest root beer in the world. However, it's still a really good root beer. Nothing really sets it apart much from the others though. It is well carbonated and has a solid root beer flavor with some good vanilla undertones. I'm not sure what it is that makes me think this stuff is so good though. Maybe it's the packaging, the solid taste, or the way it makes me think of a chubby, flat topped grade school boy (but not like in a sexual way or anything, cuz he's not sexy at all). Well whatever it is, it's working for me.

My official review is that Hank's gets 7 (seven) IBCs. For me, a 7 is a solid rating, and i have probably had plenty of other root beers just as good as Hank's that didn't get a 7. So what makes the difference? I couldn't tell you. It's just how it has to be i guess. Maybe you can try it and give me your opinion. Perhaps it will sway my decision.

But probably not...

Americana Root Beer

2010-01-21T05:25:00.000-08:00

I had a bit of a bad bout with my computer recently but luckily i have a backup. So it's back to business as usual i suppose. New root beers are becoming harder and harder to come by. However, thanks to a site called Soda Pop Stop (not sure if i have already mentioned and/or linked it), i have several root beers on hand that i am trying to space out somewhat to preserve the long running status of this blog (over one year). This root beer is an old timey American classic, which is why it bears the name Americana. This drink is part of the Orca Beverage Inc. and hails from Mukilteo, WA. Orca also distributes several other brands of soda. Americana also comes in black cherry and honey lime ginger flavor, the later of which sounds like it would be delicious in a salsa with some tacos. Not sure if it translates that well though, but if you find the desire, i urge you to try it and let me know how it is.

The 12 oz. brown glass bottle is draped in a simple but bold label adorned with the American flag and some flagrant font. (Speaking of font, my wife and i rented a documentary called Helvetica, which is about the origin and application of this majestic font. I haven't seen it yet, but i am sure it's fantastic. Check it out today.) Simple colors of red, white, and blue act proudly yet somberly to convey the message that this root beer's patriotism is evident from start to finish. It's not over bearing, but it makes the point clear that this root beer would gladly die for it's country if the cause of freedom were in jeopardy. Noble, i suppose, but in the end, i think it just plays to the sentimentality of old people. But i digress.

Webster.com (one of my favorite websites) defines Americana as, "materials concerning or characteristic of America, its civilization, or its culture; broadly: things typical of Amercia". So to me, if you name your root beer Americana, it had better taste like things prevalent in American culture, like apple pie, baseball, and wearing out your welcome. However, the thing is tastes like most to me is molasses. The bottle does say that Americana is made with pure cane sugar, but i wasn't expecting it to be a thick, dark molasses flavor permeating the experience. It's not unbearable, but i don't particularly care for the taste of molasses. My wife tells me that is tastes like a bad gingerbread cookie, the key ingredient in gingerbread being molasses (i would have thought it would be ginger, but whatever). The taste is fairly sharp and gives me no room to find anything else appealing about the root beer. And frankly, i don't know how molasses flavor is supposed to speak to the sentimentality of American culture, past or present. Of course, i am not very versed on the history of molasses in our country, so if any of you, my loyal readers, care to shed some light on this, i would be a willing student. But basically, i think Americana has missed the mark.

My official review is that Americana gets 4 (four) IBCs. It's not great, and with a name like Americana it's supposed to make me think of a better, simpler time. It doesn't though. It makes me think, "now what am i supposed to do to get this taste out of my mouth?" And i'm not a marketing expert or a research and development guru, but i am pretty sure a root beer wants people to want to drink more of it.

BTW... Someone should tell that to the Journey Root Beer guys, cuz that stuff is awful.

Dorothy's Isle of Pines Root Beer

2009-12-11T12:10:00.000-08:00

Do you know the Root Beer Lady? Well if not, this is your chance to get acquainted. Dorothy's Isle of Pines Root Beer comes from Ely, MN. I stumbled upon this website while researching new root beers to review and ordered a 6 pack of the root beer to be mailed to my house. You can look over the website if you'd like to learn more about Dorothy Molter and her life living in a remote part of Northern Minnesota for the better part of a century. I'll just fill you in on the basics: a nurse by training, she was fond of making root beer for traveling tourists and campers/adventurers. She became such an attraction that she was dubbed "the Root Beer Lady", and now years after her passing her story, estate, and legacy have been turned into a museum and peddled to the masses via this website. You can get an illustrated story book about Dorothy, a video while she was still alive in her later years, her famous root beer, t-shirts, hats, magnets, root beer soap, and even root beer earrings. Honestly, the only thing that interested me was the root beer (one-track mind), but i am sure she was a lovely lady. Feel free to read more about her if you'd like though.

The bottles are typical, and the label is loaded with iconic imagery celebrating the life of Dorothy. Her face is plastered on the front and the rest of it is made to look back-woodsy and rugged-frontiery. The background of the label appears to be aspen bark, there is a picture of her cabin around the neck, and the label contains lots of info leading you back to the site that i linked. I had to order a 6 pack because that's the smallest units they sell, and with shipping it ended up being around $25. That's not cheap, but i am finding that most orders i put in for mail order root beer run about that much. I don't like spending that much, but i do it for you, my loyal readers. You're continued support is thanks enough, unless you feel like you want to send me some money to compensate. If so, let me know.

Though i give her props for being a root beer expert for several years, the current recipe that is sold via the website is simply nothing special. It reminds of some natural, organic root beers i have reviewed, although i don't think it is. I am sure it's mass produced now with few of the original processes still in place. It's not bad, but i don't really like it that much. I can't put my finger on it, but it tastes like a root beer i have tried before. But basically, it tastes kind of watered down, a touch too sweet, and lacking in carbonation. Plus, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth afterward. This one doesn't really jump out and grab me at all. Like Dorothy herself, this seems weak and frail to me.

My official review is that Dorothy's Isle of Pine's Root Beer gets 4 (four) IBCs. My wife isn't a fan at all, which means i have 5 more bottles to drink by myself, and to be honest, i don't think i like it that much either. I might give them away as Christmas gifts or just bring them in to work and leave them in the lunch room like i did with the other hippie natural root beers i didn't want to finish drinking. So in short, if you find yourself in the area where she lived and want to check out her old stomping grounds, then grab a root beer. Otherwise, save your money.

Joe's BBQ Home Made Root Beer

2009-12-11T11:44:00.000-08:00

I'm smack in the middle of finals right now, and it has not been kind to me. This semester has worn me out, and on top of it all i currently have a cold. It's miserable, but you're not here to listen to me whine, you're here for some root beer news. Well that's just what i have for you today. I have lived here in the Mesa/Gilbert/Phoenix area for a good portion of my life and it never occurred to me to review the home made root beer at Joe's Real BBQ in Gilbert until i was there last night for a birthday gathering of a friend of mine (happy birthday Robbie). They have great food at reasonable prices, but more importantly, they have home made root beer. Joe's has been open since 1998, and although it doesn't say it on their site expressly, i am going go ahead and say they have been making their own root beer since their inception. That's the kind of creative power i reserve for my reviews; making up facts. It's probably true anyway, so deal with it. In addition to the root beer beverage, they also tote a root beer cake. My wife was eager to try it, but we were fairly disappointed when we discovered that it's just chocolate cake and doesn't taste like root beer at all. However, it did spark some ideas on making a genuine, delicious root beer cake that myself and a few associates of mine may need to perfect and flood the market with.

The picture i have depicting the soda is of a Joe's BBQ paper cup. Not that exciting i know, but it's the best i can do since i don't think they bottle and/or ship it anywhere. So in order to try it you must go down to the establishment itself. That shouldn't be a cause of distress though. As i mentioned before, the food is very good. Anyway, there is a cartoony guy on the orange cup who i will assume is Joe himself. The background is a road map of the great state of Arizona, or as it's known to anyone who lives here, God's country.

Home made root beer doesn't hold much appeal for me, and as much as i like Joe's food, his root beer leaves something to be desired. There is plenty of carbonation, so that's not the problem, but the flavor is just not that great. You know those bottle caps candies? The ones that taste like different sodas, like cola, cherry, etc.? Well this root beer basically tastes just like the root beer flavored bottle cap. The weird thing is that i like the root beer flavored bottle cap candy, but it doesn't translate well into an actual beverage. The flavor is very sharp for some reason and ultimately kind of a let down. It's not terrible by any means, but i think Joe should make some revisions to the recipe and come back with something a little more palatable.

My official review is that Joe's Real BBQ gets 5 (five) IBCs. That's being generous too. I like Joe's, so i don't want to slam his root beer, but it's really not that great. It's unfortunate. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it if you go down there. The rest of the dining experience more than makes up for the little bit that the root beer lacks. Plus, if you go on your birthday, you're meal is free, and that right there is some sweet action.

Big Fizz Root Beer

2009-11-29T21:26:00.000-08:00

Hello all you out there in root beer internet land! I have another root beer to review for you today. This one i have known about for some time now and just recently got a hold of. It's called Big Fizz Root Beer. I found it on the Rite Aid website while looking for other root beers. Rite Aid is comparable to a Walgreens or CVS store. Unfortunately there are no Rite Aids in Arizona, the closest store being in California. Well as it turns out, my wife and i made a little trip with her extended family back in October to visit my wife's favorite place, or as i like to call it, "the gropiest place on Earth" on account of all the nefarious characters regularly groping your children there. Personally, i hate that place. It's the biggest exploitation of children since child labor. But once in a while i have to endure the torture of spending way to much money to be somewhere i absolutely hate in order to appease my wife's unhealthy Peter Pan fetish/obsession. SOOO... long story short, while we were in California we made a trip to the local Rite Aid and found a bottle of Big Fizz so i could review it. I am not sure if Big Fizz distributes exclusively through Rite Aid, but that's the impression that i get from the website. This mass marketed soda line comes in several flavors.

I picked up a 2 liter bottle of their root beer, and i am not sure if there is any other sizes or variations on packaging available. The bottle is a typical 2 liter plastic bottle. The label is very plain, lots of writing and text, with a limited color scheme. It's brown and white, with a little bit of yellow splashed in there for "flare". I don't know. Companies like this just want to throw something out there to get a small piece of the big pie, so the label doesn't have to be flashy or memorable. It just has to convey the message, which i suppose this one does just fine. There are some swirly designs in the background and carbonated bubbles coming off the word "Fizz", i guess to accentuate that this stuff if fizzy.

At least the root beer lives up to its name. It is indeed very fizzy. There is a lot of carbonation in this drink, which is fine by me. It's not enough to kill you or anything, but they don't hold back on it. Other than that, this root beer is completely forgettable. There is nothing very appealing about it. The root beer flavor is very watered down, which is too back because it's not a bad flavor. It also has a good aroma, but the taste fades so fast that you forget what it even tastes like right after you drink it. Even for the store brands, this one doesn't really make a mark, and being on the low end of the store brands is a sad place to be. It's not completely awful and is basically everything i expected it to be, but that still makes it a fundamentally bad root beer.

My official review is that Big Fizz Root Beer gets 3 (three) IBCs. I would say it's a high 3 because i don't detest this stuff, but it is not good enough to earn a low 4, so i have to mark this one down as sub-par. I don't know how widely spread out Rite Aids are across our great nation, but chances are that unless you're in some podunk, one-hat town there are other options out there for you as far as root beer is concerned. And in those cases, i suggest you look somewhere else for a decent root beer.

Napa Valley Root Beer

2009-11-09T21:31:00.001-08:00

To start this review, i am obligated to give a "shout out" to my coworker Heather. Heather is a faithful reader and ardent follower of my work, and she was nice enough to lend a hand in finding a new root beer for me to review. She found this root beer at the local Big Lots for only $2 for a 4-pack. Quite a deal if you ask me. Anyway, she said she'd be happy to get me a pack to further my cause. So kudos to you Heather. Thanks for the helping hand, and let this be a lesson to the rest of you; when you help me you're really only helping yourself. Anyway, Napa Valley Soda Co. has been around since 1872, which puts it in the grandfather realm as far as root beers are concerned. Nappy Valley is of course in California and is famously known as wine country, but this soda is now distributed by Wet Planet, which has its headquarters in Rochester, NY. There are several fruity flavors, but it seems like they showcase the root beer (which any good soda company with good business sense should do).

This root beer comes in 12 oz. clear glass bottle. It's not necessarily a typical bottle though, it's a little different shaped. Kind of old fashionedy. Anyway, the sticker label is very colorful, complete with a rainbow hot air balloon and the flowery, hippie love child font (which i am not sure Microsoft is actually responsible for) spells out the name of the soda company over a spiraling galaxy like swirl. Probably influenced by the San Francisco hippy movement of the mid to late 1960's. I don't really care for the label, but in this case, i don't think that's what's most important.

I have long held that root beer in clear glass bottles is usually disappointing. Well up until now, every root beer in a clear glass bottle has backed that theory up. This root beer however flies in the face of all the presumptions i had about this. For starters, this root beer has a good amount of carbonation, something which is not common in clear glass bottle root beers. Most has little to no carbonation, but Napa Valley comes stocked with just the right amount. Second, the flavor is full and satisfying, while most other clear glass bottle root beers seem watered down and bland. The distinct full bodied root beer flavor and slight carmel undertones really impressed me. Granted, it's nothing earth shattering or completely new, but all that aside, it is a very refreshing and surprisingly good root beer. Both my wife and i thoroughly enjoyed it, and at $2 for a 4-pack, there's really no excuse why this stuff shouldn't get the approval of everyone else also.

My official review is that Napa Valley Root Beer gets 8 (eight) IBCs. This is a solid root beer, one i think has universal appeal. It's good, inexpensive, and refreshing. I am pleased with it, and i want to say thanks again to my coworker Heather for picking this one up for me. I'm adding it to my regulars list. I am not sure if Big Lots are located all across this great nation, but if you find yourself near one, you should stop in and pick up some of this stuff.

Journey Desert Sage Root Beer

2009-11-03T21:36:00.000-08:00

Before i dive into this review (which is bound to be short), i just want to toot my own horn and say that i have officially been professionally reviewing root beers for one year now. Looking back, it's amazing and awe inspiring to see how many lives i've blessed with this important work i do. I appreciate all of the praise you, my loyal readers, shower upon me on a regular basis. So here's to another great year of root beer reviewing. Cheers!

So anyway, for the first review of my second official year, i'm pleased to announce that i tracked down one of the other two root beers created by the Journey soft drinks company. For a rundown on Journey, please see my Journey John Barleycorn post as it will save everyone time. The basics are that the company claims to make sodas from the best ingredients available. But from my review of John Barleycorn, the company has a lot more work to do. Even some of you, my faithful readers, put in some of your comments affirming my astute observation of a truly awful root beer (although, i will concede that one with a far inferior ability to mine could easily come to the same conclusion). Well i am sorry to say that this root beer is in the same wheelhouse.

The label on the 12 oz. bottle is basically just like that of John Barleycorn with a different color scheme. There is a soft green background to coincide with the Desert Sage name. I don't know if it's just a clever name or if they actually put Desert Sage in the drink, but if so i have something to say to the Journey company... STOP IT! This stuff is just as bad as John Barleycorn. It is completely flat, it doesn't taste like root beer at all, and it leaves a nasty taste in your mouth afterward. It tastes extremely similar to Route 66, almost like a rotten fruit flavor. It's awful. Don't waste your time with this company (again).

My official review is that Journey Desert Sage gets 1 (one) IBC. I don't know who in their right mind would think this company makes quality root beers. I haven't tried any of their other sodas, but i think any soda company worth its salt can be judged entirely from its root beer, and this company happens to have three root beers. So far, Journey has two strikes. That's enough for me to never want anything to do with them again, but i will continue my quest to track down the final Journey root beer. Don't hold your breath though.

Pearson Bros. Root Beer

2009-10-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

This is another one of the root beers i have recently ordered online. Before i get into the root beer, i want to give you the run down of Soda Samurai, the site i ordered this root beer from. I like the site because they have a decent root beer selection (as well as many other kinds of sodas), i can order the root beers individually instead of in packs or cases, the shipping isn't outrageous, and they even sent me this little bottle opener key chain, which will come in handy for those pesky non-twist tops. So kudos to you Soda Samurai. Check them out if you get a chance. They are decent.

Anyway, Pearson Bros. root beer is made in San Francisco, CA, and the reason i know that is because it says so on the bottle. Other than that, i found it hard to find much info about Pearson Bros. However, I did a bit of digging and investigative journalists everywhere should be proud of me for finding this website that quotes the creaters of Pearson Bros. Root Beer, Matt and Eric Pearson (and yes, they are actually brothers). This article in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper tells that the root beer has been around since 1996 and can be found mostly in the Bay Area. Aside from this, i can't find much else on Pearson Bros. But I guess there are a lot of famous Peasons out there, including the distrubutors of some well known but unappealing candy, and even a statistical genius of sorts. I actually knew some Pearsons growing up in Northern Arizona, and they seemed pretty successful as well. Must be something in the name. I guess it only makes statistical sense that the probability of a Pearson getting into the root beer business is much higher than a person with any other surname. Don't believe me? Take a look at this. I'm pretty sure it proves my point.

The bottle is a 12 oz. clear glass bottle and the label is very simple, but it stands out. Red really catches the eye, or at least my eye, which is what is important. It has a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge on it and big text of the name of the root beer, but not much else. It's very plain, but i like it. And unfortunately, that may be the only thing i like about it. Let's just start off by saying i am not sure what it is, but i have a prejudice against root beers in clear glass bottles. There are a few i have liked, but it's rare.

So what's wrong with Pearson Bros.? Let's start with the color. The clear glass bottles give away the fact that the color of the root beer isn't very rich or deep. It's very light brown in color and transparent enough for me to see right through it. Again, this is usually an indication to me that i am not going to like the root beer. I have reviewed enough of them to make this correlation. So if the color is off, the taste isn't going to be there either. This stuff is very bland. It has enough carbonation, but just barely. And the flavor is very watery and sugary. It doesn't linger and doesn't make an impression, much like many of the other light colored, clear glass bottle root beers (I'm looking at you Olde Brooklyn). But while it's nothing to write home about, it's not completely awful either. There just isn't anything about it that would make me want to travel to the Bay Area for more.

