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.

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Albertson’s A+ Root Beer Old Fashioned Soda

March 24, 2001
Filed under: root beer reviews — anthony @ 4:54 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12 oz can, 20 oz plastic bottle, 2L plastic bottle
Available: AK, AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, ND, OK, OR, PA, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI, WY Obtained in: MA
Head: Small Sweetener: high fructose corn syrup
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.albertsons.com/

maybe it is because i have had this for a while, but this is pretty bad. very little carbonation (which i’d expect for a soda sitting for a couple months). but the taste is very bland and dull. a little too generic i suppose. drinkable though, it is not all herb-y and grody or anything. for a store brand that costs like $.50 for the bottle, it is ok. i will have to try it again when i can drink it fresh.
Anthony’s Rating: 46
Your Rating: 48
# of ratings:48

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Pennsylvania Dutch Red Birch Beer

March 24, 2001
Filed under: birch beers reviews — anthony @ 3:16 pm
Type: Red Birch Beer Comes In: 12 oz can, 20 oz plastic bottle, 2L plastic bottle
Available: NJ, PA Obtained in: Bound Brook, NJ
Head: Small Sweetener: high fructose corn syrup
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.daretogodutch.com/

besides Boylan’s, i don’t think any other company makes 2 kinds of birch beer. these 2 are distinctly different also. the carbonation is much calmer here and it is sweeter without the kick and any real added nonsense. it is not an amazing soda, but it is very good. unfortunately, it is very sporadic where i find it. or it WAS, now it is a lot of places, including my local supermarket all of the time, in cans and 2 liter bottles. so that is a nice thing. good job!
Anthony’s Rating: 81
Your Rating: 85
# of ratings:96

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Wegmans Fountain W Root Beer

March 14, 2001
Filed under: root beer reviews — anthony @ 6:22 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12 oz can
Available: NJ, NY, PA Obtained in: Bridgewater, NJ
Head: Large Sweetener: high fructose corn syrup, sugar
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.wegmans.com

the fact that they state “very low sodium” on the can made me wary but then i read the little blurb about root beer that Donny Wegman supposedly wrote and i thought it might be ok. i am just confused as i drink it though, it is a weird soda. it almost tastes like marshmallows actually. but not quite. a little citrus-y maybe? not awful but definitely strange.
Anthony’s Rating: 59
Your Rating: 68
# of ratings:31

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Dominion Root Beer

March 14, 2001
Filed under: root beer reviews — anthony @ 2:51 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: VA, online Obtained in: mail order from company
Head: Large Sweetener: high fructose corn syrup, sugar, honey
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.olddominion.com/

holy crud, 4 kinds of sweeteners! geez! alright, it has 42g of sugar which is about normal or even a little low, but still… the honey gives this drink a distinctive flavor. but it verges on that “too much honey” feeling you get when you drink some tea that has, well, too much honey. or if you suck on a whole load of those honey stick things. but if you sip it pretty slow, perhaps while sitting on your porch watching the critters stroll by, it is pretty good. if i was in the right mood i might rank this higher, but then again, if i was in the wrong mood, i might rank this lower, so whatever.
Anthony’s Rating: 82
Your Rating: 84
# of ratings:89

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Fitz’s Root Beer

March 13, 2001
Filed under: root beer reviews — anthony @ 5:34 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: CA, MO, OK, online Obtained in: mail order from company
Head: Large Sweetener: cane sugar
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.fitzsrootbeer.com/

so many people recommended this brew to me that i decided i had to splurge and just order some from the company. and i am quite glad i did. this is a really fine drink. i am sure some people will disagree, but it has most of what i look for in a root beer. it is rather sweet, almost too much so. it has a slight kick / spice to it, anise-ish but not quite. creamy and very smooth, almost like a float with no ice cream. a good, solid soda that St Louis should be proud of.
Anthony’s Rating: 89
Your Rating: 84
# of ratings:185

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Ol Bob Miller’s Prospector Style Red Sas’parilla

March 13, 2001
Filed under: sarsaparilla reviews — anthony @ 2:49 pm
Type: Sarsaparilla Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: discontinued Obtained in: mail from ifandsbutts.com
Head: Small Sweetener: high fructose corn syrup, sugar
Caffeine: No

red sarsaparilla (or sas’parilla as the bottle says). it really tastes like nothing actually. granted, it has been in my fridge for around a year, but i had a bottle when i ordered it and it also was very bland. a very subtle mint taste, but on the whole, it is just a little bit sugary water. not Journey awful or anything.
Anthony’s Rating: 37
Your Rating: 71
# of ratings:70

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