Welcome!

November 14, 2011
Filed under: random junk — anthony @ 12:56 pm

Hello and welcome to the oldest, largest and frankly the best root beer reviewing site in the world! over 625 brands reviewed so far! i also throw in birch beer and sarsaparilla reviews occasionally while i am at it since to me, they are the same genre. once in a while i even detour into other branches of the root beer tree, such as spruce beer, dandelion & burdock and the like. a new review publishes every week on Monday with the random post or review of root beer related stuff every once in a while. feel free to submit your own ratings, check out the rankings from me and other visitors, see what sodas are available near you and more. make a float, tap a keg or mix some extract up and enjoy!

anthony (me) started reviewing root beer related drinks in '96 but has always loved the delicious joy of root beer and birch beer and just kept it going ever since. if you have any suggestions of features you'd like to see or sodas you want reviewed, let me know!

 
 

Dang! That’s Good Diet Butterscotch Root Beer

October 16, 2017
Filed under: diet root beers — anthony @ 5:00 am
Type: Diet Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: WI, online

Obtained in: Rocket Fizz
Head: Tiny Sweetener: aspartame (NutraSweet), Acesulfame-k
Calories: 1 Sodium: 15mg
Carbs: 0g Sugar: 0g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.dangthatsgood.com

now this soda has been chilling in the fridge for quite a while now. i keep passing over it and picking up full sugar sodas to review instead. you maybe saying "but anthony. why? what is the thought process in your oh so hard yet fully covered in hair with a not repulsive mug attached head?" and to that i would say "aw shucks, thanks random reader, you know how to charm a fellow! to answer your question, because it is diet! and butterscotch with diet does not sound appealing so much." but when i think about it, perhaps it might. well, let's see…
yeah, this is not awful! huh, how about that… it certainly isn't good. but for a diet root beer it is ok. the butterscotch is quite strong and does cover the diet ick, at least for a while. in time the gross aftertaste sneaks in and ruins it. but for those initial 30 seconds it is a decent drink. there is a bit of root beer flavor beneath the butterscotch as well but it is definitely secondary or perhaps tertiary to the overall taste. it is very sweet as well, which most diet drinks are, but not in a good way. the whole genre of butterscotch root beers seems to be complete with this diet addition, and it is a genre i am ok with staying as it is. explore uncharted territory please, chocolate root beer has only one entry, chili root beer doesn't seem to have anyone anymore, lime root beer is probably gross but maybe not. you could definitely do worse than this drink if you are in situation of having to have diet soda, but water is generally free and kind of tastier but it is your call here.
Ingredients:carbonated water, natural and artificial flavors, caramel color, xanthan gum,. aspartame (phenylketonurics: contains phenylalaine), acesulfame potassium, citric acid, sodium benzoate (preserves freshness)


Anthony's Rating: 40
User's Rating: 0
# of ratings:0
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Irma Hotel Buffalo Bill’s Sarsaparilla

October 9, 2017
Filed under: sarsaparillas — anthony @ 5:00 am
Type: Sarsaparilla Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: WY

Obtained in: trade with Sagi
Head: Small Sweetener: cane sugar, maltodextrin
Calories: 130 Sodium: 70mg
Carbs: 37g Sugar: 34g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.irmahotel.com

Woo! another find by the superb Sagi! now if i could only figure out what to call it… my first thought is "Buffalo Bill's Irma Hotel Sarsaparilla" but that is not really right as it is made for the Irma Hotel. so i am going with "Irma Hotel Buffalo Bill's Sarsaparilla" although that is clunky. they have it made for them by the Grand Teton Botttling Co who also make their own root beer as well as one for old faithful. the label is not bad. old time looking with a pen and ink drawing of who i assume is Buffalo Bill along with an actual buffalo, looking in opposite directions from each other for dramatic effect.
this is a super dark drink, which i kind of like in a sarsaparilla. when i twist off the top i get a big licorice scent wafting my way. i also like licorice so we are good so far. the flavor is indeed most controlled by that licorice but it has other elements along side it such as cinnamon and a little clove i think. the cane sugar is nice although i feel the maltodextrin makes it a little too syrupy even for my tastes. i mean it is good but nothing i have not had before. perhaps i would have rated it higher 5 or 10 years ago. i'd definitely drink it more if i could get it and i commend the hotel for getting a fine brew but it is not one i would mail order a case of. there are not many of those though really.
Ingredients:spring water, cane sugar, natural and artificial flavors, maltodextrin, caramel coloring, sodium benzoate (preserves freshness), citric acid


