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!

 
 

Shank’s Root Beer Extract

March 11, 2019
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 5:00 am
Type: Root Beer Comes In: extract
Available: PA, online

Obtained in: from Amazon I think
Head: None Sweetener: none
Caffeine: No
Website: https://shanks.com/

i mixed this up in my seltzer bottle deal like a week ago according to the recipe on the bottle, which was a whole of math going from making 5 gallons with a whole bottle to the 1 quart of my bottle. it ended up as around 1/8 tsp of extract in there, which seems like barely anything, but hey, that is what they called for, so that is how i will try it. i did not carbonate it until now but somehow it was not actually carbonated when i put it into my mug. oh well, my fault, so i won't count that against them.
i do like the bottle, it is fun. for some reason, extract bottles seem to be more generic, all of the flavors with very similar labels and such. i appreciate that they at least put in the effort to make this one unique.
the taste here is just ok. i really think it needs more extract, but i followed the recipe quite precisely so this is how they want it. it tastes like root beer, which in the end, is what an extract is supposed to do, right? but as i am judging it against the real root beer soda world, that is not quite good enough. i also think their sugar amount suggestion is a bit too high. i will have to try making a cake or cupcakes or something with this at a later point and test that aspect. maybe pancakes, i make a lot of pancakes… hhhmmmm
Ingredients:caramel color, propylene glycol, water, phosphoric acid, natural and artificial flavor, sodium benzoate (as preservative)


Anthony's Rating: 63
User's Rating: 0
# of ratings:0
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Northwoods Espresso Root Beer

February 25, 2019
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 5:00 am
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: MI, online

Obtained in: mailorder from company
Head: Large Sweetener: cane sugar
Calories: 190 Sodium: 40mg
Carbs: 48g Sugar: 47g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.northwoodssoda.com

i'll admit upfront i have never had an espresso. and i very rarely drink coffee at all, maybe 4 times a year? which is not to say i don't like coffee, i rather do. it is one of my favorite ice cream flavors even. i just don't like to have caffeine if i don't need to. plus when i do want to have caffeine, i want it to do what it is supposed to do with a minimal amount, not require a load of it to do so. anyway, i don't think that will cloud my judgement here. granted when i do drink coffee i think it should taste basically like melted coffee ice cream, so all of that sugar and dairy is not too healthy.
Northwoods make a couple of super yummy regular root beers, so i was quite excited to find they made this variation. they also made a diet version which i twice tried to order only to be told they stopped making it despite it being a product you can order on their website.
this is a collaborative effort with Roast & Toast out of Petoskey, MI. that is a good thing, actually calling in some experts in the espresso field. at least i hope they are with a name like that. they have a little blurb from their head roaster as well explaining what it is composed of which is rather convincing as well.
you actually taste the espresso here more than the root beer, which also is not a bad thing, but a little surprising. you could tell me this was an espresso soda and i would believe it. it has that bitter edge i associate with espresso despite never having had it. it is still sweet even though, which i am quite happy with. i do wish the root beer was a little more prominent in the flavor yet if you pay enough attention you can find some hints of it. i am not sad i had to but a twelve pack of this even though i can't drink it after like 3 pm or i won't sleep that night. i'll just have to plan ahead is all.
Ingredients:carbonated water, cane sugar, espresso, natural & artificial flavor, phosphoric acid, caramel color (sulfite), and sodium benzoate to preserve freshness


Anthony's Rating: 95
User's Rating: 0
# of ratings:0
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Rocket Fizz Labrador Soda Root Beer Butterscotch

February 11, 2019
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 8:00 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: AK, AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, IN, MO, NE, NJ, NC, OH, OR, TN, TX, UT, VA

Obtained in: trade with Sagi
Head: Large Sweetener: cane sugar
Calories: 170 Sodium: 25mg
Carbs: 43g Sugar: 42g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://rocketfizz.com

so Rocket Fizz is at it again! more root beers from them. very cool. i hope they keep it going as much as possible. I am a little uncertain whether they are really all different
or not, but i believe they are. and if you believe you can achieve ALL. the bass master general decrees it. i suppose they had to get in on the dog theme root beers and why not
add to the butterscotch root beers too while they are at it? usually with the animal theme sodas, there is one animal it is based on or raising money for or whatever. but here, it is the
whole breed of Labradors i suppose.
i have drank almost half of this bottle and must say there is really no even hint of butterscotch. i would think a 'root beer butterscotch' would be even more butterscotch than a butterscotch root beer. but i am wrong, yet again. seems to happen often. the lack of butterscotchiness aside, i do like this soda. there isn't much special about it when you get down to it, but when you just want a solid root beer, this is one of those. excellent carbonation level, quite sweet but not sticky, it goes down smooth. it is all natural and also 'champion of the usa' as well supposedly! i'd not sure what that applies to, the soda? labradors? some sort of bullet as that is what it is printed to look like the words appear on? the world may never know the answer.
Ingredients:spring water, pure cane sugar, citric acid, caramel color & natural flavors


Anthony's Rating: 84
User's Rating: 0
# of ratings:0
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Summit Craft Root Beer

January 14, 2019
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 5:00 am
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: NJ

Obtained in: at Aldi store
Head: Medium Sweetener: cane sugar
Calories: 140 Sodium: 35mg
Carbs: 35g Sugar: 35g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.aldi.us

this right here is the third offering from Summit, which seems to be a brand sold only at Aldi. strangely none of them seem to last long either. this one was very very hard to obtain actually. I went to eight different Aldi stores and kept finding the cola but finally i came upon one four pack of cola with one single bottle of root beer in it. the annoying thing is that i was trying to get some extras for others and failed at that endeavor. this was only available for a short time apparently and by the time i knew about it, it was too late i suppose.
hopefully this is better than the other two root beers they have done. let me find out. hhhmm, it is kind of watery. i'd expand on that and say it is not exactly too tasty or flavorful. so i suppose it is indeed not better than their old sodas. i can tell it is root beer, for sure, but there is not much else there or even a strong flavor. it is sweet enough and reasonably smooth although that may also just be low carbonation. there is a decent head, but that is just window dressing really but that is more surprising given the low bubble content. in the end i am glad i did not get more for myself but still annoyed i did not get some for my friends.
Ingredients:triple filtered carbonated water, cane sugar, natural flavors, caramel color


Anthony's Rating: 70
User's Rating: 0
# of ratings:0
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