welcome to anthony's root beer barrel! here anthony reviews root beers, birch beers & sarsaparillas, randomly rambles about the topic and probably some more stuff. so check it all out, feel free to comment on reviews or rate brews yourself.


 

 

Natural Brew Draft Root Beer

January 25, 1997
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 7:39 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY, online, everywhere Obtained in: Berkeley Heights, NJ
Head: Medium Sweetener: cane sugar
Calories: 160 Sodium: 15mg
Carbs: 40g Sugar: 40g
Caffeine: No

pretty much what Virgil’s wants to be, a root beer with a bunch of different, kind of strange flavours that still tastes like a root beer and tastes GOOD. this taste takes a couple swallows to get used to, but you come to appreciate the subtle cinnamon, licorice, clove and wintergreen along with a high level of vanilla. not my favorite, but nice for a change.

Ingredients: filtered water, pure cane sugar and/or high fructose corn sweetener, natural and artificial flavors, caramel color, phosphoric acid, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate as preservatives

Anthony’s Rating: 68
Your Rating: 66
# of ratings:179

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Smart & Final Iris Root Beer

January 25, 1997
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 4:12 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12 oz can
Available: NV Obtained in: Las Vegas, NV
Head: Medium Sweetener: high fructose corn syrup
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.smartandfinal.com

another generic root beer, not bad, not good. just average. normal. kinda boring at this point. can’t expect too much more though i suppose. oh well, sometimes i am surprised though. not this time.
Anthony’s Rating: 39
Your Rating: 46
# of ratings:21

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Safeway Select Root Beer

January 25, 1997
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 3:29 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12 oz can
Available: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY, Canada, everywhere Obtained in: williams, AZ
Head: Small Sweetener: high fructose corn syrup
Calories: 160 Sodium: 55mg
Carbs: 41g Sugar: 41g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.safeway.com

i believe there are many different supermarkets you sell this, just putting their name on it, cuz i could swear i have seen it elsewhere and my girlfriend said i already had it. but in any case… this has this weird cinnimon zing to it that makes it taste pretty good. a little too much carbonation though, you get that whole crazy burping thing happening.

Ingredients: carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, sodium benzoate (a preservative), citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, gum acacia

Anthony’s Rating: 65
Your Rating: 48
# of ratings:136

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Naturale 90 Root Beer Soda

January 21, 1997
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 7:42 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 28oz glass bottle
Available: NJ, NY Obtained in: Berkeley Heights, NJ
Head: Small Sweetener: corn sweetener
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.naturale90.com/

i am also rather disappointed with this drink. it looks much better than it tastes. there is too little flavor on the whole and what is there usually tastes like it has gone bad or just a bit rancid. i have had some good bottles of this though, so there seems to be some inconsistancy in bottling or whatever.
Anthony’s Rating: 32
Your Rating: 61
# of ratings:30

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Journey Beverage Co Shenandoah Sassfras Root Beer

January 21, 1997
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 6:45 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY, online, everywhere Obtained in: Berkeley Heights, NJ
Head: Tiny Sweetener: cane sugar, honey, rice syrup
Calories: 140 Sodium: 15mg
Carbs: 35g Sugar: 29g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.journeyfood.com/

probably the 2nd worst beverage i have ever had. this is a bit better, but just tastes like crud. way too overpowered by the cane sugar used in it and all of the random other things like sassafras and anise thrown in for some odd reason. it bears exceedingly little resemblance to actual root beer in my book and should not be claimed as such.

Ingredients: sparkling purified water, natural sweetener blend (unrefined cane sugar, brown rice syrup, honey, barley malt), root and spice brew (water, sassafras root bark, star anise, mixed herb blend) phosphoric acid, natural flavors

Anthony’s Rating: 12
Your Rating: 50
# of ratings:69

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Journey Beverage Co Borealis Birch Beer

January 20, 1997
Filed under: birch beers — anthony @ 6:23 pm
Type: Brown Birch Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY, online, Canada, everywhere Obtained in: Berkeley Heights, NJ
Head: Tiny Sweetener: cane sugar, rice syrup, birch syrup
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.journeyfood.com/

this is probably the worst beverage i have ever drank and i have drank some nasty stuff in my time. tastes like a jar of potporri was accidently spilled into an ok birch beer and they decided to leave it there. i can find nothing good to say about this other than that the label is pretty nice looking. do not fall for the deception though! inside lurks something bad.

Ingredients: sparkling purified water, natural sweetener blend (unrefined cane sugar, fructose, tree-tapped Alaskan birch syrup), herb and spice brew (water, birch bark, roasted chicory, juniper berries, other herbs and spices), phosphoric acid, natural flavors

Anthony’s Rating: 8
Your Rating: 55
# of ratings:89

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Grand Premium Draft Style Root Beer

January 20, 1997
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 5:17 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12 oz can, 2L plastic bottle, 3L plastic bottle
Available: CT, MA, NJ, NY, RI Obtained in: Berkeley Heights, NJ
Head: Small Sweetener: high fructose corn syrup
Caffeine: No

quite fizzy but no foam, kinda weird. otherwise this is not a bad root beer. i guess a bit generic in a few ways, but at 5 for a dollar, you can’t go wrong with this. a nice taste, good bite to it and just plain, straight out root beer.
Anthony’s Rating: 58
Your Rating: 48
# of ratings:14

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