Tubz Root Beer

So i have a bit of news. As you may or may not know, i graduated from university last May and have been looking for a job for the past 8 months. Well i flew out to Florida last week to interview and was offered a job in Ocala, so i will be picking up and moving my root beer reviewing operations down to the Sunshine State within the month. While down there, i stopped at a local Save-a-lot grocery store and found this little gem on the shelf. Tubz Root Beer is the generic brand carried by the Save-a-lot chain. The website listed on the label is that of Save-a-lot, so it's not very interesting or informative. I like the name. It reminds me of my first year of college when i lived with my friend Richard (whom i have mentioned several times), my brother, and a Japanese roommate named Taiyo, which is Japanese for "Awesome". My brother had a friend who came around named Tubby. He was a good ol' boy from Arkansas and he wasn't the most slender man i've met. He kind of had a wild streak in him and drove a Chevy Camaro blasting Aerosmith and the like. Anyway, we would do a lot of stupid and crazy things with Tubby around and it was a lot of fun. I think this root beer's name would pay homage to that despicable man and the enjoyment he brought us all.

The label follows the formula of generic root beers fairly closely, but it has some redeeming qualities. I like the big root beer mug featured below the prominent name of the root beer. It's a step above the normal when it comes to generics. Still, the color scheme and layout and the fact that a mug of root beer is displayed at all basically falls right in line with what's expected. Not a bad attempt for a generic brand though. I would say this label is higher on the scale based on what's out there. It's definitely not dreadful.

I'm sure you can guess what i will say about the taste of this root beer. It's no mystery that it's not going to be the best stuff around. I will say i had high hopes when i opened it because it has a nice aroma. But it definitely smells better than it tastes. It's not terrible, just nothing special. The root beer flavor is very watered down and the taste fades almost immediately after you drink it. It isn't overly sweet and doesn't leave really any kind of aftertaste. I would say if it had been a blind taste test it would be easy to tell this was a generic brand.  The carbonation was good, and for those of you who care (i don't) it had good head on it. But overall, it was pretty unimpressive and unimaginative. But hey... it was only $0.79 for the 2 liter.

My official Review is that Tubz Root Beer gets 4 (four) IBCs. Not my favorite and i doubt i will go out of my way to get it again. It may be good for root beer floats because it is so heady, but i probably won't put the effort in to find out. For what it's worth, i like the name, but that's basically this root beer's only saving grace. Go ahead and pass on this one folks.

Q&A session

Ok, i thought i'd treat you to a little Q&A with one of my loyal readers. I rarely do this, so don't expect it to happen all that often, but this individual who goes by the handle Doug and Tracy asked some valid and legitimate questions. I do not know whether i am responding directly to Doug or his counterpart Tracy, but here is a rundown of the questions asked followed by my answers.

talking about drinking Thomas Kemper root beer (which is not my favorite): my first bottle was poured into a glass, while my second tasting was consumed directly from the bottle. The second bottle was way better!!! I'm convinced that this made the difference, but have no scientific proof to back up my theory. Curious how you choose to drink your root beers, and if you can notice a difference between the two methods! (also, I assume that they must be chilled either way....no adding ice when pouring into a glass).

Well Douglas/Tracinita, to answer your question directly, i drink straight from the bottle unless the root beer was purchased in a 2 liter bottle (or aluminum can smarty pants). This is the preferred method of any self respecting root beer connoisseur. However, drinking directly from a 2 liter plastic bottle can be cumbersome and therefore i usually choose to pour it into a cup. But it is without question better tasting if you drink root beer directly from the 12 oz. glass bottle. No scientific proof is needed. It's simply a law of nature, like how Chinese food tastes better when eaten with chopsticks. Really no other explanation is necessary (or even available). Frankly, i don't notice a difference between the two methods because i've never poured a bottle of root beer into a glass. Seriously, that's a rookie move right there. Forgivable maybe for someone such as yourself, but i would be ostracized from root beer circles everywhere if that rumor ever held any credence.

As for the second part of your question, all my root beers are always pre-chilled. Adding ice compromises the taste by watering it down. While i may from time to time drink root beer with ice, i never RATE root beer that has been chilled with ice. It is always chilled overnight in my fridge. Personally, i don't really care for ice because i have sensitive teeth (i'm a sensitive kind of guy).

Anyway, i hope this resolves the matter and gives you, my loyal readers, a little more insight into my process. Now no more questions until next year.