bear with me

i would recommend changing your password if you are a registered user

seems a fellow decided my site was worthy of hacking, so he did. bear with me while i restore junk.
thanks
[update 1/31/08 10:10 am] ok, all back to good, i think. see anything weird? let me know.
silly hackers.
i am sort of touched that my site was important enough to hack, but still slightly annoyed. alas.

it seems one of the plug-ins i use was exploited to get all the user names and passwords of registered users. no one else really has any priveledges so i would not worry about it too much. again, i would recommend changing your password, if you registered here

Vine Park River City Root Beer

this was a very cool surprise! when i ordered some Glewwe’s Castle Root Beer, the brewery offered to send me a bottle of this as it is only available at the brewery which is near him. so very kind! thanks to you again sir!
if i were to imagine just what the root beer made by a beer brewer would taste like, i think this might be it. it is very “solid” and “hearty” if that makes any sense. there is a definite body to it, a presence. although i have never had an actual beer, that is the stereotypical image that beer and beer drinkers are supposed to conquer, at least to me. burly, tough dudes who need to relax with their buds after a grueling week in the coal mines to watch the big boxing match or something. yes, yes i know that that is not how 99% of beer is drank, especially micro brews, but humor me here, ok? i may have a point here eventually, i am not sure what it will be yet, but if i ramble long enough one may occur to me. well, i suppose it is just that when i go to a brewpub or brewery with friends who do drink beer and they also make a root beer, this is what i would expect to get served. tasty, definitely root beer as they don’t deviate from the expected taste much, yet full bodied and strong. not necessarily something you would want to put ice cream in as it would make it less man-ly, but you definitely could and it would be tasty i am sure.
although this place sounds more like a place where you go with your friends or whatever and they help you brew up your own stuff, so perhaps it is much different than the image i have in my head. alas.
Anthony’s Rating: 85
Your Rating: 0
# of ratings:0

Glewwe’s Castle Root Beer

this brew was another one i was very excited to stumble upon the website for as i am sure i would have had no idea it existed if not for my relentless searching of “root beer Minnesota.” and every other state or country or province i could think of that would produce root beer or birch beer or sarsaparilla. i emailed Mark, the brewer, and asked if he shipped his sodas. he quickly replied that he did and would be happy to ship me a bottle of another brand i had on my “wanted” list as he could get it easily. it turns out that that other company had emailed me the day before offering to mailorder some to me, so Mark offered to send a bottle of another brewery in the area which i did not even know about! what a guy!
this soda (and a cream soda too) are all handmade, from bottle washing to brewing to capping to labelling. that is just awesome. especially as it is not yeast carbonated, which makes me happier.
the graphic design on this is not so great, but i think that really only adds to the appeal and personal creation of it. there are spelling errors and about four or five different fonts, that makes me smile. now i am sure some people will complain about me saying this stuff is good in this case but i was not happy with the design on the Windy City yet there are different beasts, this is a personal, handmade product, not really intended for mass distribution or commercial appeal. that one is.
so i think this is the first soda i have had that mixes root beer and birch beer extracts. and i must admit i am intrigued. it is tasty. i would definitely put it in the “root beer” category yet it has a bit of that birch beer wintergreen-ness to it. that right there makes this soda unique, which is something i seem to value in my reviews. this is a strong, flavorful soda. the taste seems to slowly morph and change during drinking, making you pay attention to it. one would be hard pressed to idly down this brew or drink it while doing other tasks without taking that moment to make like the Kool-Aid dude and smile with an “oh yeah!” at least in your thoughts.
in my correspondance with Mark, he asked how i do my ratings, do i assign points to different things like presentation, foam, carbonation, taste, bouquet? the answer is “no.” i think i will write a post about my process sometime soon, but there is not a lot to tell anyway.
i was a bit worried that this would be very generic and lame and i would have to give it a bad review, even after all of the effort gone through for it to end up in my belly. but, happily, that is not the case. the citizens of Spring Lake, MN are lucky, they can go enjoy this anytime they want.
Anthony’s Rating: 91
Your Rating: 98
# of ratings:8

Windy City Root Beer

ah, now this is the last of my trade with the mighty Jon O! i do hope this round of trading ends with a reviewing high note although i have my doubts that this will surpass Chautauqua let alone Rug Rat, both of which i received in this trade round. but who knows? that is why i do this, the surprise of it all. well that and the fame and fortune of course, but that is obvious, isn’t it?
i will admit i had my doubts about this soda before opening it. i suppose different styles of labels and junk often have different tastes that fall in distinct categories. at least in my head. but not in a way i can really define at all. i think since this label looks kind of like a not great photoshop attempt (hey, who am i to talk, check out my lame logo?!) at a old-tyme-ish soda company logo and label. it just seems very rushed and slapped together. but i suppose they may have just spent more time working on the actual contents of the bottle than they did on the bottle design.
my reaction to this is similar to my reaction to the Avery Root Beer, it is good, very good in fact, but it is not distinct. in fact i think i would have no idea which was which if i was given both to taste, told which was which, then had them mixed up and handed back to me to try. this one may be a little tiny bit heavier and it has more foam, but the latter part does not really affect the taste at all.
if i could get this easily in my area, it would definitely be in my house at all times, but it would not be something i would give someone who wanted to experience the variety within the root beer genre. it would though be in the selection i would offer for traditional root beers done right. now if they could get rid of the “and/or corn sweetener” in the ingredients, i would be much happier still.
Anthony’s Rating: 90
Your Rating: 76
# of ratings:4