My official review is that Pearson Bros. gets 4 (four) IBCs. I've had worse, but i've also had much, much better. It doesn't stand out from many of the other root beers and seems like just another label with not much going on inside. So for those of you in the Bay Area who are looking for some good root beer, you will probably need to look else where. But to be completely honest, you're probably Chinese and don't drink root beer anyway. Hey, according to Pearson, it's a statistical fact.

Goose Island Root Beer

2009-10-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

Hello my faithful readers. I apologize again for the length between my reviews, but it is getting harder to find root beers to review in my area, so i have to branch out. As a result, this is a very special review for two reasons. One, this is the root beer i was unable to try in Chicago due to it being out of stock in the grocery store. Two, this is one of the root beers i have ordered online in my first round of mail order root beering. I finally turned to ordering new root beers online and having them shipped to me here in Phoenix, and this isn't ideal for me because it's expensive and i usually have to order at least a six pack (some sites require i order a whole case). The site i ordered this root beer from is called Straub's. They do offer some samplers, but regardless of what you order, it has to at least be a six pack, and shipping isn't the cheapest. But i gotta do what i gotta do, and this is what the next phase of my root beer reviewing requires of me. So anyway, let's get to it, shall we?

Goose Island Root Beer is native to Chicago. The Goose Island Brewpub first opened it's doors in 1988 and focuses on brewing beers and hand crafted sodas. In addition to root beer, Goose Island makes 4 other flavors of soda. There are two locations where Goose Island now maintains brewpubs, both of which act as a restaurant where visitors can go and grab a bite to eat with their custom made brew of choice. From the website, they seem like pretty decent places to go for an evening meal. Maybe i'll have to check it out if my wife and i decide to get back to Chicago any time soon.

The bottle is a dark brown glass, 12 oz. bottle with a stick on label. I like the design on the bottle, and it's apparently pretty new. I was looking at other reviewers and seeing what one in particular said about Goose Island (which was a sham of a review if you ask a professional like me), and the old label is kinda corny and less desirable. This new label is simple, bold, clean, and neo-classic. I dig it. It's very straight forward and doesn't waste time. Let that be a lesson to the rest of you unreviewed root beers out there. Don't waste my time!

This root beer is made with 100% cane sugar. I am not one that usually gets hung up on this aspect of root beer anatomy, but i know there are a lot of people out there who do. So with that i will say that this is probably the best of the cane sugar root beers i have had. This stuff is really good. It reminds me a little of Stewart's, with just a tiny touch of carmel, good carbonation, and a great, smooth root beer flavor throughout. This stuff definitely delivers. Another notable cane sugar root beers is AJ Steven's, but there is something about it that really kinda turns me off to cane sugar. It's not bad, it's just... different. Like drinking the milk at the end of a bowl of Frosted Flakes. Kinda sludgy; i don't recommend it. But Goose Island does a great job of tasting like a great root beer should taste. In the end, it has a winning recipe. Maybe not on level with Iron Horse, but definitely up there with the Saranac crowd.

My official review is that Goose Island gets 8 (eight) IBCs. It's a good root beer, and one that i think Chicago should run with. Berghoff kinda steals the claim that it's Chicago's favorite, but time and time again i am not that impressed with it. But i think Goose Island has the right taste. It's decent, and unfortunately the only way i found of getting it was to go online. But if you're willing to go to those lengths for a good hand crafted root beer, this one is worth the shipping.

Don't be alarmed...

2009-10-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is just a quick little update that i thought was kinda funny. I was going through some old postings and just double checking links and things to update, and when i clicked on one of the reviews, i came up with this warning.

Just so you know, i am NOT trying to trick you into giving me your personal information. Rest assured, i am here to share my reliable root beer knowledge with you kind and gentle folks. More reviews are on the way, i promise. However, from now on i will require your social security numbers and bank accounts in order to access my blog. It's protocol. I'm sure you understand.

Judge Wapner Root Beer

2009-09-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

I'll tell ya... every once in a while one of these things falls in your lap that just reinvents the whole game. I'll just preface this by saying I'm a fan of the Chuck Norris propaganda that has been floating around over the past few years, although it's a little played out by now. But i think this is the next man to break onto the scene of pseudo-celebrity turned pop culture icon: Judge Wapner. That's right, i said Wapner. For those of you who don't know who this mountain of a man is/was, he was the presiding star of a popular TV court room show for real life small claims trials. The People's Court ran throughout the entire decade of the 1980's and into the early 90's. This man is a pioneer. Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown had better be worshiping this guy's image every night before bed because they wouldn't even have a career without him. I've even heard that Wapner was so influential that even Dustin Hoffman would rearrange his whole schedule to make sure he watched the show. He would allegedly freak out if he couldn't watch it. He man... gotta watch Wapner... Although i could go on and on introducing this man who has made my childhood life seem just and fair, seeking justice for the wrongs of the small claims court universe, but i'll let the root beer do the rest of the talking. Judge Wapner Root Beer comes to us from Blue Dog Beverages. This root beer has been around since the dawn of time and has been waiting for the right person to come along to represent it fairly in a court of law. It appears to be more than just coincidence. Spoiler alert!: before i even tried this, i knew it would at least get 7 IBCs.

The only way to truly represent this 12 oz. glass bottle justly is to prominently display a gloriously terrifying portrait of the man who has struck so much fear into small claims evil-doers hearts. Judge Wapner's portrait carries so much credibility that you don't even need to write anything on the label. But what the heck, let's do it anyway. Aside from the name of the root beer, the judge declares with a booming voice, "I sentence you to drink my root beer!" That has to be the best punishment anyone could ever get. This label is so incredible that Wapner can use it as an official form of identification, even for airport security purposes. And if you ever get pulled over, be sure you have one of these babies riding shotgun so the cops know you can't be intimidated when the law is on your side.

But probably the best part of this whole charade is that this is actually a pretty good root beer. It tastes similar to Jack Black's Dead Red Root Beer, but it's much more subtle on the flavor and has more carbonation for more of a bite. He probably wanted it to be that way so you can understand how it feels when he throws the book at you. Whether you're drinking his root beer or being sued by your neighbor, he wants you to understand what a privilege it is to have him presiding over your experience.

My official review is that Judge Wapner gets 8 (eight) IBCs. You can't run away from the law just like you can't run away from great taste. That's why i wouldn't dare give this thing any less of a rating. But in all seriousness, it's a good root beer, similar to many others, but the persona and the bite it packs pushes it above the rest. So go drink this root beer and then report back to your parole officer!

River City Root Beer

2009-09-06T12:48:00.001-07:00

Well, it looks like the Pop Shop pulled through for me again and got a new root beer for me to try. I am running low on options around the valley here and i have gotten several leads from people that i will probably need to go online for, but this is one i had not yet heard of. So a big thank you goes out to the Pop Shop for its continued service of bringing me new root beers. If you haven't gone to the Pop Shop yet, you should go. They are good people, even though they are a bunch of hippies. Anyway, let me get to the good stuff. River City Root Beer is produced by Blue Dog Beverages out of Sacramento, CA. It turns out a lot of sodas are produced by Blue Dog, including one of my favorite non-root beer sodas, Leninade (also available at the Pop Shop). If you haven't had one yet, go get one. They are awesome. But anyway, back to River City...

The dark brown 12 oz. bottle has a fairly intricate, yet plain label on it. The name of the root beer is written in an almost calligraphy style font that it reminiscent of the days of Mark Twain's stories of river boat adventures. In fact, there is a picture of a river boat depicted on the label. River City beacons you to hearken back to a simpler time and enjoy a root beer the way it was meant to be enjoyed. A nice sentiment and all of that, but i think i, like most people, can't really relate since Mark Twain passed away in 1910. I'm not sure my grandma was even born at that time. So maybe the aim of River City should be to have me hearken back to a simpler time when Back to the Future was still in the movie theaters and Legos were merely simple geometric shapes. That might be a little more my time frame.

River City isn't a bad root beer, but i think my biggest complaint is that it's completely flat. No carbonation. That seems to be a growing epidemic in root beers, and i don't like it. I'm not looking to have you kill me with carbonation, but i like a good amount of it. River City has none. Other than that, it has a good root beer flavor, a hint of carmel, and maybe just a touch of wintergreen. It's a good flavor, but the lack of carbonation kills it for me. If this is their idea of having me remember the yesteryears of the mid to late 1800's, then they can keep it.

My official review is that River City gets 6 (six) IBCs. That rating could feasibly go higher had the soda contained at least a fair degree of carbonation. Alas, the marketing team for River City has yet to contact me and ask my extremely valuable opinion. It's up to you, my loyal readers, to clamor for improvement from this root beer on the edge of excellence. If anyone of you knows anyone in touch with this or any of these root beer companies, have them check out this blog for the opinion of the masses. I'd be happy to offer them some tips on how to make their root beers spectacular (for a fee). In fact, i'll do one now just to demonstrate my willingness to help...

Henry Weinhard's... stop making root beer. You're welcome.

Super Chill Root Beer

2009-08-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

Ugh... i've been in Chicago for the weekend for a wedding (congrats Tyler and Lauren) and just got back this morning. We caught an early flight and i don't sleep well on airplanes, so i am cranky and moody right now. My lovely wife says i am acting like i am menstruating, but i assure you that isn't possible seeing that i am all man. Anyway, i made it a point to go to a grocery store to find some local root beers. I was lucky in that i found one that i have not already reviewed, but unlucky in that it was out of stock. But now that i know it's out there, i am making preparations to obtain a sample. On the up side, the trip to the store wasn't a complete waste because i found this "gem" (p.s. quotation marks in this case suggest that i am being sarcastic). It's the store brand (i assume) for a grocery chain called Jewel Osco, or if you had the same first impression as me, a strung out hippie folk singer with crooked teeth working in a pharmacy. It's actually a pretty nice and clean store though, and there are several of them in the downtown Chicago area (which i was surprised to find to be a very clean and fun city). So just like any chain grocer, this store puts out its own store brand version of several flavors of soda. That being the case, i didn't have very high expectations going in.

I picked this stuff up in a 2 liter bottle, although it is also available in cans. The label has a modern advertising style to it, silver and brown colors with a kind of space age/computerized font. Personally, i think the name needs some work. Just sounds sloppy and dumb, but these guys are just out to make money by low balling the root beer market, not wow and impress anyone. Well guess what... mission accomplished.

This stuff is less than average in every way possible. Like i said, i don't know what i was expecting, because it's not meant to be a big seller. But to better paint the picture for you, i was drinking this stuff from a Styrofoam cup in line at the airport while i was waiting to go through the security checkpoint since i couldn't take it on the plane thanks to the new regulations for liquids and gels in quantities greater than 3 oz. It was warm, and i got down about a half a liter before i had to throw the whole thing away and make my way through the security checkpoint. These are not my ideal reviewing conditions, but sometimes i just gotta make do and suffer for my craft. It's hard to be gifted. Anyway, i will say that Super Chill has a very nice aroma, almost like that of A&W, so i was hoping for the best. But other than that, it was pretty disappointing. The standard root beer flavoring was fairly sweet and sugary and it came on quite strong and faded quickly. In the end, i was just chugging carbonated sugar in an airport security line.

My official review is that Super Chill gets 3 (three) IBCs. To be completely fair, i didn't really do due diligence in my research efforts for this root beer. I picked it up, barely drank it, and discarded it so i didn't miss my flight. But to be completely honest, i don't feel that i need to. Had it been good, i would have put more effort into it. But when you get to bed at 12:30 AM and have to wake up at 3:00 in order to catch a flight at 5:00, you do what you can to make it all work. In this case, a bad root beer made my job easy. So thanks Super Chill, i guess. Anyway, Chicago is a lovely city. If you end up visiting, go see the big silver bean and eat at Lou Malanati's, but don't bother hitting up the local Jewel Osco for some Super Chill.

Brick Oven Old Fashioned Root Beer

2009-08-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

Throughout my years as a root beer expert, i have made many associations around the country, and inevitably when i travel to Utah i am asked if i have reviewed the root beer made at and by the Brick Oven Pizza Restaurant in Provo. This restaurant has been part of Provo for the better part of the last century, or to be specific, since 1956. Back then it was known as Heaps of Pizza, but although the food is good, a "heap" of anything doesn't sound very delicious. Good call on the name change. The restaurant has a root beer factory in the basement where they have brewed their own root beer since the restaurant opened. Dinner guests can order it in a frosted mug, and according to the website, it is served free after 5:00 PM on Mondays with the purchase of a pizza. It has quite a reputation around the Utah Valley and people seem to really appreciate it up there. Plus, it is right next to the BYU campus, and the BYU mascot is named Cosmo the Cougar. It's fate that i review this root beer. So i made it a point to go back to the Brick Oven specifically to review the root beer when i last made a trip up to Utah. Unfortunately, i did not go on a Monday night, and when i went they weren't serving any from the tap in a frosty mug. Strike one. However, I was able to secure a couple of these 2 liter bottles.

This festive 2 liter bottle carries the restaurant logo and some basic information about the history of the place. It's eye catching and tasteful i suppose, but i felt like i didn't get the real experience of the root beer. I think anyone in their right mind would prefer the frosty mug to the 2 liter bottle shown here. But even with that in mind i tried not to hold it against the restaurant. Maybe it's so popular that they just simply ran out of root beer? Or maybe the factory workers had the day off and weren't brewing any root beer today? Who knows, but the real disappointment of the bottle was when i opened it. No carbonation escaping the now broken seal, no fizzy bubbles rising to the top. This root beer was flat. Strike two.

My fellow restaurant patrons and I poured the root beer over some ice (the fact that it was warm was not weighed against the root beer, it was merely circumstance) and began to taste this highly praised, highly anticipated root beer. The general consensus? Mediocre at best. I've already mentioned that it was flat (which the second bottle turned out to be as well), but other than that there was no wow, no kick, no spark of creativity in the flavor that would make me rave and rant and perpetuate the sterling reputation this thing already carries. To sum up the experience, i drank a less than average root beer. Strike three. I realize i'm being a bit harsh, and maybe i shouldn't be, but this stuff didn't live up to what everyone said about it. It simply tastes like root beer extract and sugar. It's not terrible, and aside from being completely flat, i didn't want to spit it out. But i also wasn't bowled over by it, and there are lots of other better choices, even in Utah Valley.

My official review is that Brick Oven Root Beer gets 4 (four) IBCs. The food at the restaurant was quite good and moderately priced, but the root beer doesn't live up to the hype. It's a shame too. I really wanted to like it. I even made a root beer float with it later when i got home (which you can order off the menu at the restaurant) and it was still unimpressive. [I hope that helps you Shasta.] So if you find yourself up in the Provo area, do yourself a favor and make the trip up to Hires Big H in Salt Lake. You can get a frosty mug of Hires with your meal, and i promise you that won't disappoint.

Sonoran Root Beer

2009-07-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

Wow... July has been a whirlwind, and all i can really say is that i know i have been missed and i am sorry for delaying my research notes for all of you. But i have a special treat for you today. Sonoran Root Beer is brewed right here in good ol' Phoenix, AZ (specifically, in Scottsdale) at the Pinnacle Peak Patio Steakhouse. I was tipped off by a lady i work with named Merlyn. Suffice it to say, she's awesome. The brewery makes several types of unique beers for the restaurant as well as Sonoran Root Beer. The brewery used to also make another kind of root beer called Watt's root beer which is no longer in production. However, i actually talked to Zach, one of the brewmasters at Sonoran (cuz that's the kind of pull i have in the local root beer circles), and he told me that he just recently started rebottling Sonoran and that once he gets this thing going again that he has ideas for lots of other root beer recipes he wants to try out. Nice dude. I only talked to him on the phone, but after talking to him and having never seen him in real life, i'd have to say he probably looks strikingly similar to this. Or this. Or maybe this. Anyway, Sonoran can now be purchased at the Pop Shop as well as from the restaurant where the brewery is located.

Sonoran comes in 22 oz. brown glass bottles, so it's a little bit larger serving than you might be used to. The label feature's a cool, kickin' it cactus with sunglasses and a big mug of root beer. Living in the desert, you get your fair share of exposure to cactus of all temperaments, from happy, to angry, to paranoid. You just gotta roll with it really. But anyway, other than that, the label is quite simple. It uses a lot of bright colors and has the Sonoran Brewing Company brand proudly displayed, so there's really no mistaking it. The big bottle was nice so i could share with my wife, although i don't think she appreciated the root beer much since she was sick at the time. All she kept saying was, "i can't taste anything", at which point she was promptly cut off. So luckily i had plenty left over for the review.

The ingredients listed on the label show that this root beer is quite simple. It tastes like root beer, which is a good thing for a root beer to taste like, and has a blend of other flavors in it. The root beer is made with sonoran desert honey, vanilla, and artificial flavors, but in the end it all just tastes like smarties to me. There was another root beer i reviewed in my what is now ENORMOUS collection of documented root beer explorations, but i can't quite pinpoint which one it is. But the bottom line is that i liked it. It's quite sweet, but still very good. The root beer taste it starts with is kind of overshadowed by the sweet, candy aftertaste, but i didn't find it overpowering or unlikeable.

My official review is that Sonoran Root Beer gets 7 (seven) IBCs. It's a good root beer. I dig the 22 oz. bottles and i am excited to see if Zach follows through with some more concoctions for me to review/promote for him for free. I'm just hoping that once he makes it big, i'll be compensated on the back end. But do yourself a favor and swing by the Pop Shop and grab a bottle. It's decent stuff.

