Langers Root Beer

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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.