history channel comes a-callin’

so sunday i had my first television interview! at least about root beer. probably about anything as far as i can recall although i feel like i have been filmed interviewing bands before. yet that would be the reverse roles of what went on sunday.
so anyway, it is for the Modern Marvels show, they are doing an episode on soft drinks which sounds like it will be pretty jam packed so i don’t know how much of me will make it on-air, but i hope a good amount does. they filmed in my root beer room (which i really just set up for the occasion) and in my kitchen. lots of very god questions were asked, i reviewed a root beer i had never had on camera for them and 3 or so hours later they left. it was a very good time, for me at least.
the air-date as of right now is September 29th but i will remind you and let you know if that changes.
fun stuff, spreading the root beer reality!

Appalachian Brewing Co Rootbeer

a very kind fellow sent this to me after seeing i had not reviewed it. actually i did not even know they bottled it, so it was a very thrilling day when the offer was made. and even better when it actually arrived in one piece on my doorstep.
i don’t quite get why a small brewery would not have settled on a sweetener so they have to put “corn syrup AND/OR sugar” or whatever. is it one or the other or both? i know there are a good amount of people who avoid corn syrup, so it would behoove them to not have that stuff in there.
but besides that, this is one excellent brew! the flavor is a refreshing herbal mix that i just can’t drink down quickly. i must take small tastes and try to figure out just what i am having. well, i don’t have to do that, i could just drink it and know it is great each time i take a swallow. yet i want to savor it. i cannot really make out the honey though i must admit. the sweetness level is a bit lower than the sodas i usually like a lot which surprises me. it is still sweet but rather subdued in that aspect. that herbal flavor mentioned above is unusual. other sodas seem to try to achieve this taste but most do not do so as well as this one. i will definitely have to go out to PA to get more of this stuff sometime!

UPDATE: they DON’T use corn syrup in any form anymore!! hooray!! the labels have been updated and all is well in the world. or at least better than it was. carry on. good work ABC!
good work Appalachian Brewing Co!
Ingredients:filtered and carbonated brewery water, high fructose corn syrup and/or pure granulated sugar, honey, natural and artificial flavorings, citric acid and sodium benzoate (a preservative)

Anthony’s Rating: 97
User’s Rating: 93
# of ratings:34
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Winchell’s Pizza Birch Beer

so, like i said in the review of their root beer somewhere above, i stumbled upon this pizza place with their own root and birch beers. i really should have taken a photo of their “root beer on tap” sign as you came in the door but i did not. i was rushing and my camera was packing away somewhere. but we did pass by the next day again so i stopped and tried to get the photos. sadly they were not open yet so i could only take a photo of their birch beer sign, complete with real birch branches and bark, through the window. actually right after i took it, someone walked by inside. thinking back now, i should have tried to flag him down and explain what i was doing but i paniced a bit and just left. oh well. so anyway, there is the sign over there on the left.
i wish the birch beer was as well made as the sign though. or the pizza. but it IS better than the root beer, that is for sure. this time, instead of going crazy with the licorice/anise, they went crazy with the wintergreen. but not quite at the same level, which is a very good thing. i did not really hate this soda but it was a little hard to drink much. for whatever reason the flavor probably would have worked better as a white birch beer. perhaps the carmel color or whatever makes the brown birches heavier and not as refreshing as the white birches. carbonation level was quite high also, which i can take or leave, either way is fine by me.
Anthony’s Rating: 66
User’s Rating: 0
# of ratings:0
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radio interview

so i am going to be on the radio, talking root beer and junk on sunday, 7/13/2008. the show is called “Sauced!” and it airs live in Nashville, TN on
ClearChannel’s WLAC 1510 AM and is streamed at www.wlac.com.
so listen in, check it out.
my first radio appearance in about a decade i guess. and the first time as some sort of authority on something. wacky indeed. but it should be fun nonetheless even if it is on a ClearChannel station…

coolio.

EDIT – actually i guess it is called “The Saucy Sisters Show”. it is on 12-1pm CST, so 11am-12 noon Eastern time, where i am. their website is here