Blue Sky Creamy Root Beer

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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.