IBC Root Beer

Let me start this review off by saying I’m gonna do my best not to be biased reviewing IBC Root Beer.  Much like IBC Black Cherry (which I was going to link there until I realized I’ve never reviewed it) I have an emotional tie to IBC Root Beer. 

Every time I go to visit my grandmother, about a 3 hour trip, for the ride home she always packs me an IBC Root Beer.  When I say pack I don’t mean she puts it in a bag and hands it to me, oh no; she wraps it in a paper towel for the initial layer, then wraps the bottle in foil to preserve its frosty feel, finally she places it in a plastic grocery bag and wraps that around the bottle several times until the bag is almost like a form fitting garment.  I can only imagine that this last step is for cushioning, but it doesn’t matter because it’s created a great memory for me over the last several years. 

To add onto this fond memory of IBC Root Beer I have to go back even further into my life back when I was about ten years old.  My mom used to drink Diet Sprite all the time, not like an addict or anything but enough that we were fully stocked most any day.  Since Diet Sprite isn’t exactly a “treat” for your average 10 year old she started purchasing IBC Root Beer for us as well.  I’d never seen anything like it, the bottle was so cool.  I’d never had a drink out of a glass bottle before, it was so mature, almost like a beer… but I was allowed to drink it.  I guess you could say that IBC Root Beer was my first jaunt into the world of non-mainstream sodas.  Fast forward 20 years and you have me sitting here today still excited to drink one for all the above reasons.  It’s like every bottle of IBC Root Beer is a fond memory for me, and I felt I had to tell you all that in case you saw some sort of bias.  I’m going to do my best though.  On with the review! 

IBC Root Beer is a root beer made with HFCS which already sets it back in the “Root Beer Game”.  Upon writing that sentence I immediately want to play the “Root Beer Game” whatever that may be.  To follow a negative with a positive we have the bottle design.  I’ve always enjoyed that IBC didn’t have any kind of paper label.  The logo is actually part of the brown glass bottle, as are all of the states you can return this bottle to for a refund.  This creates a unique look in a market that’s inundated with paper labels trying their best to look old fashioned.  It’s time for me to twist off that fancy red bottle cap that I’ve removed hundreds of times before.

I always enjoy the vapor that a bottle sometimes releases when you first open it.  Something about it adds to the chill factor of the beverage at hand.  Fortunately IBC Root Beer has this visible vapor and the smell that follows is most certainly that of a root beer.  IBC Root Beer doesn’t have a creamy scent like you might find with an A&W.  I’d say that licorice is the strongest scent I perceive with each whiff of the bottle.  If the smell of licorice is off putting to you then let me try this comparison instead.  If you’ve ever eaten a root beer flavored Dum Dum sucker then you’re already familiar with the aroma I’m experiencing here.  On to the drinking!

The root beer flavor of IBC is weaker than others which is surprising for me to find out since I usually drink this with such nostalgia.  Don’t get me wrong it’s not weak to the point of watery but I’ve had stronger root beers.  I will say that with each sip the flavor builds upon itself creating more and more of a root beer experience as you drink it.  Some of that can be contributed to the HFCS they use to sweeten it since the syrupy feel never completely leaves your mouth.  The carbonation level of IBC Root Beer is comparable to the slightest of buzzes on your tongue.  The HFCS starts to work against it about midway through the experience as it begins to make the fact that this isn’t an all-natural root beer more well-known with each sip.  As you reach the bottom of the bottle the carbonation kicks up a bit more as it now has further to travel with each upending.  This adds a delightful mouth feel, but the flavor isn’t improved.  For some reason the burps afterward have a better flavor than the root beer itself… no idea why.  Overall IBC Root Beer is an average root beer in a wonderful bottle.  I hope I’ve done my job in keeping my bias out of this review.  I’m going to stop now before I change my rating.

Nostalgic Verdict – HUGS!

~A

Twit's grandmother wraps it in leaves.  Iguanas have limited resources

F&N Sarsi

“The Original Sarsi”.  That’s what I have in front of me today.  Technically it’s F&N Sarsi but I honestly don’t know if that makes a difference.  You see this can of Sarsi is from Singapore, brought to me by the MMAgician.  F&N Sarsi is manufactured and distributed by Coca-Cola Singapore Beverages Pte. Ltd.  I’m guessing it’s a fairy mainstream drink over there.  Maybe I’ll do a little more digging on Sarsi.  If you find these next few sentences <surrounded by alligators> informative at all that means I did in fact do some digging. <Sarsi, it’s just so fun to type, is a sarsaparilla based beverage sold in South East Asia.  Ok, we’re making some sense here… Sarsi/Sarsparilla… I see what they did there.  Fun fact!  According to Wikipedia, Sarsi was the subject of a 1985 film called It’s a Drink, It’s a Bomb, where a grenade was disguised as a can of Sarsi.> Sarsi seems to have a pretty short ingredient list.  Let’s read shall we?  Carbonated Water, Sugar, Flavourings, Caramel, Citric Acid and Preservative.  They seem to hide stuff a little better over in Singapore.  I know not if the “Flavourings” are naturally or chemically spawned.  I also don’t know what the “Preservative” is.  It could be formaldehyde or Sodium Benzoate.  Fingers crossed for formaldehyde!  Seeing as I don’t know what Sarsi should even begin to taste like (since I haven’t looked it up yet as of typing this) I’m interested to open up this stumpy maroon can.

One.   That was the most difficult opening of a can I’ve ever been a part of.  Two.  This smells like dreams.  Sarsi smells of root beer, Dr. Pepper, and peppermint, COMBINED!  While intrigued even more I’m now experiencing a bit of fear as well.  Ah well, who else can say that they’re drinking a Singapore soda today?  NOT YOU!  Unless of course you’re reading this in Singapore… in that case thanks for the readership you handsome/beautiful devil you.