Frostie Vanilla Root Beer

2009-06-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

I'm probably going to keep this post short. They have been running long recently, which i apologize for, and i am currently in summer school and inundated with homework at the moment. Besides, this is basically an extension of the previous review i did on Frostie Root Beer. Frostie has been around since about 1939 and is based in Temple, TX. The regular root beer is not too bad, but nothing particularly exciting. Most of what i have read about Frostie is that it isn't the same as it was back in the day. But anyway, they made another flavor of root beer which they've named Frostie Vanilla Root Beer, so obviously i had to try it.

The same Frostie label/bottle is used for the vanilla root beer, the only difference being the tan and creme colored back ground and the replacement of the mug of root beer with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and a root beer float/sundae. Otherwise, we're dealing with the same cup of tea here (not that it contains tea; I'm not gonna fall for that again).

The name and color of this soda are a bit misleading, mainly because it should be cream colored and called cream soda. That's what this stuff is, Frostie Cream Soda. Now before we run into a big fiasco and start pointing the finger and assaulting my integrity (see last post on A&W Float for details), let me just say that 1) i am including this in my reviews because i can. So deal with it. And 2) there is nothing short of tasting this soda that would make me believe it was a cream soda. I mean, sure, i could read other reviews about it to see what other reviewers think, but starting this blog was based entirely on the fact that these other self appointed experts have no idea what they are talking about. Hence, i cannot trust them, and neither can you for that matter. So with that, i will just say, it's a good tasting cream soda. Lots of vanilla flavor and decent carbonation (which is important to me). It reminds me a lot of IBC Cream Soda, which is good and which i like, but it's not as good as IBC Root Beer. In fact, nothing is. Cream sodas are fine, but they lack the fascinating complexity of root beer, which is yet another reason i don't care to review them (on purpose).

My official review is that Frostie Vanilla Root Beer gets 5 (five) IBCs. It's not bad for not being a real root beer. I don't begrudge it at all, i just wish it wasn't afraid to say what it really is. There's nothing wrong with being a cream soda. I just don't want one of my daughters to date one. Know your place cream soda. That's all i'm saying.

A&W Float

2009-06-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

This one is not hard to find. I picked it up at the Pop Shop because i only had to buy one of them, but these are sold at a lot of the grocery stores in 4 or 6-packs (not sure which). The A&W Float is a drink that is part of a new line that is coming out of "float flavors". Only two flavors currently exists, but from the looks of the site, more should be soon to follow. The idea is that these flavors are combined with ice cream into an old timey float that you can enjoy on the go. Check out the site for info on the Sunkist Float, which i think would be good because it's like an orange creamsicle, the most sensual of frozen ice cream treats (in my opinion, which is the right opinion). I have seen this... for the lack of a better term, "root beer product" for a while now, but have been hesitant to review it. I am trying to maintain a site dedicated to reviewing only root beers, although i have already reviewed several i don't know if i would classify as root beer. It's interesting though, the timing of this post, because i was just about to explain how i don't review anything other than root beers when i got a request from my extremely huge fan-base to review a sarsaparilla. First of all, i don't usually interact with my fan-base. I prefer to be the all knowing, unseen genius in your eyes who chooses to disassociate myself from all of you because i am so much better than you (no offense, but it's true). So while i do appreciate comments and requests of this nature that show your loyalty, please don't expect responses to them. After all, i'm a busy guy. But as i said, that is interesting that this request should come at this time because i was just about to explain with this post how i went back and forth with this product for several months because i didn't know if it was technically a root beer. I finally decided to let it slide through because these decisions are at my discretion, and i like to treat my root beers like i am a bouncer at a club. If you're pretty enough or you slip me a few bucks under the table, i might just let you join the party. But on that note, i'm just gonna lay it down for all of you so you can know what to expect. I review root beers. Although they are close in nature, i do not review sarsaparillas, cream sodas, or diet root beers. I just want to keep the integrity of the blog, and anything that makes it onto this site has been highly scrutinized by me and found worthy to be reviewed, because to be completely honest, i don't get paid to do this (yet). I just don't want my amazing talent and fantastic discerning powers to go to waste is all. So i'm sorry, but i only do root beers. Does that make me a bad person? I mean, it's not like i blew up Megaton City or anything, and it's not that i don't like sarsaparillas and cream sodas, because i do. I just don't review them is all. I would direct anyone who's interested in sarsaparillas or creme sodas, or even diet root beers, to the Pop Shop. They have a very large selection.

This is kind of a funky bottle. It has a curvy and sensual bottle shape ("stop saying sensual"). The difference in shape only makes it an 11.5 oz. bottle instead of the typical 12 oz. The label is very fancy and colorful. I think they are trying for the old 50's style writing and advertising to give it an old fountain shop look. Lots of browns and tans, cream colors, etc. The A&W label is prominently displayed on what appears to be a sign you would see outside an old diner on the side of the road. This label definitely catches the eye, and i am sure most of you have seen this in grocery stores before because it almost jumps out at you.

I'll be honest... i don't really like this stuff. It's not bad, but it doesn't really taste like root beer at all. All i can taste is a pina colada. Weird, i know. And it's sweet. In fact, it's too sweet. Plus it is completely uncarbonated. It's almost like drinking a pina colada Sobe. There is a lot of text on the bottle, mostly the nutritional facts. There is a lot that goes into this thing, and it's not surprising that it only has a shelf life of 6 months. In other words, this is basically a step away from the "all natural" selection of root beers i just reviewed. Not sure what is in it that makes me think it's a pina colada, which is fine cuz i like pina coladas, just not in my root beer. Maybe it's the cream they use. Hmmm...

My official review is that A&W Float gets 4 (four) IBCs. It's not at all what i expected, and i am kind of disappointed that i let it slide through to be classified as a "root beer". Technically, i think it would probably be more of a cream soda, which is what held me back from reviewing it in the first place. The girl at the register of the Pop Shop said she really likes the Sunkist Float a lot better than this one. So maybe i would suggest you get your hands on one of those instead, or even better, on an ice-cold, delicious, never disappointing IBC.

Addendum: *sigh*... i hate that i even have to try and defend myself on this seeing as i assumed it was amply explained in the body of the post, but i have recently come under fire regarding my decisions about what to classify as a root beer. Here is a quick list of guidelines i follow when choosing root beers to review:

1) It's my blog and i'm a freaking expert. That's why you come to my blog.

i told you it was a quick list.

Here's what you need to know... i review root beers. If it's on my blog, i have classified it as a root beer. The historical similarities between root beer and sarsaparilla? What, did you go to root beer college or something? You think my readers care about that kind of trivial nonsense when they're just looking for a decent root beer? Really? These people are sheep, and i am merely the shepherd directing them toward great taste and away from anything made by a hippie.

Look, i can see how this can get very lengthy. All i will say is that after months of deliberation i decided to let this one slide through because it carries the A&W name and those who drink it are made to believe it is made with A&W root beer (see floats.com). We all know there are many ways to flavor a root beer (including using sarsaparilla), but if you call it a sarsaparilla, then to me it's not a root beer anymore (i have a pie chart that proves it). If there were no difference between the two drinks, i wouldn't like AJ Stephen's Root Beer and hate AJ Stephen's Sarsaparilla. And anyone who names their soda Hosmer Mountain Sarsaparilla Root Beer is clearly retarded. Stop trying to confuse people. Just pick one. (But just so you know, i would probably still review it).

And for the record, my name is Jonathan.

Steaz Organic Sparkling Green Tea Root Beer

2009-05-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

Well, this will round out the natural/organic root beer run i made at Whole Foods, and this has to be by far the weirdest one i've encountered. Steaz is a brand or organic beverages from the Healthy Beverage Company of Newton, PA. They make a variety of different drinks in several flavors, all of which contain green tea. I don't know how long they've been around, but thanks to a little research on this site, i do know that the company was started by a couple guys named Eric Schnell and Steve Kessler. These two guys decided to name their drink "Steaz" because they combine "sodas" with "teas". They use a z because they think it looks stylish. I'll give you credit for being somewhat clever, though i don't think you exerted yourselves all that much. However, the name Steaz makes me think of "skeez", as in, "that guy is a total skeez", and that makes me think these guys are kinda shady. Another reason i think that is because they rave excessively about how much good in the world they are doing. I mean, these guys love to blow their own horn about how they donate to causes that benefit Sri Lanka, the Sudan, cancer survivors, paying fair wages to farmers, and reducing the carbon foot print. Sure, you can say they are all noble causes, and i am not disputing that. I am just saying that those who yell the loudest usually have something to hide. Could it be that what they really do all day is sit around in a shack smoking opium and listening to trance music? That seems more likely. You may be asking yourself, "what would ever give you that idea Cosmo?" Just take a look at their website. Seriously, i feel like i'm trapped in a bad Enigma video, or like i'm the first one to arrive at a cult recruitment meeting wondering where everyone else is and why my head suddenly is starting to feel funny.

The 12 oz. clear glass bottles of their "root beer" have a fairly basic, yet high end look to them. There is the brand logo itself printed above a row of overflowing root beer mugs. Although there is a lot of text involved just in writing the name, it doesn't look too busy and isn't off putting. So like i said, it's pretty basic, but it also looks quite professional. Apparently this stuff is pretty popular because they make enough money to sponser a fairly high end website, some decent marketing and packaging, and lots of cash to throw at charities.

As mentioned before, all the drinks made by Steaz contain green tea. That being the case, i don't think they should really call this stuff soda, or even root beer. It's tea. It looks like tea, it tastes like tea, and it even calls itself tea. Does it taste like root beer? Vaguely. And maybe the joke is on me and i just misunderstood, but this stuff isn't root beer. It's tea. Like Santa Cruz Organic, this stuff is also sweetened with organic evaporated cane juice. It also claims to be far better for you than soda. That's because it's parading as something it is not. Tea combined with soda? It's not soda. Not at all. Or maybe i was just confused when i bought it. I was expecting a tea infused soda. But what i got was a "root beer" flavored tea. And on that matter, let me just say that people have combined tea with other flavors to create raspberry tea, cinnimon tea, and even peppermint tea, which are all acceptable. But i have a suggestion for the tea industry in general; don't combine your tea with root beer. Just don't do it.

My official review is that Steaz Green Tea Root Beer gets 2 (two) IBCs. It's not that this stuff is terrible tasting. It's that it's not a root beer. And i don't particualy like tea, so that already counts me out. There is also a note on the bottle about natual settling that may occur for this drink. I found as i drank down to the bottom of the bottle, it becomes more and more tea flavored. Also, the colder it is, the better tasting it is (if any of you are still interested). They claim it's good for you, but i won't be buying it again, and i suggest you get yourself a real root beer also.

Santa Cruz Organic Root Beer

2009-05-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

You must be getting tired of these natural root beers, but i only have a couple more to review. This one is called Santa Cruz Organic Root Beer. Santa Cruz Natural is a company dedicated to making several products, from fruit juices to peanut butter, using organic sources. The company is based in Chico, CA and has been around since the early 1970s. In addition to making products from all natural sources, Santa Cruz Organic is a big proponent of the green movement. I think up until now i have made myself fairly clear about my stance on hippies, but i rarely (if ever) mention anything about the green movement, which was started primarily by hippies (or more-so, the children of hippies). This might offend people, but i think we can all agree my influence in the root beer circles excuses my opinions that some may find offensive. Anyway, let's start this with a question. "Hey Cosmo, how do you feel about the green movement?" Well, i'll tell you. The green movement is a marketing scheme. The word "green" to me is synonymous with "expensive". Have you noticed that "green" products are usually more expensive than their "non-green" competitive counterparts? I thought going green was supposed to save money. Why does saving the Earth have to be so expensive? Seriously? And why has EVERYTHING turned green in the past three to five years? Because it's a marketing scheme, that's why. They guilt you into saving the planet by buying more expensive "green" products. I'm sick of green products. Now before you work yourself into a tizzy, let me make myself clear; I'm not saying you should go out and club a baby seal and pour oil all over it's dead body. I'm just saying get off my back if once in a while i like to unwind by dumping toxic waste on a pile of kittens. Hey, it's my prerogative. I'm an American!

Anyway, sorry about that. Let's talk about root beer some more. The can it came in has a very basic design. The color scheme is composed of green and white for all the soda flavors, and there is a picture of the plant of flavor of the soda somewhere on the can. The root beer has a picture of a couple old barrels of root beer made from real organic wood sources, or at least they should be or Santa Cruz is a dirty liar. The rest of the can is covered in text, mostly about being organic and natural and all of that. It's basic and simple, and i am impartial to it. It doesn't jump out at me and i am not repulsed by it. Not much else to say about it really.

My only other experience with a self proclaimed "organic" root beer ended very badly, so i was expecting the worst when i popped the top on this sucker. I was relieved to find that it's not as terrible as i was led to believe all organic root beers are, but it's still very typical tasting of a natural root beer. It has light carbonation and is sweetened with something called "organic evaporated cane juice", which actually has it's own website. The root beer taste is really quite subtle, and the after taste is basically non-existent. It almost reminds me of Olde Rhode Island Root Beer, in that the taste disappears after drinking it so quickly. Plus, it has a taste that reminds me of herbal tea. Basically all i end up really tasting in the end is the sugar and herbal tea taste. And the big kicker is that the root beer itself is actually clear. Yup, it's like the Crystal Pepsi of root beer.

My official review is that Santa Cruz Organic Root Beer gets 3 (three) IBCs. Like i said, i am leaning more toward putting it in the same category as Olde Rhode Island, but being a natural/organic soda, i'm coming down on it a little harder than i did with ORI. It doesn't taste bad, but it's completely unimpressive. Plus, it's affiliation with the green movement isn't helping it's reputation any...

Dr. Tima Honey Root Beer

2009-05-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many people will be familiar with this stuff, but here is another root beer i picked up at Whole Foods. Dr. Tima Honey Soda comes in four flavors, including root beer. The company operates out of Beverly Hills, CA and has been around since 1973. Apparently this soda doesn't have a full operational website yet, but this "starter site" has been provided to get the very basics out of the way. I keep wanting to call it Dr. Tima's, but all the research i do on the label and the internet suggests the 's is not proper, at least in formal settings. Really, there's quite little about Dr. Tima himself. The source of all knowledge has no personal information about the man (or woman, let's not be biased here) and really the only solid info i can get from the label leaves me with countless more questions. Who is Dr. Tima? What is his field of medicine? How long has he been practicing? Should i just take it at face value and not assume Dr. Tima is an actual person/medical doctor, not unlike Dr. Pepper? Here is the info that forms my very compelling thesis:
1) Dr. Tima speaks to those who drink his soda in first person, suggesting that he is indeed a real person. And i think he might be Jewish since this stuff is Kosher.
2) Dr. Tima explicitly states that he has been "prescribing" all natural honey soda since 1973. The use of the word prescribing leads me to believe that he is a practicing medical doctor, but i can't for the life of me think of a doctor that would prescribe an all natural honey soda for any affliction, let alone a blanket sweep of every affliction as the statement suggests.
3) Really the only field of medicine i can settle a reasonable guess on would be nutrition. However, if Dr. Tima is a Nutritionist, he's not a very good one because he states clear as day on his label that you should drink all natural honey soda everyday. Now... i'm all for having a cold bottle of great root beer everyday, but i never claim that it's good for you (unless it's IBC). This all natural soda sweetened with honey instead of processed sugar may be better for you than normal soda, but i wouldn't go as far as to say it's fortified with essential vitamins and minerals or anything.
So my profile so far depicts Dr. Tima as a Jewish Nutritional Doctor living in Beverly Hills, CA and absolutely crazy about honey. I mean, this guy is in love with it. Anyway, i know this is getting long, but i feel it's important to know what we're dealing with here.

The soda comes in a typical 12 oz. clear glass bottle. The background of the label is a honeycomb pattern and there are several references to bees; a small picture of a bee, the tagline "A Bee in Every Bottle" below the brand name, and my personal favorite, the extremely cheesy promo statement with the line, "it's healthy and bee-licious!" It's kind of a busy label. There is a lot going on, but i'll give the good doctor some credit in that it's pretty fresh and professional looking. Looks like Dr. Tima's Jewish clientele can help him afford some decent advertising digs.

Since it's an all natural soda, it has no artificial flavors or colors. It uses all natural ingredients. Most of the time, that tells me that the soda is gonna be gross. But this stuff isn't too bad. Instead of cane sugar or processed sugar, the soda is sweetened with honey. I knew a lady who used to make cookies and ice cream and everything sweet using honey instead of sugar. It gave it a different taste, but it wasn't necessarily bad. But, as expected, everything had the hint of honey in it, which is the case with this root beer. However, the root beer itself has a somewhat complex taste to it. There is a nice creamy, smooth vanilla taste to start with, followed by some basic root beer flavoring, and followed up with honey. And even though i don't love honey, it's not terrible.

My official review is that Dr. Tima Honey Root Beer gets 6 (six) IBCs. I don't love it, but i think it deserves a little more than a middle of the road score. I will say this though, this is a sipping root beer. It's not a chugging root beer, because with volume, the honey taste comes out exponentially until it just tastes like drinking straight honey. So just slow it down and enjoy it, that is, if you choose to shell out the $5+ for a four-pack. It ain't cheap, which i supposed is understandable. I mean, come on. ... the guy's a doctor.

**side note** i actually went and visited the Pop Shop today to look for new root beers and i saw they had a shipment of Dr. Tima in. So if you'd like to try it, i think this is your best option since you can buy individual bottles. You're welcome.

Death Valley Root Beer

2009-05-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

The name of this root beer is initially pretty awesome, but further investigation shows that it's more based on geography that being hardcore. Anyway, Death Valley Root Beer is brewed by Indian Wells Brewing Co., which is primarily focused on brewing beers. There are however 4 flavors of soda under the Death Valley brand, root beer being one of them. Death Valley is of course part of the high desert of California near the Nevada border. The brewery however is not located in the township of Death Valley, but closer to the Bakersfield area in Inyokern, CA. Not sure how much of a draw the Death Valley region of California is, but for a name like that i expect the roads to be lined with skulls. Otherwise, you're just wasting my time.