Avery’s Root Beer

i found out about this company probably a year or two ago. as i drive through Connecticut a couple times a year i figured i would make a side trip at some point and go to their bottling works. but i have not yet done so. thus when this root beer was offered up as part of my big trade with Jon, i picked it. nonetheless i will still go up with to get the rest of their soda line as they have a birch beer and sarsaparilla as well as a diet root and diet birch. so for four new sodas to try, it is definitely worthwhile!
i like the style of this brand too, very old-timey and cool. all of the labels are the same and flavors are distinguished by the bottle caps which also have the ingredient list.
the beverage as a whole though is good. but it does not do a ton for me. yeah, it is tasty and superior to your big market, mass produced soda, but it does not really set itself apart. this could be one of about 10 sodas in a blind taste test. that is not really a bad thing mind you, yet i am trying to distinguish sodas from each other a bit more. there is a very distinct lack of any head or foam although the carbonation level is good. the sweetness level is good, not overly done. flavor-wise, like i have been saying, it is good but i can’t get any more descriptive than shrugging and saying “yup, it is a very yummy root beer.” i would definitely get more as i do like it. i think this review came off as bad but there is no reason not to drink this instead of 95% of the root beers out there.
Anthony’s Rating: 90
Your Rating: 94
# of ratings:4

the wheel of time turns, weaving me in

based on some suggestions i have made a couple of changes around here.
the biggest i guess is that the category pages are in alphabetical order instead of date order. that is, if you click on “sarsaparilla reviews” over on the right there you will get the reviews in alphabetical order instead of seeing the newest reviews first. that seemed to make more sense.
i also think i am about done, for now, with the Availibility page. my googling skills have found me a lot of sodas, about 250 actually, that i have never had. so i guess when people ask me now if i have tried them all, i have a better answer. granted most of these are not bottled so it makes it crazy hard to have them, but i suppose it is a challenge.

one thing that quite surprised me, looking at the category stuff more closely, was the numbers in each. the number of Birch Beers and Sarsaparillas are nearly identical. weird. i really would think Birch Beers were a decent amount more plentiful. but perhaps that is a function of me living in the geographic area where that is the case. most Birch Beers i have found have been from the PA, NJ, CT areas. Sarsaparillas are much more plentiful in the western US i suppose although there are some scattered throughout the nation and a few in other parts of the world (UK, Australia, Philippines, Costa Rica) where there is no root beer.

anyway, i am trying to catch up on reviews but not go so fast that i will run out of stuff quickly. i think i have about 15 sodas in queue in my fridge right now, give or take. after that i am not quite sure what else i can get. so there may be a big lull after February. but there is that whole big list in my sidebar there of sodas i need and would gladly pay postage and obtaining costs on. so anyone in Nova Scotia (hint hint) i could make it worth your while!

alright, back to other stuff.
any comments, suggestions, complaints, let me know.

Chautauqua Root Beer

so i am almost through with the sodas i obtained in my recent trade with Jon. well, ok, maybe i have 3 left, that is a lot. i thought for a bit that this might be my last one but no, it is not. so never mind.
the presentation on this soda is very nice. very good use of color, pretty good fonts and a naked girl with a headband and heels wearing a barrel holding a foaming mug and a bottle, what more could one want from their soda? ok, the girl thing is kind of random but i do mean it that i like their design otherwise.
no one seems quite sure if this drink is still being made or not. there is no mention of it on their website and they have not answered my emails. perhaps no day that mystery will be solved.
i certainly do hope it is still being made though, after tasting it. there is a definitely cinnamon flavor to it that i am very much enjoying. i mean the brown cinnamon, like you put on toast, not the red cinnamon, like Big Red. the taste of this root beer stands out to me, i can’t recall any others that have this much cinnamon flavor while still being very recognizable as root beer. it is very rare indeed that i find root beers i really love and which i would order a case of in a heartbeat, but i would do that for both this and the RugRat root beer of last week. i may just have to go to this “Lakewood, NY” place myself and investigate!
Anthony’s Rating: 95
Your Rating: 0
# of ratings:0