Whoa… that tastes nothing like Dr. Pepper or peppermint.  Sarsi tastes of carbonated black licorice with a hint of root beer.  Mike (remember Mike?) says that birch beer tastes of licorice, while I thought it tasted so similarly to root beer that they wasted time re-naming it birch beer.  There were fights abound on the subject, one eventually coming to fisticuffs.  Sarsi on the other hand tastes like they soaked a handful of black licorice jellybeans in a diluted root beer concoction.  If you remember from the research above you will understand that half of my review isn’t that far off.  Sarsi is a sarsaparilla based soda so that explains the root beer.  I guess one of the “flavourings” could be licorice but we’ll never know.  Thanks Coke!  Thoke!  Sarsi’s carbonation to flavour ratio works very well for itself, but carbonation sits on the back burner when you have such an interesting flavour as we do here.  With that said Sarsi is in fact very different from anything I’ve tried up to this point.  While my joy of drinking it has increased throughout this review, I just can’t see myself purchasing a pack of Sarsi.  Therefore.

~A

Twist's blood is actually Sarsi, but not the kind you find in stores... the life granting kind.

Old Town Root Beer

A while back we reviewed Old Town Root Beer –Sarsparilla.  Today we shall review its seemingly twin brother… Old Town Root Beer Company – Root Beer.  For the sake of keeping the number of times I write out the word “Root Beer,” we’re just going to call it Old Town Root Beer.  Fun fact!  Old Town Root Beer has an @msn.com e-mail address.  I dunno why I put that in the review, I guess I just found it kind of amusing.  It’s not @aol.com amusing, but amusing nonetheless.  Old Town Root Beer has a short but quality ingredient list including Carbonated Water (who’d have guessed?!)  Cane Sugar, Honey, Natural and Other Flavors ("Other Flavors" always scares me a bit) Sodium Benzoate, Phosphoric Acid, and rounding out the batting order is Real Vanilla!  The label… how can I say this tactfully… looks like someone decided one day that they wanted to start making root beer out of their house and didn’t even try to learn any graphic design, so they just found a neat clip art picture.  Well to be honest with you it’s exactly one step above that.  Anywho, hopefully the flavor makes me forget about it. 

This certainly passes the smell test!  I can most definitely smell the vanilla, but it’s not so over powering that it blinds my nose to the fact that it’s about to consume a root beer.  Smellwise this passes with flying colors.  On with the tasting!

This doesn’t surprise me after smelling it but this is a tasty root beer.  There’s not a lot of carbonation going on here, but that just adds to the potential smoothness of the beverage.  I will say though that your tongue is hit with an initial shock of bubble fun.  After this, the vanilla begins to seep in and takes you to a smoother place.  This isn’t baby’s bottom smooth… what a gross comparison to a root beer that would be.  Old Town Root Beer is Pepe Le Pew smooth.  This is the sentence where I should tell you who Pepe Le Pew is, but if you don’t know you probably shouldn’t tell me, as I will go into a blind rage.  Anywho… Pepe Le Pew always seemed to be a rather smooth talking character.  He had all the lines, all the moves, didn’t rush anywhere… smooth right?  Well yes, until he actually had to deliver said smoothness to the cat with unfortunate skunk marks (Penelope for those playing at home) he was chasing.  He would gradually make his way over to Penelope and force his smoothness upon her, which of course she would not have any part of since he smelled like a skunk.  Still he tried and tried and tried, each time removing a bit of his smoothness with each failure.  That’s what Old Town Root Beer’s smoothness is like.  It’s initially very smooth, but there’s something at the end of the drink that reminds me a little bit of green NyQuil.  While tasty, I feel that Old Town Root Beer could be improved upon by adding some spice to the flavor.  The way it sits now makes for an above average root beer, but I can’t help but think this could be improved upon.  Either way… this should be tried.

~A

Twist is actually much older than the Old Town Root Beer Company

Bulldog Root Beer

Who's a good iguana? Twist's a good iguana! Who want's a tummy rub? Twist wants a tummy rub!

Bulldog Root Beer, Unleash the Taste!  That’s what the bottle in front of me reads.  When I think of unleashing something I think that I’m going to have such a hard time controlling it that I’m just gonna give up and take it off the leash.  This “thing” that I’m unleashing is going to be powerful, brash, unstoppable, unforgettable, and even dangerous.  I know that they’re probably making a dog pun in this situation but even if that were true they really need to “mean up” the dogs on the label.  These two lovable, dopey (in a good way), looking dogs are just sitting there looking at me waiting for a good tummy rub.  These puppies don’t need to be “unleashed” they need a chew toy and a nap.  Anyway… enough of that.  Bulldog Root Beer is of course a root beer and judging by the ingredients a pretty high quality one at that.  It’s sweetened with a combination of cane sugar and honey but sadly also had sodium benzoate.  I haven’t picked on sodium benzoate in a while so I thought I’d bring it back up.  One thing I notice is that they use “real vanilla”.  That’s how it’s listed on the label… “real vanilla”.  Not once have I ever seen “fake vanilla”.  I’ve seen “vanilla extract” which I what I assume they are separating themselves from by saying “real vanilla” but I found it rather silly to see.  Anywho, it’s time to open up this paw laden bottle and see what we can dig up!  Ha!  I can make dog puns too.

This has a rich creamy root beer smell.  One determining factor of a delicious root beer is when you can actually smell that it’s creamy.   That tells you it’ll probably go great with some Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.  If you don’t have Blue Bell in your area I’m so very sorry, you’ll have to manage on whatever “Ice Cream” you can get your hands on.  Speaking of “on”… on to the tasting!