It's clear from the label that they are going for the old west theme. I assume the old west era is intrinsically tied to Death Valley, seeing as if someone were to name that part of California these days, it would be something like Make Sure You're Hydrated Valley, which is kind of disappointing. I mean, i don't want to die if i were to go to Death Valley, but i at least want to be in danger of dying. Anyway, back to the root beer. It comes in a clear 12 oz. glass bottle and the label is made to look like a wanted sign from the old west, like this root beer is an outlaw and you're just the vigilante to track it down, rip it's top off, and drink it's insides (a traditional old western execution, i assure you). There is a picture of a stage coach being pulled by horses, not unlike the Wells Fargo logo. The rest of the label is just filled with the typical information root beers list on their labels, including a notice that there is a cash refund in California for recycling the bottle (for you thrifty hippies out there).

But getting down to brass tacks, it's really just a kinda regular old root beer. It has a fairly prominent black licorice flavor, very little carbonation (boo), and it's made with cane sugar. Other than that, it's kind of a regular old run of the mill root beer. Tastes like root beer extract with a little extra on the anise. It's by no means terrible, but has a long way to go if it wants to compete in the big leagues.

My official review is that Death Valley gets 4 (four) IBCs. I was turned off by the black licorice flavor and lack of carbonation. Otherwise i might have given it a 5. Again, if black licorice is your thing, then i say go for it. It's not overpowering or anything, but it's enough to notice and that's what counts. And for those of you who listen to my every word and whim, don't bother with this stuff. It's faily expensive to boot at about $5 for a four-pack, and you're just going to be disappointed.

Blue Sky Root Beer Encore

2009-05-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

So i just reviewed a Blue Sky root beer, and i am sure some of you are confused. Let me just do a blanket sweep of the formalities and say that Blue Sky Sodas is a Santa Fe, NM based company that started in 1980 and recently moved operations to Southern California. They specialize in making "all natural" sodas. Nothing you didn't already know, right? Well this might be a little different than what you're used to (it certainly was for me). In addition to making "all natural" sodas, Blue Sky makes a line of "organic" sodas. Hence, Blue Sky Root Beer Encore. The difference? On appearances alone most would say nothing, and indeed it seems like this is kinda redundant. But according to the Blue Sky website, the "natural sodas" don't have any artificial ingredients in them, and the "organic sodas" contain organic ingredients? I can't quite make the distinction myself, and if there is a difference in the ingredients, it is quite subtle. I debated a long time in the store as to categorizing this as a diet soda or not. All the evidence points to the fact that this is the diet version of the Blue Sky Creamy Root Beer. But after categorizing what makes a soda "diet" (i.e. an artificial sweetener in place of sugar or high fructose corn syrup) and seeing clearly on the label below the brand name "sweetened with organic cane sugar", i made the professional judgement that this is simply another stab at soda from a company that likes to use organic ingredients. It's not uncommon for root beer companies to make more than one recipe of root beer. So i gave Blue Sky the benefit of the doubt.

The label is basically the same as the cans of the "natural sodas" with two major distinctive differences; 1) the color scheme is a white background, and 2) in big text above the brand name is the Certified Organic Soda seal, proving that this concoction did indeed come directly from Mother Nature. No one is allow to dispute this fact. It's a scientific fact, like gravity and white trash.

But here is where i get down on Blue Sky. Since you're all diligent blog followers, i'm sure you've all read the semi-glowing endorsement i gave Blue Sky for making a decent tasting "natural" root beer. But if their natural root beer is considered an acceptable and generally likable member of the root beer family, then their organic root beer is like the creepy uncle you don't trust around your kids. In other words, Root Beer Encore is bad. The name itself is unfortunate, as it indicates an applause filled clamor for more. But this stuff is just plain gross. Strike one, no (zero) carbonation. What's the point in calling it a soda if it doesn't have carbonation? Just cut to the chase and call it a juice. Strike two, it tastes terrible. The only semblance of root beer i can taste in it is the anise (black licorice) flavoring, which i am already not a huge fan of. I can't taste anything remotely close to organic cane sugar in it. It has the same rotten fruit taste Route 66 root beer has. Strike three, the aftertaste in my mouth could make the Holocaust look like summer camp. It's seriously a huge disservice to the human race. Have some mouthwash handy cuz you're breath is gonna be heinous for the next six to eight hours. In fact, you'd probably be better off just drinking the mouthwash instead of this garbage.

My official review is that Blue Sky Root Beer Encore get 1 (one) IBC. This root beer (if you dare call it that) lies somewhere on the scale between "i hate it" and "i'd rather kill and eat my entire family". To boot, this stuff is expensive. The only good thing i can say to Blue Sky for this is thanks for reminding me why i hate hippies so much (as if i would have forgotten any time soon).

Blue Sky Creamy Root Beer

2009-05-19T18:26:00.001-07:00

I swear i can remember drinking this as a kid, but i can't put an exact instance of drinking one of these sodas with a frame of reference. However, it's not unlikely since Blue Sky Sodas have been around since 1980 (a year before my own birth). Hence, i have had opportunities my entire life to try Blue Sky Creamy Root Beer, or any of the other flavors they make. Blue Sky reminds me of Hansen's Sodas in the sense that they are "all natural". Of course, many sodas claim to be all natural, but what does that really mean? I don't have the time or desire to delve into that topic, but for all intents and purposes let's just say it means they are the star bellied sneetches of the soda world. Anyway, Blue Sky was initially a Santa Fe, NM based company but has recently moved operations to Southern California. This apparently pissed at least one guy off, as he tried to sue Blue Sky for false advertising, claiming to be a New Mexico based company but not manufactured or bottled anywhere in New Mexico. I guess it's a touchy subject.

I picked up a six-pack of cans. The cans have a particularly southwestern theme to them, further asserting its connection to New Mexico and infuriating NM natives in the process. Each of the flavors has the same basic color scheme with a different color tribal Indian border on top and bottom for different flavors. Other than that, they all have blue background with a scene of rolling mountains and Santa Fe style Adobe Housing which can be found in several parts of Phoenix. I never cared much for southwestern architecture, but it's quite popular among the affluent folks. You'd think that since they spend so much money on southwestern houses that they'd want to drive southwestern cars too.

Truth be told, this isn't a bad soda. It's not like most natural sodas in that it's not terrible. It is decently carbonated and doesn't taste like yard work. The cane sugar give it a nice sweet taste (imagine that, right?) and true to it's name, it is quite creamy with a hint of vanilla. Of course, it still tastes a bit like a natural soda should, but at least it's tolerable, if not flat out enjoyable.

My official review is that Blue Sky Creamy Root Beer gets 6 (six) IBCs. It's a decent natural soda, and definitely better than Hansen's. I am not sure where else you can pick it up besides Whole Foods, but it's probably going to be just as expensive anywhere else (maybe not, since the Whole Foods hippies figure they can charge whatever they want in the name of going green). But anyway, if natural sodas are your thing, i would recommend you add this one to the list.

Addendum: I ran across the third installment in Blue Sky's root beer trilogy and grabbed a six pack, but after drinking it i decided it's so similar to the regular Creamy Root Beer that it didn't deserve it's own review. Just a brief mention. They tried to sneak one past me, but this stuff is basically just the same as the regular stuff, just with ginseng. There really is no discernible difference in taste. So if you see either of these root beers in your local grocery store, there is no need to sit and deliberate over which you should get. They have the same rating. Either will do.

Unless there is an IBC close by. Then the choice is clear.

365 Root Beer

2009-05-13T22:45:00.001-07:00

I got a hot tip from the internet on a good place to scope out some new root beers, and i was in need of it because i am running out of readily available new brands around here. But it just so happens that Whole Food carries several brands of sodas that fit the Whole Foods hippie agenda. My wife and i made a trip down there and hit the jackpot, picking up seven different new kinds of root beer, including this one. 365 Root Beer is part of the 365 Everyday Value brand that is exclusive to Whole Foods. Like Kroger, they make everything in the food arena. However, unlike Kroger, this stuff is not cheap. In fact, none of the root beers in Whole Foods are cheap. If it weren't for my unrelenting integrity and devotion to reviewing any and all root beers for you the consumer, i probably would have saved the money. So in advance, you're welcome.

I picked up a six-pack of cans of this soda for close to $4.00. All 365 soda labels have the same basic design, but different color schemes and pictures depicted for different flavors. The root beer label is a carmel, tan color with the brand logo and a depiction of a mug of root beer. It's just a regular can in all other regards. My opinion? Not that impressed. Your opinion? The same as mine. Trust me, we've seen better.

One of the conditions for being sold at Whole Foods is that the soda is all natural. It's made with cane sugar and no preservatives, along with a bunch of other hippie regulations. I swear that store is like the breeding ground for dreadlocks and snaggletooths, and i'm not convinced the smell in there is from the open containers of natural spices. Anyway, the root beer follows the taste guideline of the natural root beers. It's not terrible and it reminds me a lot of Hansen's, but it's not my favorite. It has a faint black licorice flavor and a fairly mellow/heavy root beer extract taste. I don't usually make mention of this, but it has fairly good head too, which i know some people make a big deal out of. I don't care one way or another, as long as the carbonation is good (it's decent for 365). But all in all, i'm not sure it's the right root beer for me. Or you, for that matter.

My official review is that 365 gets 4 (four) IBCs. It's not great, which pains me because i have a six-pack of it and am cursed with not being able to throw anything out for fear of wasting. So i suppose i'll have to take it into work and see if anyone there wants to sample this crappy hippie elixir. It's expensive, unappealing, and worst of all, natural. Don't bother with this ones kids.

Fiesta Root Beer

2009-05-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

In 1932, Eddie Basha had one goal in mind: create a grocery store with the cheapest food products available. Now, 77 years later, Basha's is proud to bring you Fiesta Root Beer. Fiesta makes several flavors that are sold at Basha's grocery stores across the Valley of the Sun (i couldn't find any links with any sort of mention of this soda line). It's distributed by a company here in Chandler, AZ. Other than that, i really don't have much to go on with this soda. The only other thing i can really say is that this stuff is really cheap. I picked this 2-liter bottle for 69 cents. Fiesta, of course, is Spanish for "party". I get the feeling this thing is supposed to be packed with fun; really really inexpensive fun.

The label on this 2-liter bottle is brown with white text and there are little party streamers and bits of confetti flying all over the place on the label. Super simple, fairly boring, extremely generic looking. From the looks of the label, you'd think i picked it up at Food City and not Basha's. "Root Beer" is also written in Spanish on the bottle. It reminds me of when i lived in Canada. Everything in the supermarket is written in English and French. And i have the same feelings about this packaging decision as i did about the Canadians way of doing it: annoying. But, whatever... you can't please everyone.

All i can really say about this root beer is that it lives up to it's name, or at least the Mexican part of it. It's rather "spicy". The only thing that would make the experience really hit home is if you got to drink it out of a pinata (my choice? a donkey). A colleague of mine says that the wintergreen really sticks out to him. I can't seem to taste wintergreen at all though. It kinda has the nutmeggy taste of Dad's, but it's not nearly as sweet and it's a lot more sharp. I can still taste the decent root beer undertone, but that's not the prevalent flavor. It's not unpleasant, but definitely hard to pinpoint exactly what it tastes like. I can't really say it's something i'd make a trip back to Basha's for though.

My official review is that Fiesta gets 5 (five) IBCs. It's not bad and it's a touch different from the ordinary, but there's a reason this stuff is so cheap. It's cuz it's just really thrown together without much thought or care. I have often wondered if there was a Mexican root beer. Maybe this is about as close as it gets. And with a name like that, they should promote it with the slogan "a party in every bottle!" Yeah, that's good. Maybe i should pitch that to them.

I wonder how you say that in Spanish...

I've Made It!

2009-04-30T00:34:00.000-07:00

Well kids, i've got exciting news for you all! I've finally hit the big time. My reviews are getting nationwide acclaim. Need proof? Do yourself a favor and open a Google search browser and type in "root beer reviews". You'll see a little screen like this...

That's right folks... my root beer blog is on the first page of a Google search. Granted, it's at the very bottom of the first page, but with YOUR HELP, it can be one of the first authorities people turn to for honest, biased, reliable root beer reviews, just as they should be. People need this info, so tell your friends to come check out the blog. Comments are always welcome, but just know if you disagree with me that you are clearly wrong.

Thanks for the support everyone, and all i can really say is... Spike... Anthony... watch you back.

Big K Root Beer

2009-04-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

This is another one of the "generic" root beers that comes from a big line. Big K sodas come in various flavors and are part of the Kroger family (that link isn't much help when looking up info on Big K, but i couldn't track down any better links). Kroger is not a store, per say, but is a brand of low priced goods in all varieties sold in stores. Kroger makes everything, from sodas to baby wipes to cereal to these terrible little butter cookies that my wife thought were so delicious over the holidays and which we ended up buying several boxes of and throwing most of them out. Anyway, they cover the whole spectrum to try and make a low budget knock off of every product ever for the savvy shoppers out there. Basically, it's synonymous with cheap on many levels and for many reasons. That being the case, Big K is an inexpensive soda, and in the past i have often equated it with Shasta sodas in value and quality. But after the recent revelation that my entire childhood was based on a lie perpetuated by Shasta Root Beer (which is just plain worthless), i have looked at Big K with new eyes. So Big K, are you here to crush my reality also? I don't know if i can stand getting my feet swept out from under me like that again.

Big K is available in cans, 2-liter bottles (as shown in the picture), and i believe 3-liter bottles, but don't hold me to that just yet. The label is the same for all flavors of Big K, just different color schemes. Root beer has a brown base with some light brown and silver squigglies and some blues and the Big K logo written in cursive across the can. Pretty unoriginal, but hey... Kroger isn't looking to wow here, just get the point across. The label of Big K is one of the things that reminds me most about Shasta. Oddly similar for fierce competitors. Hmmm...

A lot of websites i have looked at say that Big K is definitely a good tasting root beer for the cost, and therefore carries a fair amount of value. Here is my opinion... spend a little extra. That's not to say Big K is terrible. It's not, and it's certainly better than many root beers i have tried, including Shasta. But it's nothing special at all. You might as well throw down a bit more cash and pass over value for quality. To tell you exactly what it tastes like, you would have to know what the root beer barrel candies taste like. Have you tried those? Well that's exactly what Big K tastes like. No surprise there, right? It's just straight root beer extract mixed with carbonated water. Nothing amazing, but at least it didn't leave me crying in a corner (again).

My official review is that Big K Root Beer gets 4 (four) IBCs. The low low price is just another one of Kroger's gimmicks. Like the crappy butter cookies, you might start off thinking you really like it and congratulate yourself on a good buy since it's so inexpensive. But in the long run, you just wish you could get a decent root beer after a long day and really begin to question the standard you have set for yourself while choosing a root beer. "Is this really what i want out of my root beer consuming life?" (I'll answer that for you). NO. If you're into the cheap stuff, swing by Safeway and pick up some Parker's. It's inexpensive and actually good. BUT, i wouldn't be me if i didn't tell you that IBC is always the best value for the price.

Big Wave 101 Root Beer

2009-04-07T23:58:00.001-07:00

This little treat was picked up at the local BevMo here in Tempe and it goes by the name of 101 Root Beer. Big Wave Soda Co. makes a line of sodas called 101 Sodas, and each of their labels has a different classic car or motorcycle on it. You can see many of the labels they use on their website gallery. The labels are not specific to the flavor, meaning not all root beers have the 1965 Chevy Impala like the one i selected. Minor detail, so if that's what you're into then that's great. Whatever. On a more interesting note though, 101 Sodas claims that their drinks go perfectly with classic cars (hence the labels) and that the sodas they make are instant classics. They also make bold claims like they make the best root beer possible. You can't possibly get any better than this stuff. Well you know who else says that? This guy. My point is that a lot of people say that, and if you talk big game, you gotta be able to back it up. So how does 101 Root Beer hold up? Let's just see...

It comes in a 12 oz. stout brown glass bottle, which is my favorite bottle next to IBC. The label is very colorful, and as i mentioned above has a picture of a classic car. The name of the soda is printed as a road sign. This one says "Root Beer 101", but if you got a different flavor it would say "Strawberry 101" or whatever. Apparently Strawberry is a pretty popular flavor for these guys, but let's just stick to root beer, shall we?

Anyway, when i first picked it up i called it Route 101 Root Beer and it immediately reminded me of Route 66 Root Beer, which we all remember as a terrible attempt at producing a consumable beverage. That stuff is terrible. But i am glad to say 101 Root Beer is not terrible. In fact, it is far from it. Yes, 101 Root Beer is very good. They live up to the hype (to a certain degree) and put out a solid root beer. It has a nice taste of honey, and Thomas Kemper would do well to take notes on the amount of honey to use from 101's example. It's not overpowering in the slightest and makes for a really good tasting root beer, which may be the first one with a good honey taste that i actually like. 101 also uses cane sugar, which gives it a sweet, sugary aftertaste that isn't sickly sweet like the most terrible drink on Earth (that being Weinhard's). My wife says it tastes like candy, and i agree that it kind of gives me the impression of eating smarties. All in all though, it's a great root beer. It's not IBC, but it's in the caliber of some of the finer root beers i have sampled in my long and illustrious career.

My official review is that 101 Root Beer gets 8 (eight) IBCs. In my book, this one is indeed an instant classic. I am not so much drawn to the car thing as i am not a big gear head or into classic cars as much as i am into great root beer. Well luckily, this one has it all. Well done 101 Root Beer. My hat is off to you.

(Walmart) Root Beer

2009-04-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

Not unlike Safeway's line of Safeway Select sodas, Walmart had a line called Sam's Choice back in the day. Well Sam's Choice is harder to come by these day, but also not unlike Safeway, Walmart has rolled out a line of named sodas such as Dr. Thunder and Mountain Lightning, because apparently drinks named after weather are a sure thing. This new line has replaced the Sam's Choice line, so this means they put out a root beer also, and they came up with a super clever name for it. Are you ready for this? It's called... Root Beer. Yup. That's what it's called (wait till you see what they named their ginger ale...). So to designate it from others, i am calling it (Walmart) Root Beer, because i can come up with just as catchy a name as they can. Anyway, this is another mega-store attempt to pull out some cash from the soft drink industry bankroll, so i'm not sure how long it's been around. Let's just say i noticed it about 4 months ago. Good enough, right?

