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.


 

 

A-Treat Diet Birch Beer

March 7, 2002
Filed under: diet birch beers — anthony @ 4:38 pm
Type: Diet Birch Beer Comes In: 12 oz can, 20 oz plastic bottle, 2L plastic bottle
Available: NJ, PA, online Obtained in: online from the Amish Country Store
Head: Small Sweetener: aspartame (NutraSweet)
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.a-treat.com/

i had very high hopes for this soda since the regular canned birch beer was so good. but, sadly, the diet version kinda stinks. that awful aspertame taste is there making everything bitter and just ruining it. not really minty at all, the flavor does not seem to even resemble the regular version. it barely resembles birch beer in fact. oh well. stick with some other brand i suppose if you have to have a diet drink.
Anthony’s Rating: 16
User’s Rating: 58
# of ratings:17

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Boylan’s Diet Birch Beer

October 16, 1996
Filed under: diet birch beers — anthony @ 9:07 pm
Type: Diet Birch Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: AZ, CA, CT, DE, GA, IL, IN, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, VA, WA, WI, online Obtained in: Pathmark, Stirling, NJ
Head: Tiny Sweetener: aspartame (NutraSweet)
Calories: 0 Sodium: 35mg
Carbs: 0g Sugar: 0g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.boylanbottling.com

a curiously ginger-ale-esque colour but a fine scent. the aftertaste blows, but this is probably one of the better diet sodas i have had. very light with a rather creamy taste for a diet soda. i don’t think i’d ever get it but if really cared about calories, i might consider it.

Ingredients: carbonated water, pure birch oils, natural flavors, natural yucca extract, vanilla, vanillin, citric acid, sodium benzoate (preserves freshness), sucralose, acesulfame potassium

Anthony’s Rating: 42
User’s Rating: 54
# of ratings:15

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Briar’s Diet Birch Beer

December 5, 1997
Filed under: diet birch beers — anthony @ 9:34 pm
Type: Diet Birch Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle, 12 oz can, 2L plastic bottle
Available: NJ, online Obtained in: Shoprite, Stirling, NJ
Head: Medium Sweetener: aspartame (NutraSweet)
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.briars.com/

i don’t like diet sodas much, so i never really got used to that nutrasweet / aspartame taste as some people claim happens. actually i dislike the aftertaste it gives everything quite a bit. so that really ruins this beverage. you can barely taste anything besides that in my mind. use something else. or spare the calories and get the regular.
Anthony’s Rating: 14
User’s Rating: 45
# of ratings:6

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Chuck Wagon Birch Beer

March 31, 2008
Filed under: birch beers,diet birch beers — anthony @ 5:59 pm
Type: Red Birch Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle, fountain, On Tap
Available: PA, online Obtained in: mailorder from company
Head: Medium Sweetener: sucralose/splenda
Caffeine: No
Website: http://chuckwagonsoda.com

and now it is time for the sampling of the birch beer! hooray! i do so enjoy a good red birch i must admit. probably not as much as a good clear birch, but still a very good amount. i hope this one lives up to the other sodas in their line which i have tried so far.
hhhhmmm, i do like it OK but it does fall a little short. the flavor has a hint of wintergreen but otherwise i don’t taste a lot here. it may be another case of the crazy amount of carbonation hiding the actual flavor of the beverage though. plus there is something weird about the taste that is there and an after taste, like it has an artificial sweetener. let me see… oh crap, there it is: sucralose! i assumed this had sugar like the other two varieties i have sampled. so i suppose this is a diet beverage. there is no nutrition information anywhere though to confirm calorie or carbohydrate content. isn’t that illegal or something? curious… well, anyway if it IS indeed a diet drink, it is not bad. but if it is not, it is just OK. i would think they would label it as diet if it was, or maybe they think it stacks up with full sugar brands of birch beer. it does not so much but is a valiant effort nonetheless.
i am a bit sad, i thought this would be the best yet in the Chuck Wagon line. alas.
i just can’t get past that aftertaste, it wrecks it for me. i take a swig, it is decent and then i type a little bit and the aftertaste kicks in and i go “bleeeeh” and people look at me funny and i pretend nothing happened.
Anthony’s Rating: 67
User’s Rating: 1
# of ratings:2

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Foxon Park Diet White Birch Beer

October 31, 2004
Filed under: diet birch beers — anthony @ 3:46 pm
Type: Diet Birch Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: CT Obtained in: from company store
Head: Tiny Sweetener: aspartame (NutraSweet)
Calories: 0 Sodium: 60mg
Carbs: 0g Sugar: 0g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.foxonpark.com/

you know i don’t like diet by now huh? well, this one is ok. for a moment, until the nutrasweet hits you, but even then it is subtle. actually for diet, this is decent. it sort of tastes like birch beer, a slightly minty flavor is going on here with barely any sort of carbonation whatsoever. if i had no choice but to drink diet i might choose this beverage.