Wow that is creamy… if I do say so the creamiest root beer I’ve ever experienced.  Bulldog Root Beer almost has a cream soda finish to it.  The carbonation isn’t really a factor when compared to the flavor and mouth feel.  The mouth feel and aftertaste is so smooth it’s almost buttery.  Now I know that buttery root beer sounds gross but I don’t mean that kind of butter.  The after taste I’m getting here is very similar to that of butterscotch.  I’m a big fan of butterscotch so this ranks very high with me.  Fun fact:  The only candy I’ve ever choked on was butterscotch.  My grandfather held me upside down while my grandmother patted me on the back to dislodge it.  The butterscotch must have realized my love of it while being dissolved by my saliva and in a selfless act to save its future brethren tried to murder me.  Anywho… back to what remains of this review.  A lot of times when a soda uses honey to sweeten it’s one of the main things you taste; this is not the case for Bull Dog Root Beer.  I’m thinking the honey paired with the cane sugar is what’s cutting that honey flavor I so often find when sampling a Thomas Kemper or the like.  Here is the part where I apologize for mocking “real vanilla”.  That “real vanilla” is surely a large part of why I’m loving this so very much.  It’s adding just the right amount of “smooth” to the flavor to set it apart from other root beers.  It’s not hard to find subtle differences in root beer.  They can be made so many different ways you’re not going to find one that immolates another just right.  The real reward is when you find a root beer that has differences that could be spotted from space.  Bulldog Root Beer is one of those root beers.  As of today we’ve reviewed 30 root beers and I can’t think of one that gives you an experience like the one I have in front of me today.

A “Twist’s Choice” Recipient

Thomas Kemper Root Beer

   Hooray for Thomas Kemper sodas!  Cane sugar sweetened with a touch of honey for extra goodness usually spells fantasticness!  Today I have the Root Beer version of Thomas Kemper in front of me and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.  Here’s a bit of history about Thomas Kemper Root Beer from the side of the bottle.

“One honey of a Root Beer.  This wonderfully rich and complex Root Beer was first brewed for our company Oktoberfest back in 1990.  It quickly became such a hit that we invented Novemberfest.”

   There you have it… the full, 100% complete history of Thomas Kemper Root Beer.  Nothing else can be learned about this soda.  Nothing.  It is all covered in the extensive history written above.  With that said let’s take a whiff.

   Ahh the rich smell of Root Beer is usually a pleasant aroma and this is no exception.  From the smell alone I can hope you taste a very creamy root beer.  Closer to the mouth feel of A&W than of Barq’s but I’m sure tasting better than both… hopefully.

   Hey look at that, I’m right… it’s like I’ve tasted hundreds of sodas.  I haven’t but the cumulative amount of different sodas reviewed by Soda Jerks is over 200.  Once you become a Soda Jerk you enter a state of one consciousness allowing you to experience the taste of all sodas reviewed… but enough of that boring chatter.  This does lean toward the smoother mouth feel of some root beer but not as much as I thought it would.  In fact it seems to live at the corner of Smooth Street and Bite Lane.  I’m sure it’s a nice neighborhood because it’s such a nice taste.  The actual bite of the root beer isn’t incredibly strong but it’s easily noticeable upon each sip.  I go on about how nice the flavor is but there’s nothing ground breaking here.  It’s just a good root beer with some great ingredients.  I’ve had better and I’ve had worse but I’d be happy to drink another Thomas Kemper Root Beer if one was available to me on a menu somewhere.  With that said.

~A

Faux Fact: Twist is heir to the Kemper fortune

Henry Weinhard's Root Beer

   Since You’ve Been Gone somebody told me that Henry Weinhard’s Root Beer was the best root beer hands down.  I of course was doubtful because I don’t trust people that use the phrase “hands down”.  Nonetheless I still started seeking out said root beer, asking various store Clerks, but found other Henry Wienhard products instead both of which were delicious!  Now with Henry Weinhard Root Beer in hand I can either validate or nullify the statement that was made to me so long ago.  On a side note it’s really hard for me to remember the name Henry Weinhard. 

   Now I just got through walking my Dogma so I’m pretty thirsty.  Upon opening the bottle I’m greeted by the meek aroma of root beer.  Now had this review been written 40 Days and 40 Nights ago I would have been wary about this weak smell.  Not anymore though.  So many times I’ve thought that the smell was the Master and Commander of the drink… setting the tone to what was to follow.  So many times this has proven to be false.  Time to drink and think.

   Let’s just get the initial question out of the way.  Sorry, this is not the greatest root beer “hands down”.  That’s just Sex, Lies, and Video Tape.  This is a good root beer though and should not be overlooked.  If you’re at Muriel’s Wedding in Chicago and the Priest offers you this is I highly suggest you try it.  You start off with a rather unique flavor that is still unmistakably root beer.  You can tell they didn’t try to Mimic any of the other root beers on the market.  What follows is a smooth root beer flavor followed by a quick snap of bubbles.  You could chug this and be just fine.  In fact you could drink this from Dusk Till Dawn.  The smooth mouth feel of this root beer is very nice; it reminds you that Life is Beautiful.  Your mouth doesn’t feel syrupy after drinking it (which is surprising since they use HFCS as a sweetener) and the unique flavor stays with you throughout.  Holy Smoke, I forgot to look at the ingredients.  I’m Wide Awake and I forgot to look... I’m losing my edge.  Well now that I’m looking I see that they use honey in the making of this beverage.  That is definitely one of the attributing factors to this unique sub-taste.  I make up the word sub-taste because it’s not the flavor that holds dominance in your mouth that I’m talking about but the one that hides in the shadows and peeks out afterwards.  Your Henry Weinhard’s Root Beer experience is capped off with a fairly clean ending, leaving a pleasant aftertaste.  Even though this is a great beverage and I suggest you enjoy it I leave you with this advice.  Don’t be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Root Beer in the Hood.  Anywho… time for me to Bounce.