This is probably going to be a short review, which is fitting considering the can. I picked up a six pack of adorable 8 oz. cans (awwww...), though it is available in 12 oz cans also. These things are just so freakin' cute though, right? The downside is that i just start getting a taste for it and it's gone. But still, the cute factor might be worth it. Plus i think it costs less than a 6-pack of 12 oz.ers (at least i would hope so). The label is pretty fun. It has a picture of a root beer barrel and a little star on the spout which helps give it mass appeal. I don't know if it actually does that, i just made it up. Fairly simple colors in the reddish, rust, orange, brown, root beery range. Not bad Walmart.

Again, i don't expect a lot from these store brand root beers, and so far i have been more than pleasantly surprised by all of them. Walmart is no exception. In a nutshell, it's pretty good. It doesn't have anything particularly amazing to it, but it's just a solid, good, well rounded root beer flavor with a good amount of carbonation.

My official review is that (Walmart) gets 6 (six) IBCs. I am feeling pretty generous with this one. To be completely honest, nothing really sets this apart from most of the 5's, but i just got home from a long day of school and work and this root beer complimented the nachos i had for dinner quite well. So thanks (Walmart) Root Beer. You get a 6. You're welcome.

Hansen's Creamy Root Beer

2009-03-29T11:00:00.001-07:00

I got a hot tip from a cool friend (<-- come on, now that was clever) about a place to get some new root beers to review, so i went and investigated yesterday with my wife. Most people have heard of the soda brand Hansen's. It is known for several fruity concoctions of drinks made from real fruit juices with no preservatives, sodium, or caffeine. But i was a little surprised that they made a root beer. But it's true, root beer is just another flavor added to the extensive Hansen's line. Hansen's was started in the 1930's in Corona, CA. Hubert Hansen and his three sons started out by selling fruit juice to film studios and retailers in Southern California. Who might those three sons be? None other than the three members of the band Hansen. I know that might not seem possible, but seriously, these kids haven't aged a day since the 1930's. I swear the little one went to my high school and got busted for doing crystal meth. Maybe there really is something to this preservative free soda/fountain of youth thing.

I picked up a six-pack of cans as it was the only packaging available to me. The labels of all Hansen's drinks are always very colorful, full of scenes of nature and natural naturey stuff, obviously trying to play up the whole natural ingredients angle. The label has a lot going on, but not in an offensive way like Journey John Barleycorn. Just take a look at it yourself, cuz i don't really want to go into the details of it. Standard for a Hansen's label, minus being a root beer and not some fruit flavor.

Hansen's uses cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, but it doesn't really have the cane sugar taste. That's not necessarily a good or a bad thing, but all i can really say about the taste of Hansen's is mmmm-blah. Kinda boring. Nothing really special at all. I taste a tiny hint of anise at the beginning and a creamy vanilla after taste, but it's still not that amazing or incredible. Not that it's bad, it's just not something that really sticks out to me. Wintergreen is labeled on the ingredients, but i can't really taste it at all. Too bad Hansen's. You might have won me over.

My official review is that Hansen's gets 5 (five) IBCs. It's not bad at all, but it just falls into the middle-of-the-road variety of root beer because there is nothing special about it. I don't drink a lot of Hansen's products, but i'd recommend their other flavors if that's what you're into.

Parker's Genuine Root Beer

2009-03-28T10:58:00.001-07:00

Does anyone remember Safeway Select sodas? They were sold at Safeway (go figure) and were extremely inexpensive. I remember the vending machines being 25 cents instead of 50 cents, so that was incentive enough to buy the soda, even though it wasn't that great. Well guess what... as far as i can tell, Safeway Select sodas have completely vanished from the market. It's a devastating loss i know, but it looks like Safeway has created a new line of "named" sodas to try and rebuild its image in the soft drink circles. So basically, this is just Safeway's new brand of root beer, and the good news is *spoiler alert!* it's a lot better than Safeway Select root beer. I hope i didn't give too much away there. Anyway, this was kinda hard to track down on the site, but it's helpful for all you calorie counters out there. And as you can see, it's still very inexpensive. And just another quick comment on the Safeway website, this store has lost HUGE amounts of credibility in my book. They sell IBC, but list it under "Interstate Brands Corporation" instead of "Independent Breweries Company". Come on Safeway, that's WAY off. This is why i didn't want to review store brand root beers in the first place. You're not devoted to the cause of root beer. I mean, that's not even close. Get with it Safeway. You're on notice.

I picked this up in the 2 liter bottle, although it's also available in cans. I didn't want to commit myself to a potentially bad root beer 12 times though, so the 2 liter bottle was the way to go for me (plus it was cheaper). The label reminds me of those old wood panel cars you see in 1960s surfer movies. It's pin striped with a couple different colors of brown and has a wooden background crest with the brand name plastered across in 1960's diner style font. Takes me back to my childhood... Ok, so not really. I was born in 1981, but i did see Back to the Future, and Michael J Fox went back to that time period so i could witness it second hand, so don't act like i don't know what i'm talking about. Geez... the things i have to put up with for being famous...

Well we already know Parker's has Safeway Select beat, but how does it measure up in the grand scheme of things? Surprisingly, Parker's holds its ground very well. It's a good root beer. Not really original, but good. I would even go as far as to say that since Safeway Select failed so badly that Safeway decided to get some pointers/steal the recipe from a successful company. So with that, may i introduce you to Parker's Root Beer, or as i call it, A&W 2. Yes, this stuff is basically just like A&W, which makes it good. I got no complaints with the taste, and it's a lot cheaper. What does that say for Safeway though? Well, we already know they don't really give a damn about root beer, they just want the money. But it wasn't a bad plan Safeway. You win this time.

My official review is that Parker's gets 7 (seven) IBCs. It's just as good as A&W, so i can't in good conscience give it less of a score. Safeway, you're a despicable store and a filthy charlatan of a root beer company. My hat is off to you.

And by the way... some things are better left in the past.

Deerfield Trading Company Old Fashioned Root Beer

2009-03-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

This one may win the longest name ever award (between this one and Journey John Barleycorn i think, but JJB is garbage so it doesn't deserve any kind of positive accolades). Anyway, you know how i was saying there were two Walgreen's root beers? Well this is the second one. Deerfield produces sodas exclusively for Walgreens. The website on the bottle is just the Walgreens site, but i got on BevNet and found some information about the company (just a little). It looks like Deerfield is based out of Westmont, IL, but i am having a hard time tracking down much more info about this company, i.e. when it started and all that nonsense. However, i have learned that Deerfield makes several other flavors and apparently the Black Cherry is incredible (according to random web authors without as much credibility as me). So if that's your thing, give Black Cherry a shot. I however am just going to focus on the root beer.

Take a look at this bottle. I am impressed Deerfield. It's something out of the ordinary. Almost looks like it's the shape of a rocketship. Additionally, Deerfield goes for the 16 oz. bottle, so it's a little bigger than the regular bottles. The label isn't extremely enticing. It's just some writing and a semi-fany logo. It's not the worst thing i've ever seen, but it's not amazing (btw, this is probably the worst thing i've ever seen). So the coolness of the bottle is kind of counter-balanced by the less than cool label. Over all though, not a bad presentation.

One thing this soda company runs on is the fact that it does not use high fructose corn syrup in any of its drinks. However, it doesn't say anything about cane sugar. It just says "sugar". But i'm not really a stickler for this kind of thing. I'll just say you can definitely taste the sugar. And i know the question on everyone's mind, "but Cosmo, is it any good?" First of all, i'm flattered that you rely so heavily on my opinion since you can't seem to form your own. It's ok, that's what i'm here for. I mean, who wants to go out and invest a good $1+ into a terrible soda? Seriously, i've been ripped off more than once. So i will just go ahead and say this. Yes. It's a good soda. It's actually quite good. It has a really good taste. BUT... here's the catch. Is it a good root beer? Not really. It doesn't taste anything like root beer. It almost tastes fruity, like a banana strawberry smoothie or something. I mean, not exactly, but i keep drinking it and getting flash backs to chewing Hubba Bubba and BubbleYum in assorted fruity flavors. I can taste a very slight hint of anise at the beginning, but it just tastes really sugary and, well... fruity to me. Nothing else really resembles root beer. So for that, i can't in good conscience put it in the ranks of the great root beers of the world.

My official review is that Deerfield gets 5 (five) IBCs. It almost got a 4, but like i said above, it's a good tasting soda. It just tastes nothing like root beer. My wife even agrees with me on this. She likes it a lot, but doesn't think it should be rated high as a root beer. And that's from an amateur. So again, if you find yourself in Walgreens, give it a shot. Maybe you could chew some Bubblicious while you're drinking it for added flavor. However, from the sounds of the web-chatter, Black Cherry is where it's at. So maybe that's the way to go when dealing with this company.

Walgreens Frosty Root Beer

2009-03-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

So i've run into a bit of a dilemma... My loyal readers know better than anyone that the regularity of my reviews has fallen behind over the past few months. The reason for this is three fold; 1) i am currently enrolled in school full time and work full time, so i am rarely home to start with. 2) i am running out of resources as far as new root beers to try that are distributed in my area. 3) Jenn got me a PS3 for Christmas, and let's just say the little time i have to play gets priority over a lot of things (much to my wife's dismay). So with all these factors weighing on my conscience, i have decided to do something i originally said i wasn't going to do... i will allow reviews for store brand root beers (such as this one, Walgreens Root Beer). I didn't want to do this because these stores don't devote themselves to root beers, or even soda. They just try and carve out a piece of the pie with a crappy root beer. But i figure crappy or not, they are root beers, so i'll include them. Anyway... Everyone knows what Walgreens is. It's a drugstore/convenience store/everything store that's all over the U.S. Not my first stop when i want to grab a drink. When i looked on the site for a link to the root beer, i found Dad's flavored throat lozenges and a root beer flavored child laxative, which sadly i will not be reviewing. But it turns out they actually sell two distinct root beers in addition to a lot of the common ones. And by distinct, i mean they are made specifically for and distributed through Walgreens. I will review the other one also, but let's look at the Walgreens brand right now, shall we?

It is sold in a 20 oz. plastic bottle not unlike those root beers found in gas stations. The label is extremely plain and just screams cheap and generic. I don't feel very inspired by it and it doesn't give me much hope, which as we all know is the principle purpose of a root beer label. It's just brown with some writing on it. Boo. It's the kind of label that you say has a great personality. Don't worry little root beer label, someone out there will love you...

Going in with low expectations isn't a bad thing cuz the only place to go from there is up. It's not a bad tasting root beer. It actually reminds me a lot of another root beer, and i want to say AJ Stephens. There is just something about it that tastes kinda weird. It's not the initial taste, and i don't think it's the after taste. i think it's the in-the-middle taste. Just has a weird... something... to it. Other than that, it's fine. Decent root beer flavor and good carbonation.

My official review is that Walgreens Root Beer gets 5 (five) IBCs. My wife seems to like it quite a bit and insisted that i give it at least a 6, but then i insisted that she not give me input until she cooks me dinner. We have an understanding; i write the reviews and she makes me food, and neither of us can tell the other how to do their job. Needless to say, she never gets to give me input. Works for us. Anyway, a 5 is more than i was expecting this root beer to achieve. So if you find yourself in Walgreens, go ahead and give it a shot i guess, but don't make a special trip or anything. Unless you need some laxative.

P.S. Jenn's cousin Tyler thinks the PS3 looks like a George Foreman Grill. I'll just say i can't disagree with him.

Briar's Premium Root Beer

2009-03-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

As i mentioned before, the Pop Shop gets different root beers in from time to time. I decided to go check it out for some root beers i have not reviewed yet and was rewarded with finding this bottle of Briar's Root Beer. Briar's, which has no connection to Breyer's, has been around since 1937 and was started in Fords, NJ. They make soda's in 11 different flavors and distribute them all over the U.S., although you kind of have to look for it. A kind of neat section of their website it devoted to Briar's Sightings, which features pictures of people in different parts of the world wearing Briar's shirts or drinking Briar's. Kind of a cheap way of gaining global acclaim, but hey... i don't have a problem with that. But it makes me think that i need to start doing that with IBC, a root beer that truly deserves that kind of global exposure. So i just may start doing that. Stay tuned.

The bottle is your typical 12 oz. clear glass bottle. The sticker label is very simple. A brown/tan back ground (different colors for different flavors), the Briar's name with three star's above it, and the year. It's extremely basic. Normally i am alright with simple and basic labels, but this one seems a bit too basic for me. Kinda don't like it. It's probably just prejudice at this point because i have no other reason not to like it. But i just don't like it. Maybe it's my German blood that makes me hate it...

To be completely honest, when i picked this bottle up i immediately thought it would be like Olde Brooklyn Root Beer. It has the same kind of color, bottle, label, etc. I could tell it would have little to no carbonation (it had none), that it would be similar in taste (brown sugary, with a touch of carmel), and that i wouldn't really like it (which i didn't). It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and i don't mean that figuratively. It's just not great. I actually think it's better than Olde Brooklyn, but it's just shades of better. Really quite unimpressive.

My official review is that Briar's gets 3 (three) IBCs. I thought it was fitting that Briar's put three stars above its name on the label considering it only gets three IBCs. And like it said, it's better than Olde Brooklyn, but not better enough to get a whole star more. So although i don't deal with half IBC ratings, i would say realistically that Briar's might get a three and a half. Skip this stuff and go for something a little more flavorful and appealing. And if you see someone with a Briar's shirt on taking a picture in a foreign country or somewhere to send in to Briar's, punch them in the face. Even if it's a kid. Shame on you Briar's, hiding behind kids.

Moab Brewery Root Beer

2009-03-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, i spent my senior year of high school in Moab, UT. That being the case, i have several friends from there. I don't go back that often, although Moab is actually a really fun place (to visit). But i went back last weekend to go to a good friend of mine's wedding reception. While there, i figured i would have to try the famous Moab Brewery Root Beer. The Moab Brewery is a restaurant and brewery in Moab that focuses mainly on brewing beers to serve there exclusively. In addition, they make a root beer, which i had actually never had during the time that i lived there in high school. I had eaten in the restaurant before (which is quite good), but this was long before my offical professional root beer reviewing days. In fact, i didn't even know they brewed their own root beer. But it was suggested by some of my friends and loyal review readers, so it only seemed natural to do so.

The brewery sells refillable 1/2 gallon glass jugs with a twisty cap. It has the Moab Brewery logo printed across the front, a cross between tradional Native American rock art that can be found around Moab and local, touristy type stuff that draws people to come to Moab in the first place. We borrowed a jug and filled it up for $5, which wasn't bad an plenty enough to serve to my wife and me and about six of my friends.

The taste consensus was pretty universal... this stuff isn't very impressive. It reminded me a lot of Shasta Root Beer. There wasn't much flavor, moderate carbonation, and it didn't really taste like anything. Big Bryon aka Papa Walston, a Moab resident for several decades, informed us that the root beer from Moab Brewery has it's highs and lows. Some batches are really good and some aren't very impressive. Well unfortunately, we caught the root beer on a bad weekend.

My official review is that Moab Brewery Root Beer gets 3 (three) IBCs. On the recommendation of Big Bryon, i would be willing to give this root beer another shot (also because i have a fondness for Moab and it kinda pains me a little to rank the root beer brewed there so low). But as of right now, i would say for sure go eat at the Moab Brewery, but try something other than the root beer. It just wasn't cutting it this time.

Shasta Root Beer

2009-02-22T10:20:00.001-08:00

Shasta is a pretty big name in soda (at least out in the West), so it makes sense that i would have to review Shasta Root Beer. The company was founded in Shasta Springs, CA, about 4 hours north of San Francisco in 1889, so it has been around awhile. The company makes such outrageous claims as being the first company to sell soda in metal cans and that they created diet soda. They also introduced the 3-liter bottle of soda and have a variety of flavors to choose from. They even have 9 "Hispanic" flavors to choose from. Yes, Shasta is truly international. I have had Shasta sodas for years since they are fairly low priced and have some decent flavors to choose from. This being the case, i have had this root beer multiple times, but i have never had the opportunity to review it until now.

I opted for the 2-liter bottle instead of the 3-liter. It is also available in cans, but the 2-liter was cheaper and i didn't want to commit myself to a full 6-pack of this stuff. I try to shy away from reviewing canned soda, but i think the day will come when that's the option i will need to take. Anyway, every Shasta label is decorated the same way with the logo and the bubbles, the only difference being the color of the label (brown for root beer) and the name of the flavor. It's nothing special and it's reproducible, which probably appeals to this soda juggernaut. Not much else to it though.

Like i said, i have had this root beer multiple times, but when it came time to review it i didn't really have an opinion. This is because it left no lasting impression. Upon learning about my root beer reviewing endeavors, my lovely wife's cousin Scott told me that Shasta root beer is bad. I hadn't really thought in the past that the root beer was particularly bad, just not memorable. But when i tried it again for the first time as an official, expert reviewer, i had to agree with Scott. This stuff is bad. It's not heinously terrible, but it's not good. It basically just tastes like pure sugar with the slightest touch of vanilla for the first few seconds, but that fades very quickly and then it just has a kind of metallic water taste to it. It's very unimpressive. It was almost disappointing. What happened Shasta? I don't remember you being such a let down. It has a decent root beer scent to it so i had high hopes, but it doesn't really taste like root beer at all. It just tastes like failure and a broken childhood.

My official review is that Shasta gets 3 (three) IBCs. I don't gag when i drink it, but it won't be gracing my palate again any time soon. Kind of a big let down. I just never remembered it being so unimpressive. The low price may draw you in, but i would recommend you springing for something a little more expensive and a lot more flavorful.