Ingredients: carbonated water, aspartame (nutrasweet brand), sodium benzoate (preservative), natural and artificial flavors

Anthony’s Rating: 31
User’s Rating: 78
# of ratings:10

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Kutztown Diet Birch Beer

June 4, 2004
Filed under: diet birch beers — anthony @ 3:41 pm
Type: Diet Birch Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: OK, PA, online Obtained in: mail from company
Head: Small Sweetener: sucralose/splenda
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.kutztownbottlingworks.com/

yeh, so i waited forever to drink this. not so much intentionally though, it was just in the back of the fridge. maybe subconsciously i avoided the diet soda and it got pushed back more and more or something. frankly this is bad. a bad taste that is harsh, metallic and not at all pleasent coupled with that weird yellow color that is just disconcerting to me makes for a soda that will not be on my recommended list. even for a diet soda. sure, Sucralose is not quite as awful as other stuff right now, but i am sure research will be done to prove it reaks havoc upon some part of the digestive system.
Anthony’s Rating: 14
User’s Rating: 68
# of ratings:12

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Pennsylvania Dutch Diet Birch Beer

June 3, 2002
Filed under: diet birch beers — anthony @ 2:39 pm
Type: Diet Birch Beer Comes In: 2L plastic bottle
Available: NJ, PA Obtained in: Bound Brook, NJ
Head: Medium Sweetener: aspartame (NutraSweet)
Calories: 0 Sodium: 67mg
Carbs: 0g Sugar: 0g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.daretogodutch.com/

a red diet birch beer… hhhmmm, unique. and, even more unique, it is good! yeh, there is a little bit of that bad aspartame taste, but it is very minimal. i would safely say this is the best diet birch/root beer i have had. don’t get me wrong, it is not comparable to a good, regular soda, but it is better than many bad ones and a few mediocre ones. the taste is sharp, not wintergreen at all really. i suppose it is even a good deal as it is always on sale at my local supermarket.

Ingredients: Carbonated water, caramel color, natural and artificial flavors, sodium benzoate (preservative) citric acid, salt, acacia and aspartame, Red #40

Anthony’s Rating: 60
User’s Rating: 79
# of ratings:43

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Pennsylvania Dutch Sparkling Birch Beer

August 12, 1998
Filed under: birch beers,diet birch beers — anthony @ 2:26 pm
Type: White Birch Beer Comes In: 20 oz plastic bottle
Available: PA Obtained in: Wilkes Barre, PA gas station
Head: Small Sweetener: high fructose corn syrup
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.daretogodutch.com/

unlike other clear birch beers, there is not much of a wintergreen taste to this. instead it has a slight licorice taste and a subtle kick to it. lots of carbonation and litte actual foam as with other birches. a somewhat different taste that i was surprised by.
Anthony’s Rating: 76
User’s Rating: 72
# of ratings:124

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Weis Choice Diet White Birch Beer

October 17, 2003
Filed under: diet birch beers — anthony @ 6:23 pm
Type: Diet Birch Beer Comes In: 12 oz can
Available: MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WV Obtained in: mail from Dr Wayne
Head: Small Sweetener: aspartame (NutraSweet)
Caffeine: No
Website: http://www.weis.com

upon my first sip of this i thought “hey this is diet?! wow, not bad.” but then it hit, the aspertame aftertase thing. although not so bad. actually this is probably the best aspertame soda i have had. so this is actually a clear birch beer, not exactly white, but whatever. it has a decent birch taste, a bit of wintergreen, but a kind of syrupy sweetness. although i like that pretty good, i could definitely see people not. but this is a good soda. if i had to drink diet, i would be happy with this. thanks to Dr Wayne for sending it my way!
Anthony’s Rating: 60
User’s Rating: 80
# of ratings:21

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