~The Tall Guy from Happy, TX

P.S. - Princess Mononoke

Twist's favorite Miramax movie?  Godzilla vs Biollante of course.

Rat Bastard Root Beer

   Rat Bastard Root Beer.  That’s the name of the beverage in front of me today.  The letters that form the name of this beverage are scrawled in white upon a plain grey background.  I’d say it was boring if it wasn’t for the other “witty” words adorning the bottle.  Phrases such as “It’s us against them”, “What you’ll be drinking”, and my particular favorite “Quit being a dick.  Drink it.”  Rat Bastard Root Beer uses HFCS for sweetener but then comes out of nowhere with several odd herbs for flavoring.  There’s a few ginsengs in there, some jasmine, clove, skullcap, capsicum, kava kava, and so many other strange herbs I wouldn’t think to add to a beverage.  Well I pride myself in being a Jerk but I will not be called a dick without just cause.  Let’s just open this already. 

   It has a great rooty aroma that comes right out and hits you in the face.  Even though this may not be sweetened with sugar I’m still looking forward to this first gulp.

   The smell, as it so often seems to be, is much stronger than the taste and this disappoints me.  I expected something called Rat Bastard Root Beer to take me by the throat and shake me until I enjoyed their product.  For goodness sake they used peer pressure to get me to drink it… who wants to be a dick?  The insane herbal blend they use is only slightly noticeable but it does make your tongue tingle in an interesting way.  The flavor most resembles that of Barq’s if I must compare it to one of the big mainstream three.  Barq’s has more bite… which once again makes me sad that I let my mind rev this beverage up based on its name alone.  I will say that it has a relatively clean finish… so… good for you Rat Bastard Root Beer.  Shame on you for having such an extreme name for such a tamely flavored soda.  “Nice Guy Root Beer” would have worked better for the flavor I just ingested but you’d still get the same rating.

~A

Don't worry, Twist punished this bottle for calling him a dick.

Capt'n Eli's Root Beer

   I love good bottle art.  Bottle art is what I initially grade a soda on so it always confuses me when companies seem like they don’t care about it.  I’m not saying everything has to be “Wizard mural on the side of a van” epic but it at least needs to stand out amongst the others.  When I opened my fridge today to pick out a soda to review I wasn’t quite sure what to choose until I saw the bottle art on my current review.  Capt’n Eli’s Root Beer has a label that tells a story… not many other root beers can say that.   Actually I don’t believe that root beer can talk but that’s a debate for another time.

   What you see when you look at the label of Capt’n Eli’s Root Beer is a young child, which I will assume is Eli, rowing a boat out at sea.  The waves seem a bit choppy for such a young kid but don’t fear too much for him as a house is in sight over his right shoulder and growing ever closer.  Upon his left shoulder sits a parrot that I am now naming Murphy.  Murphy and Eli have been together about 2 years, and since parrots live such long lives you’ll be sure to see Murphy on Eli’s shoulder for several decades more.  Within the boat Eli is rowing sit 3 barrels.  I can only imagine that these barrels are filled with root beer.  I guess it could be rum, or oil, or tar, or unicorn blood, or even cream soda but since this is a bottle of root beer let’s stick with that.  So the story here to me is that Capt’n Eli (which I suspect is a title he gave himself) has a root beer route.  A root beer route is much like a paper route but the people on your route like you more since your product is delicious.  About two years ago on this root beer route Eli noticed that one of his barrels was leaking. He did all he could to plug up the hole but failed.  Shortly after he gave up a Scarlet Macaw flew down from a nearby tree and began drinking the spilled root beer.  Well it turns out that this bird took to liking the bubbly concoction and Eli.  Ever since that fateful day Murphy the parrot has ridden with Eli on his root beer route, always looking to sneak a sip whenever he can.  Oh the adventure they went on… but that’s for another day.

   Enough about those two, they have a business to run.  Let’s see what else we can find on this label.  Hey look ingredients and good ones at that.  Let’s see what we got here:  Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Coloring, Natural & Artificial Flavors including Wintergreen Oil, Anise, Vanilla, Spices, Herbs, Citric Acid, and sadly Sodium Benzoate.  Wow, we were almost 100% great with those ingredients until we came upon ol’ Sodium Benzoate.  That list of ingredients reminded me a little bit of the ingredients you’d find in a Virgil’s Root Beer.  If they’re lucky then their flavor will be something close to it as well.  Let’s take a whiff.

   The first thing I notice is that you can really smell the wintergreen.  Capt’n Eli’s Root Beer has a very strong root beer aroma as well.  I think the word I’m trying to think of here is “rooty”.  Time to drink!

   Very nice, this ranks up there as one of the smoothest root beers I’ve ever tasted.  The carbonation is faint as far as root beer is concerned and the flavor mellows out a lot in its finish.  The middle portion of this beverage reminds me a little bit of root beer barrels candy.  Now normally I’d try and tell you which of the three main stream root beers this tasted like… Barq’s, A&W, or Mug.  For the first time ever I have to compare the flavor to that of Virgil’s.  Now I’m not saying it’s better than Virgil’s but I am saying that it should at least share a flavor comparison.  This shouldn’t come to you as a shock since they share a handful of ingredients that other root beers do not.  I do find it odd that I’m ending up with a bit of film in my mouth after each sip.  I didn’t think I would have this since it’s sweetened with cane sugar but there it is.  At least the film isn’t unpleasant.  With each lick of the top of my mouth I’m reminded of the root beer barrel candy flavoring again, although now it’s much fainter.  I’m noticing that as I reach the bottom of the bottle the wintergreen flavor increases.  This is a good thing in my opinion since it allows those of you who couldn’t taste the wintergreen another more obvious chance at it.  Overall this is a very good root beer.  It has a nice line up of ingredients, sans the Sodium Benzoate.  The flavor is above average and the labeling is fun.  I can only hope that other companies take notice of labels like this and begin to rethink their designs as well. 