Kutztown Root Beer

2009-02-07T18:40:00.000-08:00

Well... this is it. I have finally come to the point where i have tried every root beer that the Pop Shop has available. Granted they get different ones from time to time, so i plan to swing by now and then to see if they have anything new, but i need to find new sources of root beer. But not before i write the review for this last root beer that i found at the Pop Shop. Kutztown Root Beer is bottled in Kutztown, PA and has been around since 1851. For starters, i don't know why on Earth you would name a city Kutztown, but that's beside the point. Anyway, the owners of Kutztown Bottling Co. thought it was good enough to name their company after it. Whatever. Since they've been around such a long time, they have a lot of history, and apparently the company has traded hands several times throughout the years. I don't really want to go into it, but if you really care to find out the details you can visit their website and read all about it. There is also a little movie you can watch on their website if you have QuickTime installed, but i'll just go ahead and say don't bother.

The bottle is a typical 12 oz. glass bottle with a very colorful plastic sticker label. The one on this bottle that i drank wasn't put on very well. It's unsmooth and has lots of creases and air bubbles in it. Looks like someone at Kutztown doesn't care to do his or her job correctly, and the management doesn't seem to care. For shame, Kutztown. You're disgracing your town name. The label itself has a picture of a root beer mug, lots of colors and designs, and it has some German writing in the center across the mug that says "Nix Besser", which roughly translates to "nothing better". Just so you all know, i am of German ancestry, although that has little to do with my knowledge of the German language since i have never been to Germany. I mean, Big Jeff was stationed there with the Army and my incredibly famous movie star brother Trenton James was born there, but i still don't think that really effects me. But anyway, i did take a year of German in high school and i verified on an online German-to-English dictionary that "nix" is basically "nichts", a German word meaning "nothing; not anything". I am assuming it's kinda like our word "cuz" (for because). Or kinda like the word "kinda" for that matter. But anyway, along with usage of strange German dialects on their label, it appears to me that Kutztown still hasn't gotten a grasp on the English language. Here is an excerpt from the label, and i am writing this down verbatim:

"When you're bad for something mighty good, reach for a foamy mug of Kutztown Root Beer! Tastes chust like old-fashioned, 'cause you know we make it that way. Drink 'til you ouch, there's more back!"
What just happened? Is this for real? Is it some sort of inside joke and i'm just not in the know? Or is Pennsylvania just really short on English teachers? Well whatever it is, i think trying to hold a conversation with one of these people might prove difficult.

As far as taste goes, i'll just say it's better than their grammar and spelling, but that's not saying much. But it's ok. I didn't hate it at all. It kinda has an aspertame taste to it, but it says it is made with pure cane sugar. Other than that, it tastes like a regular root beer with a bit of a carmel finish to it. It wasn't very carbonated either. So it wasn't one of my favorites, but i didn't hate it all together.

My official review is that Kutztown gets 4 (four) IBCs. I didn't think it was even really good enough to be considered "middle of the road", or in German, "der gemäßigten Mitte". In the end, i wasn't very impressed with it, although i have heard from a personal associate that he quite enjoyed it. I can go without, but if you'd like to pick one up, go for it.

Baumeister Root Beer

2009-01-31T07:36:00.000-08:00

Sorry folks. I know it's been a while, but i am running out of resources for new root beers. I did however find this at the Pop Shop. Baumeister Root Beer is bottled by Lakeshore Bottling Co. in Green Bay, WS and was created in 1907 by a guy with a funny name, Heine Baumeister. So that's exciting i suppose. Baumeister also makes a few other flavors, such as cherry, cream, and orange, but it seems like that's about as far as they go. So they keep it simple, which isn't a bad thing. They seem to be very proud that they've made it over 100 years as a business. Well good for you Baumeister. Normally people as old as you are put in rest homes so they can be ignored and forgotten, but you're just hangin' in there.

The typical 12 oz. bottle has a fairly plain label to it. It's the color of brown packaging paper with big white font of the root beer's name, and there is a root beer keg and a picture of a light house on it. I think that's kind of odd to have on a root beer from Wisconsin. I mean, i know they are on the shore of Lake Michigan and are bottled by Lakeshore Bottling, but are there really light houses in Green Bay? Is that necessary? I see light houses on root beer labels for root beers from the great state of Maine all the time, and i don't have a problem with that. I mean, come on, Maine doesn't have a lot going for it. It has to be proud of something, and i suppose lighthouses are acceptable. But when i think Green Bay (or Wisconsin for that matter), i don't think light houses. It just seems like a non sequitur to me. I'm deducting points for incongruency (<-- i don't think that's even a word).

As far as taste is concerned, Baumeister doesn't have much going on. It's not bad, and certainly better then some of the other root beers i have tried recently (i'm looking at you Journey John Barleycorn), but there is nothing special to it. It's particularly sweet. I can taste the root beer flavoring in it, but it's very sugary. I almost expected it to be made with cane sugar, but the ingredients say it is made with "high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar". So whatever they are doing, they might want to back off a bit. Everything else was fine though. It had nice carbonation and it wasn't a bad root beer. It could just be better in my opinion (which is clearly the only opinion that counts, or else you wouldn't be reading this).

My official review is that Baumeister gets 5 (five) IBCs. It's just another one of those middle of the road root beers. Kinda like how Wisconsin is a middle of the road state. Or like how Green Bay is a middle of the road football team. Or how Lake Michigan is full of dead bodies (it's probably true, if you think about it). But anyway, if you want to try this root beer, there's nothing wrong with it. But it has a long way to go if it wants to measure up to IBC.

Natural Brew Draft Root Beer

2009-01-17T02:54:00.001-08:00

I found this one in a Fry's grocery store on New Year's Eve, but am just now getting around to reviewing it. I was with my friend from Buffalo at the time who had tried it and he said it wasn't bad. His wife didn't feel the same way and thought it was terrible. But either way, i figured i needed to review it for the masses. Natural Brew makes a few other flavors of soda, including ginger ale. I'm not sure when it started being produced as there isn't much about it on the internet, including the source of all truth. And although i couldn't find a site for Natural Brew itself, the source of all truth told me that it is bottled through Smucker Quality Beverages (the same Smucker's who make jams and jellies). SQB also distributes several other beverages under the Smucker's name, including After the Fall, which is the company that Mark Panely used to run before he started that atrocity known as Journey Food and Beverage Co. and began pumping out that disgusting excuse for a root beer. But anyway, this is about Natural Brew, not that other garbage.

It comes in a stout 12 oz. glass bottle in a 4-pack. Not buying it at the Pop Shop means i don't have the luxury of just buying them one at a time. The label has a color scheme using Earthy colors and shows a serene looking landscape consisting of a set of rolling hills/mountains in the background with a babbling mountain spring in the foreground. It's like something right off an Arrowhead Water label (maybe someone should alert them that their logo is being plagiarized). There is a lot of text along the sides of the label arguing the benefits of natural ingredients, etc. This seems to be common of all root beers that use natural ingredients. No big surprise there i guess.

Being a root beer that utilizes natural ingredients, i was already expecting a certain taste. And based on the mixed reviews of Dick and his wife, i was already thinking this was going to be another bad natural root beer. But i really didn't mind it. It was typical in the way of natural root beers in that it has a base flavor of black licorice and less carbonation than normal, but it also has a heavy clove taste to it and a mild vanilla aftertaste. I'll be honest, it wasn't bad. Probably one of the better natural root beers i have tried. But still not one of my favorites overall.

My official review is that Natural Brew gets 5 (five) IBCs. I really wouldn't mind drinking it again. I don't know how much i would go out of my way though, because it's kind of expensive. It was just under $5 for a 4-pack, which when you think about it isn't that much per bottle. But when you can get IBC for less than $5 for a 6-pack, it's an easy decision based on price alone. However, i will say i was relieved that i wasn't compelled to dump the other three bottles down the drain. This stuff isn't amazing, but it's not terrible. If you like the natural ingredient root beers, i think this one might be your best bet so far.

Howie's Premium Root Beer

2009-01-17T02:16:00.001-08:00

I stumbled upon this root beer on a recent trip up to Utah to visit some of my wife's family for her grandpa's 80th birthday. They live in a little town called Nephi about 40 miles south of Provo, and we found this in the local grocery store (only available to us in 2 liter bottles). Howie's root beer was created by a guy named Howard Tanner in Orem, UT in 1989. Most of the info i could get is from the story printed on the bottle. Apparently Howard started a restaurant in Orem called The Squat and Gobble, which later changed it's name to Howie's when the root beer grew in popularity. This root beer was created to serve specifically at Howie's. I was curious about the restaurant and couldn't find a website for it on the internet. Apparently i am not the only one who was curious because i found this post on a BYU news blog. This was nice because it did all the research i didn't care much to do myself by clarifying that Howie's has indeed shut down. The root beer is still available through local retailers in Utah Valley.

I would like to try and get this in a 12 oz. glass bottle, but the 2 liter bottle is what is featured and is standard in every sense. The label kind of reminds me of a pizzeria. It has a beige/tan background with checkerboard boarders at the top and bottom, and the logo is a big frothy mug of root beer with Howie's name plastered across the front in big cursive font. Fine by me for a label. Nothing spectacular, but nothing too cheap and unappealing either.

But let me let you in on a little secret... man is this stuff good. I liked it A LOT. It was a serious treat, a real gem of a find. The label describes it as smooth, creamy, and mellow. I would add amazing to that. The first thing i noticed when i poured myself a glass was a heavy wintergreen scent which took me by surprise. I don't usually do a smell test on root beers, but it was overwhelming (in a good way). So i was expecting a nice wintergreen flavor, but it's only a very subtle after taste. It has a great root beer flavor with a mellow, creamy vanilla base, and then the slight hint of wintergreen to follow up. Wow... this stuff is really good. My wife seems to think it's not as good as i think, but if anyone agreed with her they would be looking at her blog right now and not mine. Plus, she's a girl, and girls don't know anything about root beer. Or fun.

My official review is the Howie's gets 9 (nine) IBCs. This might cause a rift in my marriage, but i really think Howie's deserves it. It was very impressive, and very inexpensive (i think it was something like $1.23 for a 2 liter). Let's just say i will definitely be picking up more of this stuff on my next trip up to Utah, and i would highly recommend you do the same.

Journey John Barleycorn Root Beer

2009-01-10T13:40:00.000-08:00

This one was found tucked away in the Pop Shop and quickly caught my eye. It has a crazy design on the label, but we'll get to that in a bit. Journey John Barleycorn Root Beer is part of the Journey Food and Beverage Company. They actually make several flavors of soda, including two other root beers. The story is that the company was started by a guy named Mark Panely. It is situated in Putney, VT, but i can't seem to find a date of when it started. The site mentions how Mark has worked in the industry since 1979, but i am thinking Journey started around the mid to late 90's. Apparently he was riding on his bike cross-country and had a vision about how people should "journey" for the best ingredients and recipes to use in brewing, or some garbage like that. Well whatever, sounds like a bunch of hippie nonsense to me, though i respect him as a fellow cyclist. That's right, i'm a cyclist now. Got a problem with that? Didn't think so.

The bottle is pretty standard, 12 oz. dark brown glass. The label, as i mentioned before, is what caught my eye. It has a lot of browns, greens, and yellows, some metallic colors, and a crazy looking barrel thing with a face and a moustache. The writing reminds me of Star Wars, epic and cosmic, desperately trying to catch my attention. There is a lot of text on the label cuz they have a lot of info to throw at you. I would have preferred it to explain what the cryptic and psychedelic image is supposed to mean. The cap even has a big question mark on it, maybe asking you if you're sure you really want to drink this stuff. I get the feeling like this is going to be an Alice in Wonderland experience, or maybe the famous blue pill, red pill decision. Apparently all the sodas have different images on them, each as perplexing. The site mentions that Mark Panley comments on the labels. "If you think it’s just a soda with a crazy picture of a dragon on it, then you just don’t get it." Guess what Mark, you nailed it. I don't get it. And if i can be completely honest, it reminds me of poop. Yeah, i said it, and it's true. The color scheme, the texture of the barrel in the illustration, even the name "barleycorn" (to spell it out for those who don't get that, it's because sometimes when you poop, there's corn in it). Sorry, I don't mean to offend anyone or anything. What am i saying? I don't care.

Mark strived to make this a "historic brew" from Scottish and Irish brewing traditions. It includes malt, which to me doesn't seem like a good decision. I am not sure if Bundaberg uses malt too, but these two taste very very simlar. I guess what i am getting at is that this stuff is not good at all. It has zero, as in, absolutely no carbonation. I don't like the taste at all. Three words on the label describe it as nutty, malty, and foamy. The three words they should have used were nasty, acrid (link requested by my wife), and flat. I don't think it's good or original or worth going out of your way for. I actually broke one of my own "rules", in that i usually make it a point to drink the entire bottle of the root beer i am drinking to get more than just a first impression of it. Well i couldn't do it with this one. I seriously only drank about a fourth of it and poured the rest down the drain. It's awful. Just plain awful.

My official review is the JJBC gets 1 (one) IBC. As i mentioned above, Journey makes two other root beers which i have not found yet, and i would just as soon skip them if i weren't so dedicated to my cause of bringing you relevant and pertinent information regarding root beer. What i do is important to a lot of people. So i suppose i will have to track those two down and try them as well. But as for you, don't bother tracking this one down, and i wouldn't recommend looking up the other two until i give you my expert opinion on the subject.

Triple XXX Root Beer

2009-01-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

This is another root beer with a family restaurant background, which i am finding is a popular way to start making root beer. Triple XXX Bottling Company was started in 1895 in Galveston, TX. It's been around for a long time and has seen a lot of action. Not necessarily the kind of action you might find in the terrible Vin Diesel movie Triple XXX, but action none the less. For those of you not too familiar with the geography of Texas, Galveston is located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. This means it is susceptible to hurricanes and tropical storms. One interesting note i pulled off their site was that the company basically made themselves a hurricane-proof fortress in which to brew and bottle beverages. Well, maybe it was just a wall, but i like to think of it as a fortress. Anyway, after a number of set backs in Galveston with the hurricanes and Prohibition and what not, Triple XXX eventually was purchased by Dr. Pepper and production was moved to Houston, TX where they are currently headquartered. It's not all that far from Galveston though, so i am sure they maintain operations in Galveston.

The typical 12 oz. bottle is adorned with a simple, yet bold label of brown, metallic red, and yellow. I like the simplicity of it. Not much going on, but it doesn't really need it. It caught my eye in the store. Then again, i seek these things out, so maybe that's a bit slanted. Another point of interest was that on the website it mentioned that despite the demand for retail bottles, Triple XXX is only available through restaurants and food outlets as a fountain drink right now. Perhaps this has recently changed, and i'm glad it did.

The tag line on the bottle says, "tastes like root beer used to taste". Recently it seems like i am less kind to the "old time" root beers, because they just over complicate things with the flavors and ingredients and being all natural and all that garbage. But i was pleasantly surprised by this root beer. It's quite good and has a simple and straight forward taste. To be completely honest, i think it basically taste's exactly like Stewart's, and that's not a bad thing. I like Stewart's, ergo, i like Triple XXX. It has that great, classic root beer taste with a smooth carmel finish. It was a pleasure to drink and it complimented my meal (a plate of homemade nachos, which is a staple in my diet) quite nicely.

My official review is that Triple XXX gets 7 (seven) IBCs. It's a lot less easy to find than Stewart's is, but i think i might try and drink them side by side to try and distinguish between them. Maybe like a blind taste test. Come to think of it, that might be interesting to do with all the root beers i have tried thus far. Hmm...

Sorry, i got side tracked there. Anyway, it's a good one and i recommend it if you can find it.

Hire's Root Beer

2009-01-05T11:22:00.001-08:00

Ok, first to all my loyal readers, Happy New Year! I apologize for being so bad at updating this thing, but now that the Holidays are over i can use my extensive knowledge and incredible foresight and wisdom to focus on the important task of rating root beers so you all know what's good and what's garbage. So with that, let's look at this next root beer. Most people out west will probably know about this little root beer, although it was quite hard for me to find. Hires Root Beer was created by a guy named Charles Elmer Hires in 1866 in Philadelphia, PA. This root beer is arguably the grandfather of modern root beer, and more so, spawned the birth of the name "root beer" for this delectable drink. Hires is now owned by the Dr. Pepper company and Hires has claim to being the longest continuously produced soft drink in U.S. history. A guy named Don Hale started a drive-in restaurant in Salt Lake City, UT in 1959. Hires is the featured drink at this all American drive-in, Hires Big H. There are only three locations of the restaurant, all of which are in the Greater Salt Lake Area. You used to be able to find 20 oz. plastic bottles of their root beer in gas stations and grocery stores all over the place. I grew up going up to Utah in the winters to ski and snowboard and visit family, so Hires is no stranger to me. The food at the drive in is quite good, reasonably priced, and a throw back to the 50's diner style of eating out. I actually just went up to Salt Lake this past weekend to do some snowboarding with my brother Trent (who i might add is a commercial and movie star and is quite famous) and i told him we needed to make it a point to go to Hires Big H so i could get a bottle of their root beer and review it. I also had a tall frosty mug of their root beer with my meal, which is the ideal way to drink root beer in my opinion.

As i mentioned above, you used to be able to find Hires Root Beer in gas stations and grocery stores all over the west, but it is hard to come by now. When i asked them at the diner if they sold bottles of their root beer, they told me it is actually brewed in Tucson, AZ which is just a few hours south of me here in Phoenix, but really not worth visiting (not even for Hires). Anyway, they told me it is shipped up to them in gallon jugs. Kind of strange, but i asked if i could buy a gallon jug, and they said sure. What i didn't realize is that it came in a plain milk jug with no label. So i had to kind of jimmy-rig this thing and i printed off their logo on the computer and taped it on the gallon jug. This is the featured picture in this blog post. I know it looks ghetto, but it's the best i can do.