Cooperstown Brewing Co World Series Sarsaparilla

alright, so they don’t want to tell us what they sweeten this with… very sneaky Cooperstown! i would think the “natural & imitation flavors” listing would hide their secret recipe well enough. i don’t know if sugar counts as a natural flavor, it is possible. i don’t see why not, it is a flavor of sorts and it is natural or imitation. nonetheless, perhaps they actually don’t sweeten it at all. after tasting it, that may in fact be true. whoa, this is probably the most bitter soda i have ever had! it is honestly quite bad. the flavor is harsh and does not make my taste buds sing. instead i think they are hiding, hoping for some chocolate or something. i do enjoy some bitter things i will admit, but i suppose beverages are not something i like when they fall in that sub-genre. sweet? yes, sign me up! salty? ok, i will give it a try! bitter? uuuummmm, probably not. it just does not even taste like sarsaparilla or root beer in any way, to me. since i am the only one drinking this, that is all you get unless you want to ingest this yourself or someone else on the intertubes reviews it.
so, in summary, if you enjoy bitter, kind of sharp yet watery drinks, race to Cooperstown and buy up their stock as this may be for you. it is definitely not for me.
Anthony’s Rating: 20
Your Rating: 51
# of ratings:2

Jack Astor’s Brewski Root Beer

this soda is another one that i had not a whole lot of hope of getting. granted it is still made, but it only seems to be sold at the Canadian Jack Astor’s Bar & Grille locations. which is not to say i do not enjoy visiting that fine nation, but i think the chance of me getting there anytime soon is slim. so my root beer trade with Jon worked out very well for me yet again in this case.
the first thing i noticed about this root beer (or “racinette” as the French call it) is the top, it is the old style wider metal twist off top, like what used to be on 2 liter bottle of pop before they were replaced with the plastic version. i have seen a couple of companies do this but very rarely. the second thing i took note of was the green glass bottle. the only other ones i can think of that come in green glass are Empire Bottling Works Root Beer and Naturale 90 but the first has the smaller metal twist off cap and the latter is a bigger bottle but with the same cap style. curious.
then i finally opened it up.
there is a unique flavor here. perhaps it is caused by the “botanical extract” in the ingredient list. it is definitely something herbal in there. it makes it somewhat of a light taste but with a decent amount of sweetness which makes it feel heavier. they balance out somewhat and exist in harmony. this reminds me of a better version of the Journey Historic Brews in that i get that “root” flavor and it actually taste pretty good. notice i said “pretty good” and not “great” or “amazing” or something. my girlfriend would probably say that is because i so rarely say that sort of thing about anything but in this case it is because it it true. i enjoy it because it is different but i am content having it just this once because it is not so great.
Anthony’s Rating: 72
Your Rating: 0
# of ratings:0

Local Color Brewing Rug Rat Root Beer

for years i knew OF this soda but could never get any. the company did not mail order and none of the soda mail order places carried it. plus i just have not been to Michigan in many years so i never got any. but it had some of the coolest label art i had seen in a while, cute and fun. it was obviously directed as a playful jab for the parents towards the children to which they were marketing the only non-alcohol offering they made. then one day i was checking my links to be sure they were all ok and valid and all of that crazy intertubes magic stuff when i noticed that the old website for Rug Rat Root Beer was gone and the whole localcolor.com site had changed. it used to be quite visually exciting and fun. now it is lame. but perhaps that brings in the clients, i do not know.
nonetheless to the rescue comes the mighty Jon once again! during our recent email exchanges he listed Rug Rat as one of the sodas he had extra of, and not even too old either! so of the seven sodas i got in our trade, this is the one i was probably most excited about getting. hooray, at long last you are mine Rug Rat!
as i pop the cap (non-twist off, so i did indeed need a cap popper. i actually wrote “pop capper” but then realized that that device is what caused me to need the cap popper, weird how that works…) i am slightly concerned that this brew may be too old as there was not much of the releasing of air. oh well, not a huge deal.
ok, this right here is one of the BEST drinks i have ever had. wow! it is creamy yet hearty with a full body and strong presence. it has preciously the right amount of sweetness so that one’s taste buds and stomach are not overwhelmed by it but they are still forced to stand up and recognize that this drink is tickling them and making them happy.
every time i take a drink of this soda i put it down and am quiet for a moment as i savor the flavor and decide again that i have not been over selling it. i shake my head in wonder. i lick my lips to try to get every last molecule of taste that i can. this soda is not something i could just drink absent mindedly. if i tried to, each time i drank my full attention would be forced to my taste buds. it must be sipped and savored. as this is the one and only bottle of this i will probably ever have, it makes it rather bittersweet.
this is a very excellent brew to have for my 350th review. i certainly hope #400 is nearly as good.
sorry Boylan’s Natural and Bulldog, we have a new champion. you can relax though knowing that this is no longer made. but sleep may be difficult knowing that out there somewhere is a recipe for this soda.
and thank you to Local Color Brewing for restoring my faith in root beer. every once in a while i do wonder a little about just why i love root beer so much and this right here is why.
thanks.
Anthony’s Rating: 99
Your Rating: 100
# of ratings:1