~A

Twist's favorite flavor is parrot.

Zuberfizz Creamy Root Beer

   Sadly I’ve been neglecting the Zuberfizz sodas in my fridge.  Zuberfizz brand sodas have found to be very inconsistent in their quality.  One minute I’m drinking a great Key Lime, and the next minute I open a different bottle of the same flavor and it’s a watery version of the soda I just fawned over.  Today I am examining a bottle of Zuberfizz Creamy Root Beer!  If it’s not one of the watery ones I bet it’ll be delicious!  Times a waistin’!

   It has a very nice root beer aroma, Captain Obvious… I know.  It almost has the smell of A&W Root Beer Barrels, which I love.  So far so good, let’s see if its flavor can match up to its smell.

   No…no it can’t.  This isn’t gross, this isn’t horrible, this doesn’t make me go into a Oedipal rage making me want to kill my father and marry my mother.  I’m not even sure that last sentence made sense.  Anywho, this is boring root beer.  Guess what?  This tastes watered down, and THIS is why I’m not fond of reviewing Zuberfizz sodas.  I know for a fact they can be good, but for whatever reason I keep catching watered down batches of them.  I like this company so much;  I want them to succeed.  The label art is great, the ingredients for the most part are great, heck even the name is cool.  I’m not going to go into a rant today just because I don’t think the fine folks at Zuberfizz are deserving of one.  Zuberfizz Creamy Root Beer is kind of creamy, but for the most part it’s just watery.  If indeed all of their root beer tastes like this you’re better off drinking other brands.  This, in short, is root beer for babies.

~A

Twist's mouth is watering so much for this watery root beer that water is on the bottle... water.

Saranac Root Beer

   A citizen of the Carbo-Nation suggested a while back that we search out and try some Saranac Root Beer.  Well guess what, “Person reading the Saranac – Root Beer Review”, we got some!  The Saranac brewery (est. in 1888) is located in New York and, much like other beer breweries, they have a root beer for us non-alcohol drinkers.  This root beer sits in an unassuming bottle with a classy looking maroon and gold label.  Oddly enough it reminds me of the Cheers logo.  Sadly, after looking at the ingredients I see that this is both sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and includes sodium benzoate.  These are two chemicals no Soda Jerk wants to see; regardless, let’s open her up!

   It has a very nice root beery smell… to put a description on it I’d say it smells like a high end A&W root beer.  Now that the shortest part of the review is over: On to the consumption!

   This is a good root beer.  The end.  Done. 

   No, no, I’m only kidding.  There are plenty of words to follow.  It has the initial mouth feel of an IBC root beer but oddly enough it’s not quite as heavy.  The amount of carbonation attacks your tongue with every swallow in a quick but hard hitting fashion.  The finish is so quick that I’m not going to mention it… other than mentioning that I won’t mention it, that is.  This has more bite than any root beer I’ve had to date; it’s not smooth at all.  When I first saw this bottle I thought I’d be drinking a generic root beer that didn’t set itself apart from any other root beer in a brown bottle.  I’m happy to say that I was very wrong.  If you put this in a root beer line up I’d easily tell it apart from the others.  Wow, I can’t get over how harsh (in a good way) this attacks the back of my throat.  It’s like you fell asleep with your mouth open and there’s this guy who thinks he’s funny, right?  But in reality he’s just a guy you happened to sit next to on the first day of class and unfortunately for you, you accidentally laughed at one of his pointless jokes so now you’re “best buds”.  No matter how many times you tell him to buzz off he stays around making the same level of horrible joke... staring at you, waiting for you to laugh like you did the first time.  What an idiot…Oh yeah I was talking about something!  It’s like he dropped a pinch of pop-rocks onto your tonsils.  You’d be surprised at first, but it’d be tasty enough that you’d repeat his stupid prank, placing more pop-rocks onto your tonsils, fueling his fire… making him stronger… never being rid of the constant staring… the staring.

~A

(Note:  This beverage was provided to us by the Saranac Brewery)

Faux Fact:  Iguana's can't feel pain when it's caused by root beer.

Saint Arnold Root Beer

   Funny story… we’ve reviewed Saint Arnold’s Root Beer before, but we lost the review.  So here it is again… kinda.  Many people in Houston feel that Saint Arnold’s Root could be the best root beer out there.  I think this has to do with the Saint Arnold’s Brewery being located in Houston (Saint Arnold is the patron saint of hop-pickers and Belgian brewers), but you can’t blame citizens being proud of something from their hometown.  I was born and raised here in Houston, so let’s find out if by the end of this review Saint Arnold doesn’t get a title upgrade.  Wait… what’s higher than a Saint?  Never mind…  it’s time to open.  Wait, I can't continue without mentioning this.  The bottle cap says "Saint Arnold - Yummy Root Beer" Really?!  Ok, REVIEW ON!

   The smell is quite nice, vanilla is definitely noticed which is pleasant.  If I had to compare it to a brand that most everyone has tried then I’d say it’s very similar to IBC in odor.  Let’s check out the taste.

