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.


 

 

Two Bellies Root Beer

April 26, 2003
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 3:18 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: discontinued Obtained in: mail from strange brew
Head: Small Sweetener: high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin
Caffeine: No

i meant to order this for a long time. then it was discontinued and i was sad to never have gotten to try it. then the Strange Brew folks found some and i quickly placed my order! it is a pretty good beverage. but nothing amazing or unique. i enjoy drinking it but it tastes just like 40 other root beers out there. the label is cooler than most though so that does help. =) sweet, quite sweet. decent creaminess level too. a solid, tasty soda that i am a bit sad to see going. but then again, i can just have something else.
Anthony’s Rating: 85
Your Rating: 63
# of ratings:6

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Dr Brown’s Draft Style Root Beer

April 14, 2003
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 3:10 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12 oz can, 10oz glass bottle
Available: CA, CT, MA, NJ, NY, online Obtained in: mail from sodapopstop.com
Head: Tiny Sweetener: high fructose corn syrup
Caffeine: No

so my supermarket as well as tons of other stores i have been in in the past 5 years carries Dr Brown’s sodas. but just Cel-Ray, Black Cherry, Cream and maybe 1 or 2 others. but never root beer. i knew it was out there as i saw it once at a diner in Boston. stupidly i did not buy it to review, thinking i would now see it all over. i did not of course. so i was quite happy to see that i could mail order it. was it worth it though? eeehhh… it is ok. slightly herbal bitter tasting. there is not much of a head but it is quite carbonated, as witnessed by the gas i keep having to expel from my pie hole. decent soda, nothing more

Ingredients: carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, natural and artificial flavors, gum acacia and citric acid

Anthony’s Rating: 72
Your Rating: 59
# of ratings:40

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Hank’s Premium Philadelphia Diet Root Beer

April 13, 2003
Filed under: diet root beers — anthony @ 3:16 pm
Type: Diet Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: CA, NJ, PA, online Obtained in: mail from sodapopstop.com
Head: Large Sweetener: aspartame (NutraSweet)
Calories: 0 Sodium: 35mg
Carbs: 0g Sugar: 0g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.hanks-rootbeer.com/

it is rather annoying that i had to mail order this as i live about an hour from philadelphia but i have never seen this variety so i broke down & ordered. as with most diet sodas, it seems ok the first 2.4 seconds, then the awful fake sweetener taste kicks in and it is just vile. granted they do try to make it work here. yet it does not. a little creamy, lots of carbonation to tickle your mouth, yet the taste is no good, slightly bitter and then that terrible aftertaste comes in. i can’t even finish it. i feel bad but i just can’t deal with diet soda.

Ingredients: filtered carbonated water, caramel color, natural and artificial flavors, aspartame, sodium benzoate (a preservative), quillaia and yucca extracts, citric acid and acacia

Anthony’s Rating: 20
Your Rating: 55
# of ratings:13

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Olde Philadelphia William Penn Root Beer

April 13, 2003
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 3:14 pm
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: PA, online Obtained in: mail from sodapopstop.com
Head: Medium Sweetener: high fructose corn syrup
Calories: 180 Sodium: 35mg
Carbs: 44g Sugar: 44g
Caffeine: No

wow, this looks suspiciously like Olde Brooklyn soda. even the naming scheme. oh well, whatever, that soda disappeared from my store’s shelves so perhaps they folded. not too discript a soda here. seems a bit watery really. a little sweet, rather creamy. maybe more than just a bit watery actually. the taste just does not really stand out at all. not offensive or anything of course, it just is there, making me shrug when i think about it.

Ingredients: filtered carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, natural and artificial flavor, citric acid, acacia, quillaia and yucca extracts

Anthony’s Rating: 70
Your Rating: 75
# of ratings:18

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