365 All Natural Root Beer Soda

this would be Whole Foods store brand. it is another “natural” root beer. the brew only has four ingredients (purified carbonated water, high fructose corn sweetener, natural flavors and carmel color), but who knows how many “natural flavors” there are in here. it has a real bite to it, but not much else. not really a taste either, just that initial, sort of bitter thing that hits your mouth. for such a natural beverage, it is alright, but i hope for more if you are going to harvest the cornicopia of “natural flavors.”

Anthony’s Rating: 38
User’s Rating: 46
# of ratings:53
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A & P Premium Draft Root Beer

to celebrate their 150th anniversary, this east coast grocery chain released this soda. kind of like Foodtown did a couple years ago although i am not sure Foodtown had any such motivation for their glass bottled soda line. one of my co-workers told me about it and i soon after rushed over to the closest A&P to get myself a 4 pack.
i am surprised this has a non-twist off cap. it is pretty rare actually that sodas do the bottle opener needed thing, especially in this day and age of people not really having them as handy and available. luckily i do for just such an occasion, but the common everyday soda drinker may not and i suspect that A&P does not have one mounted on their wall for customer use.
also surprising is the use of 2 different forms of potassium as preservatives. this stuff will probably survive as long as twinkies and cockroaches! wacky. i guess it will preserve my organs and junk if i drink enough. that would be strange so i will not do it.
this has to be one of the sodas i have had this the most carbonation and foam. perhaps that non-twist cap really does seal in the freshness better! it has actually overflowed with foam twice now. the second time i tried to stop it with my hand by cutting off the air supply but that just made it spray all over my phone next to it. i should clean that off soon or i will have a sticky phone forever. although soda is still slowly dripping out of one of the seam areas, several minutes later. weird.
i like their labels and design work pretty good too. at least the front label. an old photo of an A&P store with the soda info over it. they even sprung for a neck label too! after trying to do neck labels for my wedding root beer, i realize how hard it is to get them to go on with no bubbles. this bottles fails that area worse than my efforts did. no matter though.
this soda is mysterious. at first it was very sharp and stinging, but as i get closer to the bottom it is more smooth and almost creamy. perhaps that is a function of the carbonation being let out and the true taste coming through. interesting… in the beginning of the bottle i was pretty disappointed in it, but now i like it pretty well. it is still too generic and not a whole lot better than many bottled root beers, but it is better than other store brands canned offerings. the taste now is mellow, smooth, rather sweet and pretty normal. so a solidly good normal root beer is what we have here. i think it is worth the price, check it out if you are in A&P territory.

Anthony’s Rating: 71
User’s Rating: 75
# of ratings:1
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A & W Root Beer

there is a distinctly different taste difference in buying this in the store and at their restaurants. perhaps because you get it in a rad mug at the restaurant or perhaps it is that fountain / bottled difference. in any case, they are both good. sweet without being syrupy, creamy so it goes down like silk. i think it is the best of the huge brands.

Anthony’s Rating: 71
User’s Rating: 74
# of ratings:1610
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A-Treat Root Beer

i suspected they made a root beer also but i had never seen it with my own eyes. or heard any tales of it either. strange really that the places i can kegs of soda from only have the birch beer, perhaps the root beer does not come in that form? curious. anyway, the root beer is good for a canned soda actually. a little bit of an herbal taste on top of the usual, expected, standard root beer flavor. sweet in a sugary way, definitely fructose i think, corn syrup that is really i would bet. if you can get it at a good price, i would recommend this beverage, but i would not spend lots of money to mail order or anything.
Anthony’s Rating: 83
User’s Rating: 93
# of ratings:12
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Abita Root Beer

this does not have the wacky after taste that most cane sugar root beers seem to have, which is a very good thing. yet, it tastes fairly standard and is just like a normal root beer. which is fine. not bad, but not amazing or anything. i’d definitely drink it more though, of course.

Anthony’s Rating: 84
User’s Rating: 81
# of ratings:197
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Acme Root Beer

this has a kind of citrus taste to it that has the potential to be good, but just isn’t really. it isn’t awful, but it isn’t yummy or anything. it would probably be one of my last choices actually.
Anthony’s Rating: 35
User’s Rating: 49
# of ratings:54
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Adirondack Draft Style Root Beer

kind of bland and not too good overall. i just don’t taste anything here at all. it smells like root beer, true, but it is not like i am getting so drunk i don’t notice it doesn’t taste like it. oh well.

Anthony’s Rating: 16
User’s Rating: 51
# of ratings:86
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AJ Stephans Old Style Root Beer

ah, yes, now i am seeing… i actually am unsure if this is different than the soda above but they were sold at the same store so i don’t think it is just a repackaging. but they do have the same ingredients and the same UPC code so maybe… ok, taste em and see anthony! nope, they are different for sure. this one has a foam that disappates much more quickly. the taste is different too. not as overwhelmed with fizzyness, one can taste the brew a bit more. there is a slight anise taste here also i think, not as strong as the sarsaparilla though. still a worth brew though.

Anthony’s Rating: 88
User’s Rating: 82
# of ratings:24
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AJ Stephans Pure Cane Sugar Root Beer

ok, so someone wrote to me and told me where in Boston to get the other AJ Stephens sodas, so my good friend Michael went there one day and got a whole slew of em for me! this is a pretty tasty soda but the carbonation is overpowering. my mouth tingles so much that i am barely able to taste the flavor of the soda. it has a slight bite of bitterness and you can faintly detect the cane sugar taste. i am enjoying it but it is not the best thing out there. perhaps the non-cane sugar one is better. i will soon see…

Anthony’s Rating: 85
User’s Rating: 79
# of ratings:22
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Albertson’s A+ Root Beer Old Fashioned Soda

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
User’s Rating: 48
# of ratings:49
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