   That whole “smell is 80% of taste” thing just might have some validity behind it, as this tastes similar to IBC Root Beer as well.  The vanilla I tasted is also featured, but quickly ducks behind the curtains only to shove carbonation onto the stage.  That was just a fancy way of saying that I tasted the vanilla, but then the burn from the bubbles took over my mouth.  So far so good right?  Not so fast there Sport.  The finish of this root beer is quite watery.  Not obscenely watery mind you, but something that’s going to take its rating down a notch.  “But I like watery root beer” you say, well what if that watery finish was followed by a dirty aftertaste?  “But…but…but…” you’d stammer, and then I’d tell you to visit our site and try again.  Saint Arnold’s got halfway to a good root beer and then stopped.  The first half of your taste experience is great, and sets your mind to positive thoughts.  Sadly the second half just doesn’t deliver.  Let’s try this Generation Y example… the first half of the beverage is TMNT 2: Secret of the Ooze… the second half is TMNT 3: Turtles in Time.  If you thought that TMNT 3 was awesome, then I have no more words for you… well except these.

~A

Faux Fact:  Twist is the patron saint of bottle caps.

Mug Root Beer

   Well true to our word we really will review any soda if given to us for free by our fans.  Today’s review is Mug Root Beer, given to us by one Double R.  I really think that he meant for this review to be difficult.  Anyone can review an odd drink, pointing out what makes it unique… but a mainstream root beer that most everyone has tasted could be much more difficult.  Mug of course is one of the three big name root beer brands out there, the other two being Barq’s, and of course A&W.  I have a co-worker that refers to Mug as “the working man’s root beer”, or the “blue collar” root beer.  I really enjoy thinking of it that way, and the bulldog on the front of the can offering me a frosty glass of root beer seems to give off the feel of a “blue collar” kind of guy.  Speaking of the can art, it looks as if I’m picking up a frosty mug overflowing with suds.  Nice touch Pepsi… I mean Mug.  Enough with the chatter, let’s crack it open.

   I’m realizing now that I’ve never truly smelled Mug Root Beer… and upon doing so I realize that its root beer smell really isn’t that strong.  I kind of thought all the chemicals inside of it would have increased the aroma, but I’ve been wrong before… ONE TIME.  Time for some drinkin’.

   To be honest with you, and I always am, I haven’t had a Mug Root Beer in a while.  This tastes much more watery than I remember.  Mug doesn’t have the “bite” of Barq’s, or the creamy taste of A&W.  In fact it has a muted, less impressive version of the characteristics that make the other two root beers loved by so many.  A positive attribute of Mug how clean the taste is for a mainstream root beer.  There are definitely cleaner tasting root beers out there, but this one does pretty well compared to its A&W Rival.  As you might expect this is a very safe drink.  By safe I mean that you pretty much know what it’s going to taste like when you pick up a can for the first time.  It’s going to taste like boring root beer.  Now I recognize that I’ve probably become a root beer snob over the past two years, and I’m sure that’s affecting this review.  If you love Mug Root Beer and don’t understand why I’m not rating it higher, go out and try some Virgil’s, Boylan’s, or Bundaberg Root Beer and tell me they aren’t heads, tails, slugs, and snails better than Mug.  Until then I’m sticking with this…

~A

Faux Fact: Twist was the original mascot for Mug, but he asked for too much money

Dad's Root Beer

   Today’s installment from the Popcast is Dad’s Root Beer… which I know Mike hates.  How do I know this, well he seems to tear off bits of my soul with his stare when I mention it.  I know it’s not going to be that bad, so here goes the review.   The label is pretty boring, but it’s an older drink so I guess we can let that slide.  Moxie on the other hand is one of the oldest drinks, but has a fantastic label… so I take back my previous “slide” for Dad’s.

   Upon opening Dad’s it smells rather odd for a root beer.  It almost has a minty smell, with some cinnamon undertones.  It’s like you tried to make your first pie, and just added all the smell good spices in hopes that something positive will come out of doing that.  Well we all know that cinnamon/basil pie wouldn’t be that great, so let’s see what the drink equivalent tastes like.

   While this certainly does not taste like a root beer, Mike’s supreme hatred for this is unwarranted in my book.  Sometimes a drink just tastes badly to someone for no reason other than the fact that their taste buds are wired a bit differently.  My example of oddly wired taste buds is the fact that I don’t like watermelon.  People think I’m crazy for hating its taste, I’m not, but my taste buds missed out on watermelon day when being created.  Moving on.  This to me honestly tastes like Pepto Bismol Root Beer.  Which is another reason why Mike probably hates this, and I don’t mind it.  I like the flavor of Pepto Bismol.  Would I ever mix Pepto and Root Beer?  No, I can assure you I wouldn’t, but now that I’ve tried it I can’t say that it’s horrible.  To summarize… Dad’s Root Beer doesn’t taste like root beer.  It tastes like Pepto Bismol flavored root beer.  Don’t you wish you’d just skipped to the end now?

~A

Twist was feeling nauseous, so he missed picture day

Old Town Root beer Company – Sarsparilla

   Today’s installment, also found on Popcast Episode 11, is Old Town Root Beer Company – Sarsparilla.  It’s spelled “sarsparilla” on the bottle even though Word wants me to spell it sarsaparilla.  First off this has to be one of the most generic bottle labels I’ve ever seen.  Oh look it’s font with a root beer mug.  What’s this?  The bottle cap is a solid gold color... how fancy can you get?  Oh look their website is @msn.com.  Seriously, this is one of the most boring bottles I’ve seen in a long time.  It’s like when you create a team on a video game, and you end up with a two colored clip art image of an exploding basketball/football/baseball/soccer ball/hockey puck/lacrosse ball?/Frisbee/bowling ball/badminton bird/tennis ball/curling stone/rugby ball/fishing rod.  Let’s just open this up with hopes that the aroma can woo me.

   Wow, surprisingly good aroma this drink has.  This sarsparilla has a noticeable sweet vanilla scent when you first open it.  I’d say it’s inviting, but I was going to visit regardless of the smell.  Time to drink.