Hires has a great taste to it. It's that classic root beer flavor followed with just a hint of a vanilla cream flavor, which makes me certain this is a good root beer to have with ice cream and make a root beer float with. The gallon had lost it's carbonation by the time i got it home and drank it, but it has a good amount of carbonation and it's smooth and creamy (to use a cliche root beer review term). It's a shame it's so hard to find now because this stuff is very good.

My official review is that Hires gets 8 (eight) IBCs. I was originally thinking a 7, but the fact that it's harder to find makes this one a little more special. I searched several gas stations and grocery stores while in Utah this weekend and couldn't find any trace of this delicious root beer. So if you by chance find some, i highly recommend you pick it up. It's worth it. Maybe you can still buy it in Tucson. It might be worth driving down there for...

Oh wait, i forgot. It's Tucson. Never mind, i can just get it in a frosty mug in Salt Lake.

Maine Root Root Beer

2008-12-24T15:06:00.001-08:00

My soon-to-be-dentist friend Dick found this little root beer next to the previously posted one at Cost Plus World Market. Maine Root Beer has been around since 2004 and is brewed in St. Scarborough, ME. It has a real hippie look to it and is all about the pure, natural flavors and what not (kind of like Virgil's). It was started by a couple brothers just helping out a friend with a restaurant and became popular enough to go into distribution. They actually make a whole line of different sodas with natural flavors and organic ingredients. Apparently people love this stuff. It has the appeal of being "all natural", so it's closer to the original stuff. In fact, there is a link on their website to this fun little website which is all about the natural root beer movement. I personally rather like the sweet and sugary "corporate" way of making root beer because it doesn't taste like boiled yard work, but i suppose that's open to discussion. I haven't messed around on this site too much, but there is a lot of silly stuff on there you can look at if you're really into root beer culture. Looks more like hippie culture to me, but whatever. Just don't believe everything you read (unless it's on this blog).

It comes in your typical dark brown 12 oz. glass bottle and the label on it has some weird root drawing or something on it and a list of all the ingredients (kind of like Virgil's). There is a lot of typed print on the label, i guess to reassure you that they really do use all these natural flavors. The color scheme is green, brown and white, very Earthy colors, and as i have already stated, i get the over all impression that this is a hippie root beer. Don't believe me? Look at a picture of it's creators on the home page of their site. Two words; greasy hippies.

Anyway, despite the fact that this is a hippie drink, it's not terrible. It's not great, but not terrible. It has the black licorice flavor, but not overpowering, it's semi-sweet and lightly carbonated (kind of like Virgil's). I guess what i am trying to say is that if you like Virgil's, you'll probably like this. It doesn't have the exact taste Virgil's does, but it's close. It also does not have the incredible marketing job that Virgil's has, with their giant bearded man and awesome packaging. All in all though, it's not a terrific drink, but it also doesn't taste like a dead guy, so that's a plus.

My official review is that Maine Root gets 4 (four) IBCs. This is one of those drinks you just have to like the basic taste of. Virgil's has a bit more to it than just the black licorice flavor which makes it more likeable for me. Maine Root simply compensates with a sweet sugary after taste. So again, if you like black licorice flavored root beers, be my guest. Just don't buy to much of this stuff. We don't want another hippie uprising.

Bundaberg Australian Root Beer

2008-12-24T15:02:00.000-08:00

As you can probably tell from the post title, this little root beer comes from Australia. A friend of mine found it for me at Cost Plus World Market. Bundaberg is the city in which this brewery is located and operates in Australia. It was founded in 1960 and produces several flavors and types of soft drinks. If one was so inclined, they could take a tour of the Bundaberg Barrel and get a taste of their brewing experience. It's kind of a neat little structure. I doubt i'd take the time to go see it if i ever end up in Australia, but it might be worth snapping a quick picture or something.

The typical 12 oz. dark brown glass bottle has a fun yellow label on it with the root beer's name and a picture of Australia in the corner, reminding you where it's made. There is also a big kangaroo pictured in the center to reinforce that fact. The bottle i got wasn't all that interesting, but the one on the site looks pretty interesting to me. I would have liked to get one of these bottles cuz it looks like more fun. I'm sure you agree with me.

One thing that was different about this root beer is that it says right on the label that you need to invert the bottle before drinking. I believe it's because they use the yeast fermentation method of carbonation and it is in effort to stir up some of the settled ingredients before drinking it. Either way, inverted bottle or not, this stuff is bad. Not good at all. My darling wife believes it resembles the taste of cough medicine. It definitely has that yeast taste to it, and the company claims that it uses such authentic and natural ingredients in the old way of brewing and drinking root beer that it is "the way root beer used to taste". If that's the case, then no thanks. I wonder if they put a kangaroo on the label because that's what this stuff tastes like.

My official review is that Bundaberg gets 1 (one) IBC. I have seen other reviews that call it "the best root beer i didn't like", and recommending people need to try it at least once just to see what it's like. I disagree with this sentiment. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. It's just plain bad. On top of it all too, it's expensive, most likely because it's imported. So save yourself the money and skip this one.

Abita Root Beer

2008-12-21T09:27:00.000-08:00

This root beer has the claim on the bottom of the bottle that it is made with pure Louisiana cane sugar. Abita is a brewery founded in 1986 outside of New Orleans that makes both beer and root beer. Funny story... i was at the Pop Shop the other day picking up some more root beers and a customer came in and was asking the hippie at the counter for a root beer they have from Louisiana. I piped in and immediately said, "it's called Abita, and it's right over here." He came over and verified that it was indeed what he was looking for. So, you know... just proves how awesome i am. Abita Springs, the town where Abita is brewed, is noted for it's pure water springs which are fabled to have medicinal properties. In short, Abita cures cancer. I know, i was surprised too.

The 12 oz. stout glass bottle has a label that reminds me of Egyptian for some reason. It only uses a few colors, but looks like it could have hieroglyphics and it. Don't worry though, it doesn't. Just english. So don't worry about cracking out the Rosetta Stone just yet.

The taste of this thing is reminiscent of Thomas Kemper again. It has a decent root beer flavor, a hint of black licorice, and a mellow honey after taste. I didn't mind it, but it wasn't my favorite either. However, that malignant lump on my breast has since disappeared. Thanks again Abita.

My official review is that Abita gets 5 (five) IBCs. It wasn't bad as far as the taste goes. The honey taste was mellow and didn't go too far and it was a decent over all blend of root beer. My lovely wife didn't care much for it though, and i don't know that i liked it enough to get it again. Unless of course i break my leg or have clogged arteries or contract tuberculosis. Don't worry Abita, i got your number.

Sioux City Root Beer

2008-12-18T16:01:00.000-08:00

This root beer has a long and rich history of American heritage. You can learn more about it on the website, but the basics are that Sioux City Beverages are part of the White Rock water company which was founded in Waukesha, WI in 1871. It was later bought by National Distillers and moved its operation to New York state where it is currently produced. In 1975, White Rock introduced Sioux City Sarsaparilla, which is the first in the Sioux City line of flavors. I quite enjoyed the sarsaparilla when i tasted it, and i'll admit that i like it better than the root beer, but i'll get to that in a moment. Anyway, the company itself has a long and distinct history, but i will let you read up on that if you care to. Quite impressive and worth a look if you have the time (or care in the slightest about beverage history). However, guess what else White Rock distributes... Olde Brooklyn. Boooo... That was a very unimpressive root beer. But hey, you can't win all the time.

The 12 oz. brown glass bottle is fairly standard. It looks a little more stout than a typical bottle though and reminds me of a Stewart's bottle. Each flavor has a different picture embossed on the bottle, all of which are cowboy themed. They are going for that old west look and feel. This one looks like a sheriff sitting in a saloon playing some cards and enjoying a delicious mug of root beer. The sarsaparilla has a picture of a sheriff walking through the swinging doors of the saloon, presumably on his way to sit down, play some cards, and enjoy a delicious mug of root beer. Not sure if there is any kind of connection with chronology there, but i doubt it. I'm probably just stretching for something that's not there.

As far as taste goes, you already know that i enjoy the sarsaparilla more (which i am debating the idea of including sarsaparillas in my reviews because it is so similar to root beer), but that doesn't mean the root beer is bad. In fact, i think it's quite good. I rather enjoyed it. It has a nice, mellow wintergreen flavor to begin with and then it has a kick of something to it that kind of reminds me of Gale's root beer, which i have reviewed previously. It's almost like the yeast taste that i thought i tasted in Gale's, but it could be something completely different. Either way though, i thought it was pretty good. A nice blend. I was also interested to see that Sioux City uses both cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Not sure how many sodas do this, but it's the first time i took notice.

My official review is that Sioux City gets 6 (six) IBCs. It's a good root beer, no doubt. I like the taste of the different and unique flavors as they blend together. Like i said, it reminded me of Gale's, but i think Gale could take some lessons from Sioux City. Grab one if it's available, or if you can find the sarsaparilla, i say go for that one instead.

Sea Dog Root Beer

2008-12-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

I have seen this one around, on different websites and even on display in a restaurant. Sea Dog Root Beer is similar to other root beers that are actually restaurants selling their root beers commercially, except that Sea Dog started out as a brewery and moved into the restaurant business later. It is centered in Maine and was started in the town of Camden in 1993. Sea Dog also brews beers and competes internationally with its brews.

The 12 oz. bottle has a picture of a lovable little dog on the label wearing a longshoreman's hat. That is just so tender. Awww... Anyway, his name is Barney, and he is a Great Pyrenees breed. The website speaks very affectionately of Barney and maintains that he embodies the spirit of their brews, including their root beer. Oh, and also he's dead. Just thought i should mention that.

I am not a fan of Sea Dog. Now, i have never been to Maine and don't really intend to make plans to do so anytime soon, but if i do, maybe i will stop by the restaurant and give it a whirl. But as far as the root beer is concerned, i am not interested. It has that base black licorice flavor that i am just not a fan of. I will say though, they don't go over board with it. It's fairly mellow and i appreciate that. I also swear i taste a hint of honey in the after taste, but i didn't see anything about honey mentioned in the ingredients. Either way though, it wasn't what i was looking for in a root beer.

My official review is the Sea Dog gets 4 (four) IBCs. It's not terribly done, but at its core it is not my favorite blend of flavors. I am sure there is a market for it out there though and some people just rave about it. Maybe it's up your alley, maybe not. But as far as i'm concerned, i don't think i'll have it again any time soon.

Cool Mountain Root Beer

2008-12-17T20:22:00.000-08:00

This little root beer sat quietly on the Pop Shop shelf almost hidden among the other root beers. I was scouring the rest of the root beers i have yet to try and stumbled upon this little bottle. Cool Mountain has only been around since 1997 and makes several different flavors of soda. The name of it took me off guard at first and made me think of the 2003 movie Cold Mountain, which has quite an eclectic cast if i might say so myself. They are situated in Des Plaines, IL. In this respect, they kind of remind me of Jones, but don't offer the crazy, out-on-a-limb kinds of flavors that Jones does. I think Cool Mountain also participates in giving back to the community, or at least promoting education, because along with the company's website, there is this website listed on the bottle. Good for you Cool Mountain. My hat is off.

The clear glass 12 oz. bottle has a clear, rather colorless sticker label with a nice mountain range pictured below the root beer's name. Makes me think of the majestic Rocky Mountains. You know, because Des Plains, IL is typically known by the presence of the majestic Rocky Mountains close to the vicinity. So right there, they lost the credibility they earned from donating to/promoting education for Native Americans. And we already know how i feel about sodas in clear bottles. I am skeptical at best about them.

I was at a BBQ recently (see the post about Mason's Root Beer) and one of the people there picked up a bottle of this root beer and said, "this one is one of the ones i really liked." I had not tried it at that point, but i knew he was a Weinhard's fan and that i couldn't trust his judgement. Well what do you know... i'm a genius. This stuff isn't good. It's not bad, but it's not even "alright". It's just kind of... blah. Really watery and little carbonation, the only thing i could really taste outside of the faint root beer flavor is the cane sugar. It loses flavor so fast that i was disinterested with it after just a few drinks.

My official review is that Cool Mountain gets 3 (three) IBCs. I really don't have much to say about this one except that it is very forgettable. It's not necessarily bad tasting, but it holds no appeal for me. You can give it a try if you'd like, but i would recommend saving the money and just drinking sugar water instead to achieve the same effect.

Mason's Root Beer

2008-12-14T10:08:00.000-08:00

This is another little root beer that falls under the Real Soda umbrella. The bottle says it's produced in Atlanta, GA, but i don't know how long it has been around. I actually picked this one up at a BBQ i was invited to by a coworker (hence the wierd stucco background in the picture since i took it outside his house with my cell phone). I found a tag line on the Real Soda site alluding to ties with The Masons, a centuries old secret society with many prominent members over the years. This isn't the best source for an introduction to this group, but if you are completely unfamiliar with the Masons, go watch the movie National Treasure, starring Nicholas Cage. It is about the Masons and American History (but done up with Hollywood writing and effects). Or, just drink the root beer. It's actually made from an old Masonic root beer recipe. At least i choose to believe that.

It comes in a typical 12 oz. glass bottle and the label is very plain and rather dull. Nothing with actual Masonic ties since the Masons have a rich history of symbols and elaborate decoration with secret meaning. This is just a big M and the word Mason's in it and a picture of a root beer barrel with the words "keg brewed flavor" written on it. Not very Masonish if you ask me. Not even really brick-layer masonish. Maybe the guy who brewed it is named Mason.

As far as the taste goes, it was nothing new to me. I am thinking of putting a little piece into my reivews to tell people what other root beers the root beer i am reviewing reminds me of. For this one i would say, "tastes like: Jack Black's Dead Red, Dad's, Rat Bastard". But i guess i already kinda do that, so i probably won't add that little section. Anyway, it has that nutmeggy, pumpkin spicey taste to it that seems to be pretty common in a lot of root beers. It's not overpowering, and it's not a bad tasting drink, but it's not really anything new or different either.

My official review is that Mason's gets 6 (six) IBCs. It gets the same rating as all the other sodas it tastes like (except Rat Bastard, which is just a jerk). Really, there is very little differentiation to me between these sodas. Jack Black's is a bit stronger on the flavor, but other than that, i don't know that i could pick them out in a blind taste test. So if you're into those root beers, try this one too. It's nothing new, but it's right up your alley.

Zuberfizz Creamy Root Beer

2008-12-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

This little root beer with a funny name comes from Durango, CO and has been around since 2002. Zuberfizz Soda Company makes sodas in several flavors and distributes them all over the west, but mostly just within Colorado. I have actually tried a different flavor soda by this company and it wasn't bad. I have also been to Durango several times to do some snowboarding. The little town is knows for Purgatory Ski Resort, which is a lot of fun if you're into that kind of thing. Big Jeff even owns a time share there. It's a quaint little town that tries to be big, but maintain it's small town reputation. Oh... and Zuberfizz makes root beer there.

It comes in a stout 12 oz. bottle and has a colorful, modern, and well done label. Big font, soda cap design in the background and along one side (you can't see in this picture), and a good match of bright and dark colors. Not that the colors of the label have much to do with the taste of the root beer, but i (the expert) thought it was worth mentioning.

Zuberfizz is another one of those companies that is big time into the cane sugar idea. So all their sodas are made with cane sugar. That's fine, i like cane sugar sodas for the most part, but i don't usually go out of my way for them or anything. Another ingredient they use, at least in their root beer, is honey, which is why Zuberfizz tastes a lot like Thomas Kemper to me. It's not nearly as strong as Thomas Kemper, and there is much more of a root beer taste before the honey after taste, but over all, i didn't like it all that much.

My official review is that Zuberfizz gets 5 (five) IBCs. It was fine for what it is, and i would drink it over Thomas Kemper, but i am not really a huge fan of the honey taste. However, if you do like the honey taste, i think Zuberfizz at least does it right. It's not overpowering and it's not a bad compliment to the rest of the root beer flavor. Ultimately though, i would go for something a bit different or try one of their other flavors.

Gray's Gourmet Root Beer

2008-12-14T09:18:00.000-08:00

I couldn't find a lot about this one on the internet either. No official site that i know of, but several sites where you can buy it online. However, looking at the label on the bottle we can see that Gray's Root Beer is brewed in Janesville, WI (which is Wisconsin, in case you were wondering). The label also says that it's a family own and run operation since 1856 and gets its name from the family that runs it. It doesn't make me think of the Gray family, it makes me think of Gray's Anatomy, and what an awful and stupid TV show it is. Luckily this root beer has no connection (that i know of) to terrible TV programming. To be honest, i am pretty disappointed by most all TV shows these days. Anyway, this is about root beer, and not TV shows. If you want a review of TV shows, you'll have to visit my other blog, cosmosTVreviews.blogspot.com.

It comes in a clear glass 12 oz. bottle that is pretty standard. The label is brown with big font and a little cartoon picture of a root beer barrel. It's fairly simple, but i can appreciate it. It gets the message across. Whatever.

It's a good root beer, but nothing special about it. It has a good, classic root beer taste to it that's enjoyable, but nothing much else. I was a little surprised that it was as good as it is. I don't know what it is, but i almost have a bias against a root beer in a clear bottle. However, this root beer uses high fructose corn syrup. A lot of the independent brews use cane sugar, and when they come in a clear bottle, i usually am not as impressed with the taste. Just noticing a trend here. I believe the scientific method would call for me to make a hypothesis based on my observations, so i would make the hypothesis that perhaps the amount of light that is let in by the clear bottle affects the content of the soda (particularly the cane sugar) and alters the taste slightly. I'm probably wrong, but i gave it a shot, right? And hey, in my opinion science is really just about sounding smart.

My official review is that Gray's gets 5 (five) IBCs. It's a good, basic root beer. Not amazing and not really unique at all, but it's good. It will just have to join the ranks of all those other middle of the road root beers. I'm not sure how widely distributed it is, but i didn't mind it and you should give it a try if it's available.