Anthony's Rating: 87
User's Rating: 0
# of ratings:0
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Americana Root Beer

October 2, 2017
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 5:00 am
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: AZ, NJ, OK, WA, online

Obtained in: rocket fizz
Head: Small Sweetener: cane sugar, honey
Calories: 160 Sodium: 50mg
Carbs: 43g Sugar: 43g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://orcabeverage.com

yup, they have changed their recipe and name as well. gone are all of the interesting seeming ingredients like extracts of vanilla, licorice and sassafras root bark, which could actually be included in the 'natural flavors' thing, but i'd imagine you'd point those out, or continue to do so and not removed them from the listing if it were indeed so. but now there is honey! i like honey. it has been over 16 years since i had the old version so honestly i have little idea what it tasted like at this point. i could go back and read my review, which i may do shortly but for now i will judge it on its own merit.
so let me see. yes, i can taste the honey a little. this actually reminds me a lot of regular Sprechers. not the honey one which is much better in my opinion. besides the honey it is solid yet unspectacular. with a pizza or a veggie burger or something, sure, i'd drink this and enjoy it a bunch. on its own, it is just a good root beer, i would not pull it out to impress friends or as an example of which a root beer can be, but perhaps as an example of what root beer is and should be to someone who has not really had root beer before. it goes down smoothly, not a lot of carbonation to get in your way here. whether that is a good thing or not is up to you, i would like a little more to perhaps make one slow down a bit and have to take note of it. this way it comes off a little too creamy as well for my tastes, but that is nitpicking.
Ingredients:carbonated water, cane sugar, natural & artificial flavors, caramel color, honey, citric acid,and phosphoric acid


Anthony's Rating: 81
User's Rating: 0
# of ratings:0
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Boylan’s Cane Sugar Creamy Red Birch Beer

September 25, 2017
Filed under: birch beers — anthony @ 5:00 am
Type: Red Birch Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: AZ, CA, CT, DE, GA, IL, IN, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, VA, WA, WI, online

Obtained in: somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
Head: Medium Sweetener: cane sugar
Calories: 170 Sodium: 35mg
Carbs: 42g Sugar: 42g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.boylanbottling.com

one of the first sodas i ever reviewed was Boylan's Creamy Red Birch Beer. it remains one of my top sodas, which i will admit, now years later, it probably a little too high for it. which is not to say it is not a great drink, but maybe not that great. no matter. now they have this "Limited Release" version with cane sugar. i suspect the limited-ness is pretty much how many they can sell. i am a little confused if the regular version is still made as well or not. either way. i do very much like the bottle here, very classic and old time looking, they pull that off well.
the taste is super good. this is just what a red birch beer should be in my mind. it has some wintergreen happening but it is subdued and other tastes come through along with it. those tastes are more on the herbal side, a hint of sassafras as well as other tastes i have only really tasted in birch beer so i associate them with the birch itself. the soda has a sweet taste that is less sticky sweet than the other version, perhaps it is ever sweeter with a bit less of a bite as well. i am surprised how much of a head this drink has and it even lasts a while, that is unusual for birch beers. red birch beers are a curious thing, although i'd rather have a white birch in general, they can be quite tasty as well. this one pulls it off to a tee.
Ingredients:carbonated water, cane sugar, pure birch oil, natural and artificial flavors, vanillin, citric acid, sodium benzoate (preserves freshness), red 40 for color, caramel color


Anthony's Rating: 93
User's Rating: 0
# of ratings:0
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