   I know sarsparilla isn’t the same thing as root beer, but it’s hard for me to convince myself it’s really something else.  Thankfully this has a flavor that differs a bit from root beer… a cream soda/root beer hybrid if that makes sense.  Drinking it creates such a smooth sensation, which I would have to attribute to the vanilla, that I actually enjoy the mouth feel of this drink equal to the flavoring.  I normally like to have longer reviews, but this drink is pretty simplistic.  It won’t wow you in any way, but it’s a very enjoyable beverage.  If you see some, pick it up, it’s that simple.

~A

Twist decided it was time to don his trademark hat again.  Very dapper!

Moxie

   Well here we are at review 100.  First off thanks for your readership as we moved from our humble beginnings on livejournal, to the multi-million dollar corporation we are today.  Oh wait… we haven’t made a dime, but we’re millionaires at heart.  Today’s beverage was the most suggested beverage when we asked our readers what the 100th review should be… Moxie.  If you listened to the Popcast you'd know that.

   Moxie is one of the oldest sodas out there, some say THE oldest.  Really it’s very close between Moxie, Vernor’s Ginger Soda, and Hire’s Root Beer.  Looking upon the label I can tell you right away that this is no longer the original formula.  Replaced with chemicals I assume, with one exception that reads “Gentian Root Extractives”.  I’m pretty sure that one ingredient is going to give off a very unique flavor.  Before I go any further I just want to mention how much I enjoy the label art of Moxie.  The label is a man in a business suit pointing at you… it’s amazing.

   Upon opening up the bottle, with a rather bland cap I might add, it smells like it’s going to be one of the most awesome, unique root beers you’ve ever had.  I would even go so far as to say that it smells like a root beer/cola mix.  Let’s drink.

   The initial taste of moxie is great!  It has that root beer cola flavor you thought you would taste after smelling it.  It’s cool, refreshing, unique… something you could really see yourself buying from here on out.  “To Hell with Coke!” you’d say “I’m a Moxie Man now!”  Then something would go wrong in your mouth.  That sweet root beer/cola taste would fade away as the Moxie started its journey down your gullet.  What was once good, would now be replaced with evil.  The taste of pennies, dirt, and un-sweetened envelope glue now dance upon your tongue.  Your first reaction is to drink some more.  “This can’t be the aftertaste,” you’d say, “More Moxie should fix this right up.”  It won’t.  Sure, as long as the liquid stays in your mouth you avoid the horrible aftertaste, but who’s going to walk around with Moxie constantly swishing around their teeth.  While I don’t agree with pouring sodas over ice, this (ironically our 100th review) is a soda which must be.  Fortunately, pouring Moxie over ice cuts the horrible after taste in half.  It’s like watching your favorite sports team do really well against someone they weren’t supposed to beat, only in the 2nd half to have your entire team break their legs.  This is such a historic drink, with such a unique flavor that I have to recommend you try it.  So there you have it, one of the oldest sodas available, and our 100th review.  The next milestone is probably 250, so be patient, and keep reading.  Thanks!

 ~A 

Thank goodness Twist's taste buds aren't real

Boylan's Root Beer

   You may remember when I last reviewed a Boylan's product, Boylan's Grape Soda.  Now whether or not you remember that, or just read it, you know I was disappointed by it.  This could have been because I hyped it up so much in my head that it couldn't live up to my expectations, or because it was just average... I really don't know which.  Either way I'vedecided to give the Boylan's brand another try with Boylan's Root Beer.  I won't really go into the bottle art like I normally do, it has the same classic style as always.  As with previous Boylan's brands they have a solid list of ingredients, and that is worth mentioning again.

Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Caramel Color, Natural Yucca Extract, Citric Acid, and our old friend Sodium Benzoate which preserves the flavor.

  That stellar list of ingredients seems like it would go well into a root beer.Ok... with the first sip I can tell you it’s a good root beer, there’s no denying that.It’s not that clean of an after taste though.Honestly I think its’ a bit too creamy to have a clean aftertaste, but that’s ok.To use root beer that most people drink in comparison, this tastes like a Barqs/A&W mix.It has a bit of a bite, but the aftertaste is more A&W.Now I’m not saying that this beverage is of the same quality of the mainstream brands, far from it, I’m just giving you something to compare them too.If offered this root beer along side the mainstream brands, I would take this one every time.Boylan’s root beer has one odd aspect about it.When you place the bottle to your lips, as soon as you start to drink... for a flash of time it has the essence of a regular beer.Some of that burn that some beers have exists in the product, if not for just a brief moment.Now take that for what it’s worth as I rarely drink beer... I could just be crazy.Mike has tried Boylan’s root beer as well, but says it tastes a lot like birch beer.The root beer/birch beer argument is one that we’ve shelved in the “Can’t Talk About” warehouse, along side soccer ties, Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom, and pizza toppings.

~A

Hansen's Creamy Root Beer

Ok, so we've now done two higher end Root Beers back to back.  My choice was Hansen's Creamy Root Beer.  I picked it because in large print on the front of the can it says "NATURAL CANE SODA" as well as "With Real CANE SUGAR".  So obviously they are very proud of their ingredients.  Well since they're so proud of their ingredients let's take a look...

PURE TRIPLE FILTERED CARBONATED WATER, CANE SUGAR, CARAMEL COLOR, NATURAL SPICES OF WINTERGREEN, BIRCH, ANISE, SASSAFRAS, TAHITIAN VANILLA EXTRACT, CITRIC ACID.

Well then, that's quite the impressive list of ingredients.  Let's give it a taste.  It's got a sharp beginning (or a bite) much like Barq's Root Beer, if you're a fan of that.  It doesn't foam up very much, which is a strike against it in my book.  I prefer my Root Beer to have some sort of head to it.  The ending taste is smooth, but not Virgil's smooth (nothing is Virgil's smooth as far as I've seen).  The bottom line is this is a good root beer... but in my opinion not worth the high cost unless you're just looking for an all natural root beer that's cheaper than Virgil's.