Waialua Root Beer

2008-12-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

It's probably not hard to guess where this root beer comes from, but i'll go ahead and tell you anyway. Waialua Root Beer is bottled in Waialua, HI and has only been around since 2003. My wife has a cousin who lives on Oahu not far from Waialua. If i had known about this root beer back in May 2007 (or been doing this blog back then), i might have made a special trip to visit the bottling plant while my then fiance and i were there visiting. Waialua also makes a few other flavors that are centered around flavors found in the Hawaiian Islands such as mango, pineapple, and vanilla cream. These four flavors are all Waialua Sodaworks produces at this moment. I think when my wife and i retire in the Hawaiian Islands (which we intend to do), we will have to sample all the other flavors as well.

Waialua bottles all of its sodas in clear 12 oz. glass bottles. They kind of make a point of using clear glass bottles because it's what all companies used to do in the old days or something. Hmmm... neat. Anyway, the label is a lot of fun to look at if you are a guy and a great source of jealousy if you are that guy's wife. My wife hates the label, as well as the fact that i can't stop looking at it even now. That's right hula girl... shake that skirt of yours. There is some writing at the bottom that looks like it is of Asian origin. I was surprised to discover that Honolulu has a large population of Japanese people, so i would guess it's Japanese. But it doesn't really look like Japanese to me. I would ask a friend of mine that used to live there, but he only pretends to speak Japanese and doesn't really know any of it. He's basically worthless when it comes to speaking and reading Japanese. Plus he's allergic to milk, so... you know... can't trust him anyway.

Waialua sticks to its promise of using only native Hawaiian flavors because their root beer doesn't taste like root beer at all. All i can taste is brown sugar. It's not a bad taste, but it is rather overwhelmingly sweet. Not what i am looking for a in a root beer personally, so it doesn't really do it for me. Additionally, Waialua has little carbonation in it and tastes a bit flat.

My official review is that Waialua gets 4 (four) IBCs. It's not a typical root beer. I think it's a stretch really to call it a root beer at all, but i'll go with it for the sake of argument. I loved Hawaii when i was there and am more than happy to promote anything Hawaiian, but i can't in good conscience give it more than a 4. It's decent, but sweet and lacking in the real root beer flavor. Try it if you'd like, especially if you're in Hawaii (it might have a different effect over there), but i would choose other standard root beers over this one when it comes to taste.

Empire Bottling Works Root Beer

2008-12-11T19:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a root beer that's hard to track down on the web (as far as an official site), but luckily a lot of the info we want is printed on the bottle itself. Empire Bottling Works is based in Bristol, RI and has been in operation since 1930. There is a phone number on the bottle if anyone is interested in calling them. Just click on the picture to enlarge it if you can't quite make it out. We are back to a lot of the sodas that use real cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, and Empire is one of them. I don't know much else about the company, but let's face it, you (my loyal readers) could probably care less about the company. So let's just get down to brass tacks.

I got off on the wrong foot with this one and was already expecting it to be garbage. For starters, i hate the bottle. It's a 12 oz. bottle that has an irregular shape. It kinda reminds me of the old milk bottles from back in the day when they left them on your door step (remember that kids? *sigh* boy, memories...). The label is very retro with a 40s or 50s look to it. You'll have to click on the picture to enlarge it to get a better look at what i am talking about, but this bottle is filthy too. It's covered in some goopy guk stuff on the left side of the picture like it had scotch tape on it that melted in the sun and then was peeled off and left the residue. Also, the label is scuffed and ripped up, which i don't like. But guess what. This is the best/cleanest bottle i could find. For realsies. They all seemed like they were covered in this crap, and most of the labels on the bottles i saw got the worse end of the deal that this one got. Now i suppose we could crack it up to having one of the bottles break and spill over all the others or something, but i went to a different section and found a different bottle of Empire, and the bottle was a different shape (still 12 oz.) and it was still covered in goop with a jacked up label. Come on Empire, get with it. It makes me think they just salvage any bottles they can, regardless of uniformity, and fill them with root beer without washing them.

When i opened it up, it had a nice smell of wintergreen, so i was hoping it might redeem itself for what it lacked in looks with taste. It has a decent wintergreen flavor to start with (which i like), some regular old root beer flavor, and it almost tastes like bubble gum in the after taste. But the taste doesn't last long and it leaves kind of a taste of aspartame i your mouth that's rather unpleasant. My wife said it reminded her of a diet soda, which i have read on other reviews for this root beer. There is also little carbonation in it. It's not flat, but i would have liked it to be more carbonated. Unfortunately, it didn't win me over.

My official review is that Empire gets 3 (three) IBCs. Not the best showing in a root beer. The taste itself isn't half bad, but it's not very memorable or outstanding. They lost me big time on the bottle though. I seriously think they fished it out of the trash and just filled it with root beer. But hey, i bet it cuts down on cost. Sorry Empire, but i am recommending my readers to go ahead and skip you.

Addendum: 7/23/2010 - So, nothing to do with root beer really, but one of the things my trip to California recently rewarded me with was a chance to visit a Rocket Fizz store and meet the owner, a swell guy. I bought a few root beers and my wife got some old timey candy, and he actually gave me a bottle of Empire Bottling Works Spruce Beer free of charge. It is a clear soda (think Sprite or 7-Up), but he said he hadn't tried it and wanted to know what i thought of it. So i cracked the thing open and... WOW! That stuff is powerful strong, not in a good way. Seriously, it tastes like Vick's Vaporub. I would say if you can find it just get one for the experience. You only need to do it once though. I doubt you'll go back for seconds.

Bulldog Root Beer

2008-12-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

I was introduced to this root beer by a colleague of mine who spoke quite highly of it. Bulldog Root Beer has only been around since 1997. It is brewed in Fresno, CA, and one thing i found interesting was that the brew master is a woman. Hmmm... i thought that couldn't be true at first since women have smaller brains than men and are far inferior to them, but i guess it's almost like cooking, so i suppose that's feasible. Anyway, they make it a point to tell you that they brew (i.e. cook) their root beer, and don't just mix a bunch of artificial flavors. It seems like most of the root beers out there want to have the street cred of "real" and "authentic" taste that only comes with long boring testimonials on their websites. Well whatever, the point is that it's root beer one way or another. Just cuz it's "authentic" doesn't always mean it's good.

The bottle is a typical 12 oz. and on the label is pictured two adorable dogs named Hops and Barley whose breed the root beer is named for. Now, here is where i am confused, and maybe someone can straighten this out for me. I am not a dog expert (i am too busy being a root beer expert), but the name of the root beer is Bulldog and those don't look like bulldogs to me, they look like pitbulls. Am i wrong here? Is that ok to call it Bulldog Root Beer and not Pitbull Root Beer? I know i am splitting hairs here and it has nothing to do with the taste of the root beer, but it still kinda bothers me. I mean what if i called my root beer Lighthouse Root Beer and put a picture of the Eiffel Tower on it? It just doesn't make sense to me. But whatever.

Although my colleague spoke so highly of it, i have to admit i wasn't too impressed. My very first impression was, "this tastes like Weinhard's." Normally i would spit that cursed liquid out and run my tongue over a cheese grater to get the taste out of my mouth, but i am a professional and as such i promised i would review this root beer. What i mean when i say it tastes like Weinhard's is that it has the same candy corn flavor. It's not nearly as strong though, and not nearly as sickly sweet. Then the after taste hit me and i thought to myself, "this tastes like Thomas Kemper." One of their key ingredients, like Thomas Kemper, is honey, and it has the same kind of honey taste that TK has, but again not nearly as strong. So it's kind of like a blend of low potency Weinhard's and Thomas Kemper. I didn't care more for TK and i absolutely abhor Weinhard's, so i wasn't all that fond of this one. In Bulldog's defense though, the blend of the tastes combined with the toned down potency wasn't a bad mix, but i personally just didn't find it all that appealing.

My official review is that Bulldog gets 4 (four) IBCs. I couldn't in good conscience rate it higher than Thomas Kemper, and the candy corn taste wasn't winning it any points. Again, this is probably one of those root beers that fits a particular taste. It wasn't awful, but it's not my cup of tea. I would pass this one up and go for something else.

A&W Root Beer

2008-12-03T23:16:00.001-08:00

I'll round out my reviews of the juggernauts of root beer that i have sampled recently with this one. And i mean it for realsies this time... if you haven't heard of or tried this one, you have a shallow and meaningless life that you should probably just go ahead and end sometime in the near future. A&W was started in 1919, the same blessed year IBC began brewing root beer. This is the big one kids. I would wager that this is probably the best known root beer in the country, and possibly on the planet. They are such a big deal that they landed the website domain name rootbeer.com. Quite a catch, if you ask me. A&W gets it's name from the two founders, Roy Allen and Frank Wright. They combined the first letters of their last names to create A&W. Allen eventually bought out Wright and started a franchise restaurant to sell hamburgers along with his root beer. A&W has since basically become the McDonald's of root beer. There are still A&W fast food restaurants around. The food is ok, but the root beer is the real draw and appeal. There is a lot more history about the company on their site, so if you'd like to do a little research of your own, feel free.

Again, i picked this up at a gas station in a 20 oz. plastic bottle, although it's not your typical plastic bottle. It has a different shape to it which is unique to A&W (as far as plastic bottles go). The logo is displayed on a background made to look like a barrel. Again, i don't particularly care for the plastic bottles, so this one isn't a big deal to me. I think of any of the bigger named root beers though, this shouldn't be too difficult to find in a 12 oz. glass bottle. I could be wrong, and if i am, you're pathetic for wasting your time just trying to prove me wrong. It doesn't mean you're cooler or smarter than me, it just means you need a hobby. Or a girlfriend, but i doubt you're attractive enough to find someone who will tolerate the sight of you. But thanks for being a loyal reader regardless.

Addendum 7/25/2010: well look here, i found it in a glass bottle. It wasn't too difficult either. There is a place in Los Angeles called Galco's that sells A&W in glass bottles.

Also, i found a bottle of A&W BBQ sauce while i was in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and i thought it was kinda funny. They actually have several different sauces flavored with various sodas and liquors. I didn't try it or anything, but i am a fan of A&W as well as a fan of BBQ. So maybe i'll mail order some to try it out. I get the feeling it just tastes like BBQ sauce though.

I don't need to go on and on about how A&W tastes. It's good, we all know that. I will say it reminded me a lot of Stewart's with a nice carmel finish. It can't be as popular as it is by tasting gross, right? So they have to be doing something right. I will see other reviewers from time to time talk about how A&W isn't even good, it's just a low end mass produced root beer. I have a term for these people; root beer snobs. They are the same people who turn their nose up at your favorite band or movie because it's so trendy, and then list off several bands or movies no one has ever heard of to validate their own need to be individual and break away from the mainstream. Seriously, i know people have different tastes, but stop being a tool and putting down a good, classic and original root beer to promote others that no one has ever heard of so you can "express your individuality". No one cares what you think, they care what i think. And further more, no one takes your opinions seriously when you start out by downgrading a perfectly good root beer like this.

My official review is that A&W gets 7 (seven) IBCs. I am sure most people will feel this rating is more than fair. I still have my favorites, but i will acknowledge good taste when i come across it. It's a good soda, people. It's all over the place. Get one. I recommend it.

p.s. if you REALLY want to know what the worst band currently performing is, click here. It's true, they're so trendy and lame. Someone needs to stop them.

Man... i'm so awesome.

Mug Root Beer

2008-12-01T21:08:00.000-08:00

Again, here is another root beer that is going to be well known among just about everyone. I'm probably going to keep this one short. Mug Root Beer is common just about all over the U.S. I picked this one up in a gas station also. According to the site, Mug started in the 1950's in San Francisco, CA. The root beer's mascot, a bull dog named "Dog" (well at least it's easy to remember) has a history of his own listed on the website. I doubt it's true, but it makes for a cute and fun little story i suppose. Whatever. The point is, Mug has made a name for itself and, like Barq's, can be found in restaurants and gas stations all over the country.

Again, because i bought it in a gas station, it's in a pretty regular 20 oz. plastic bottle. I hope to be able to review at least most of my root beers in glass bottles, but i realize i will have to do some from plastic bottles, and at some point maybe even cans. But if i can find this in a glass bottle i will update the picture and maybe the review. The label is very colorful and polished with the mascot holding a mug of root beer under the name. He's cuter on the label than he is on the website, where he kinda freaks me out a little. Just take a look and i think you'll see what i mean.

This is a good root beer, but not much less or more. I like it a lot, and there is something about it that is specific to Mug and sets it apart, yet it's still quite anonymous in the way of root beers and can be lumped in to a lot of the regular middle of the road variety. I enjoy the classic root beer taste though and the nice carbonation. Mug also uses high fructose corn syrup instead of pure cane sugar, and again, i think that's simply to save money because it's such a widely distributed root beer and part of a large conglomerate (i.e. Pepsi). But i don't hold that against a root beer. At this point, i don't care about the whole corn syrup/cane sugar feud. Whatever guys, let's just act like gentlemen and let bygones be bygones. Except you, Wienhard's. You're still worthless.

My official review is that Mug gets 6 (six) IBCs. Like Barq's, i end up drinking a lot of this stuff while i am out and about. It's a good root beer and deserves the reputation it has, but again, it's not really anything special. I like it, but i wouldn't choose it out of a line up. Weather traveling or eating out, chances are you'll be drinking this soon anyway, so i don't really care if you pick one up or not.

Barq's Root Beer

2008-12-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

I went on a little trip this weekend to visit my family for Thanksgiving and wanted to pick up some root beers to review, so i thought i would do some of the basics. The next few reviews should be root beers that are foreign to nobody. One such review would be for Barq's Root Beer. It has been around since 1898. Barq's is brewed in New Orleans, LA and is part of the Coca-Cola family. When i lived in Toronto, i was told by everyone that it was a Canadian root beer. Supposedly there were hilarious Canadian TV commercials for it, but i never saw one since i didn't watch TV. Of course, Canadians take claim for inventing a lot of things which just isn't true (i.e. basketball, Napster.com, black people, the phrase "for a good time", etc.). Anyway, the good news for us though is that you can find it all over the United States. I picked this one up in a gas station.
Barq's proudly flaunts the tagline, "Barq's has bite." I'm not sure what this means, but i do know that when i mentioned Barq's to my wife and Sweet Lola Jane, they both independently mentioned to me that Barq's has bite, in case i wasn't aware. So i guess that counts for something. It is one of the few root beers that contains caffeine, so maybe that has something to do with it.

I was unable to find a glass bottle of this stuff, so i went with the 20 oz. plastic bottle common to most soft drinks found in a gas station. If anyone knows where to get this stuff in a 12 oz. glass bottle, let me know so i can give it my professional review and see if it still measures up. The logo has been the same for as long as i can remember. The same bold, cursive font proudly displaying this soda's name is easy to spot among the shelf of soft drinks.

If you haven't ever tasted Barq's, 1) stop being stupid and get in touch with society man, you're embarrassing everyone, and 2) it definitely has a bite to it. I think i mostly taste the strong, rich root beer flavor, but it has a very subtle hint of a wish of a dream of a whisper of black licorice flavor to top it off. It is ever so subtle, and that's why it's good. As you know, i don't like black licorice, but this flavor is a definite plus to the soda as it doesn't hinder the rest of the rich root beer taste. It's quite a compliment to the rest of the flavor. Most of the lesser known root beers i pick up from the Pop Shop proudly display the fact that they are made with pure cane sugar. This is not the case with Barq's. They go the money saving route by using high fructose corn syrup instead, which is common in most soft drinks. I don't know that it tastes any better or worse, i just know it's good.

My official review is that Barq's gets 6 (six) IBCs. I know i just ranted and raved about it and it may seem like i am kind of giving it the shaft now, but i mean Barq's no disrespect. It's a genuinely good root beer and i drink it a lot. My only beef is that because it is so widely distributed, i end up drinking it a lot. Therefore, if i have the option, i am usually going to reach for something else to try a little variety. But a lot of gas stations and fast food joints stock this stuff, and i never shy away from it when i am in the mood for a root beer and it's my option. So grab one when necessary, but try something new if you have the option.

Berghoff Root Beer

2008-11-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

This root beer has been around a while. Berghoff is also a restaurant that bottles and sells its root beer commercially. The Berghoff restaurant is located in Chicago, IL and has been making root beer since 1898. The website shows a picture of the restaurant and it looks like a pretty swingin' joint. I have been through Chicago once as well (on the same road trip that took me through St. Louis) and spent an afternoon there, but didn't get a chance to look for Berghoff's. Probably because i didn't even know it existed. But anyway, it was started by a German immigrant and has a rich history (which you can read about on the site if you so choose to). The restaurant looks pretty cool. Reminds me of Cheers in Boston, which in case you didn't know, the inside of Cheers looks nothing like the TV set which was filmed in Los Angeles.

The bottle is your standard 12 oz.er and has a very ornate label. It looks like an actual beer bottle label. This isn't much of a shock at all considering Berghoff originally made beer. But it has lots of fancy looking font, gold colors, and it's eye catching for sure. I think it probably compliments the history of the company, and i should know since i'm a huge history buff. Man... i'm so smart.

Anyway, moving on to taste. It's a good root beer. I liked it and it has the good root beer flavor, but it kind of puzzles me. It has another element to it that for the life of me i just cannot identify. There is just something about it that i can't place. It's not bad by any means, but it bugs me that a professional of the highest caliber like myself cannot figure out exactly what this root beer tastes like. I will say this though, the extra whatever doesn't take away from the flavor, but it doesn't really add to it either. It's just kinda there. So all in all, Berghoff is just another regular root beer.

My official review is that Berghoff gets 5 (five) IBCs. I didn't mind it at all, but it kind of your standard middle of the road kind of root beer. I am not sure how widely distributed this root beer is either, but i wouldn't pick one up unless you wanted to help me figure out what i'm tasting. But to be completely honest, i'm the professional here and you're not. What do you know about root beer? Nothing. So i probably wouldn't listen to you anyway.

Thanks for being a loyal reader though...