well, when I start to run out of sodas to review I start to get creative. I know there are a couple of canadian spruce beers on eBay that I could order but they would cost a load so I am not too into that. but maybe there are some root beers as well… lo and behold a seller with a whole stash of these sealed, full bottles of Barrelhead. honestly i have no clue how old they are, my guess is about 25-30 years old. it is a returnable bottle which has not been the norm in a long time. it is also not twist off and a very thick glass so probably a product of the 80s. but bottles were sealed much better in the past, this is a thick glass bottle and it does have preservatives so it may just be fine. let’s see…
ok, a tiny release of gas when i popped the top, that is reassuring. it is pretty flat though, which is to be expected really yet some fizzing and foaming is happening. nothing is floating in there, no residue on the bottom. for my own safety i plan to drink as little of this as possible though, just to be sure. i am surprised, this is more unusual than i expected, more herbal and not quite as run of the mill as i would have thought a root beer from that time would be. the company’s tagline used to be something like ‘a flavor so strong, it stands up to ice’ as i recall from my youth. it does indeed have a very powerful flavor, something that is often lacking from many of the brews of today. maybe that is the age corrupting the true taste. it is kind of like when i make a root beer from extract and add too much of the extract or decide it may be a good idea to just try the root beer syrup on its own without mixing it with seltzer or whatever to water it down. ok, it’s not that extreme but it is an extra strong taste. it is sweet but not crazy. so i’m not dead yet. i’ll be sure to update this if i do perish though. but i don’t advocate drinking sodas this old of course.
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| Type: | Root Beer | Comes In: | 16oz glass bottle |
| Available: | discontinued | Obtained in: | eBay.com |
| Head: | Tiny | Sweetener: | corn sweetener, sugar |
| Caffeine: | No |
Ingredients: carbonated water, sugar and/or corn syrup, caramel coloring, natural and artificial flavoring, sodium benzoate as a preservative (less than 1/20 of 1%), citric acid, propylene glycol and acacia gum
Lol, you’re reviewing way old brews.
As are you sir! =) Mine are 25 years old, yours 10 or so! lol
Yes, but I drank them 10 years ago, you drank a 25 year old bottle 😛
I’m 62, so I go “a little way back”.
Barrelhead has always been my favorite root beer. Followed by Hires, A&W, Frosty, then Dads. Since then, around the late ’80s, Barqs & Mug came out. Now, I’d place Mug at #4 & Barqs at #5. I remember in the early 80s that Pepsi had root beer brand called On Tap. Worst root beer I’ve ever tasted. When l lived in New England from 1999 to 2002, I saw ‘Moxie’ in a store. Curious & always willing to try something new, I bought some. I’ll never buy it again.
Hires #1, Barrelhead #2 A&W #3, Tahitian Treat #1 fruit soda Boylan black cherry #1 Hosmer black cherry #2 Marathon candy bar #1 Snickers #2 Hershey #3…Mug and Barq taste like bad cough medicine