Purchased From: HEB

Cost: 6 pack will cost you around $4.50

~A

Virgil's Special Edition Bavarian Nutmeg Root Beer

This is it... this is the current Holy Grail of Root Beer for me.  This is... Virgil's Special Edition Bavarian Nutmeg Root Beer.  This cost me $4.25 a bottle online to buy... but it had to be done.

The flavor does not disappoint.  It's got the greatness of Virgil's Root Beer, with a kick of nutmeg in it.  You know how some things say "Now with *ingredient*" but you can't taste it?  You can most definitely taste the nutmeg in this.

Another high point is the fact that the water used in this is from a well in Bavaria, considered one of the most pure sources of water in the world... that's freaking cool in my opinion.  Put all of this together in the best bottle I've ever seen anything in, and you have a winning combination.

I'm going to have to agree with Mike on this one though.

~A

I’ve never officially reviewed Virgil’s Root Beer, pretty much because one of us would take care of one beverage at a time, however, being that it’s a new year of The Soda Jerks, this will be our first beverage that we both review.

First of all the bottle. I mean, look at it. This is obviously the real deal here. Can you believe I’m going to give points to a drink for being “fun to open?”

Secondly, the water. This soda is made with water from a well in Bavaria. Wow. I mean, really? Talk about fancy.

Whatever is in the water it’s got a very crisp taste, just like the original. I’d say the key difference between this and the original is the nutmeg. It kind of brings out the vanilla flavor most of all.

The other difference is the price. It’s about $5 a bottle. A bottle. As noted we’re moving on to store brand and discount sodas.

I’m scoring this the same as the original because the price balances out the slight advantages it has over the original.

-Mike

Steaz Green Tea Root Beer

Ok, this is my last 'root beer' entry for a while. I realize that I've only done two, but it's easy to get pigeon holed into only reviewing root beers since they each have such a variety. I believe that Steaz Green Tea Root Beer proves my point here.

Root beer made with green tea seems like something up Mike's alley, but I happened to stumble upon it first... which I guess mean I get to write the review. Steaz Green Tea Root Beer (which from here forth will be called Steaz) comes in a four pack and costs around $5. When you look at the packaging, it's really nothing special. It calls itself organic, and who am I to argue. The green tea flavor doesn't shine through, which is good... and because of it's special ingredients one serving (8oz) contains 60% of your daily value of vitamin C. I do like the fact that it's a 'healthy' root beer, but I'm not writing about it because of the health values. It's all about the flavor.

Steaz has an ok flavor, not good, not horrible, and certainly not great. I compare it to a flat root beer with a hint of cream soda. It doesn't seem to be to terribly carbonated, which in my opinion hurts it. This root beer has very little 'bite' to it which hurts it in my opinion, because if it did it wouldn't be nearly as boring as it is. If you're looking for a 'healthy' root beer that doesn't taste like diet (or as I like to call diet root beer 'sewer water') then spend the extra money and go with Steaz. I'd happily drink a Steaz before any diet root beer; but I would take a good old fashioned coke/pepsi/rc before I'd reach for a Steaz. Slightly off topic but "Reachin' for a Steaz" sounds kind of dirty. Sorry.

~Aaron

Virgil's Root Beer

Video is from 8/12/2022. The original written review from 3/25/2008 is below.

Tastes so pure, it must be made in heaven.... oh how freaking true that is. I passed by Virgil's several times in my local shopping facility. Every time I passed it I would look and see the cost, close to $8 with tax. With your $8 you get 4 twelve oz bottles, and that to me is insane. It was so insane to me that I had to show my friend Mike. We took a look at the packaging and noticed that it had taken home the award for 'Outstanding Beverage' at the International Fancy Food and Confection Show in '94, '96, and '97. Outstanding Beverage, not outstanding Root Beer. Mike being the crazy dare devil that he is bought some.

We took it back to my apartment to enjoy it with some pizza, and a bad movie (Transformers, but I digress) so we threw em in the freezer to chill. Now you may wonder, "Hey, why not just throw some ice in a glass and pour it over that". You will never see me use ice when reviewing these drinks. I strongly believe that ice dilutes the true flavor of a drink, and would definitely be blasphemous in this case. While it was chilling we read the ingredients:

Virgil's Ingredients List

Virgil's Microbrewed Root Beer contains these key all-natural ingredients:

carbonated water

unbleached cane sugar

Along with these natural herbs and spices (including point of origin):

anise from Spain

licorice from France

vanilla (bourbon) from Madagascar

cinnamon from Ceylon

clove from Indonesia

wintergreen from China

sweet birch from the southern US

molasses from the US

nutmeg from Indonesia

pimento berry oil from Jamaica

balsam oil from Peru

cassia oil from China

Needless to say, that's a pretty impressive ingredient list. We were especially intrigued by the wintergreen. After the bottles had chilled I took mine out, opened it and sniffed it. The aroma was amazing. I know that sounds like something you'd hear about wine, but it really was the best Root Beer I'd ever had, and all I'd done was smell it. I took my first sip, it was the cleanest root beer I'd ever experienced. It doesn't leave a syrupy taste in your mouth, and the aftertaste is non-existent. In fact I compare the after taste to almost a mountain spring water... basically Virgil's is the most refreshing soda I've ever had, and the reason we started this site. I took a bite of pizza, pepperoni, and noticed that my palate was now permiated with pungent pepperoni. (I like alliterations, what can I say) I took a swig of Virgil's to see how it reacted with the taste, and it cleansed my palate... a root beer cleansed my palate... that is insane. Over all I highly recommend Virgil's root beer to anyone. Yes it costs $8 with tax included, and that's one reason it's kept from being a perfect beverage, but still go out and try it.

~Aaron