Mug Root Beer
I really like the root beers with dogs on the label. I’m actually not a big dog fan . . . scooping up their poop, laying down on the couch and finding a big clump of dog hair, cleaning up dog puke on the carpet . . . you get the idea. But when a dog is pictured on the label of a root beer it seems instantly better, i.e. Bulldog Root Beer.
Mug Root Beer is basically a generic root beer that is a little more well known and found in almost any supermarket I’ve ever visited. The ingredient list is pretty comparable to other root beers with high fructose corn syrup as the second ingredient.
The main flavor in this brew is licorice, and although some may find it a little overbearing, I actually like it for a change. This root beer’s “one-trick pony” or should I say “one-trick dog” is the licorice and for the moment I am digging it.
My most important co-professor agreed with me wholeheartedly and even posed with the ole boot mug.
All of my education and my experience tell me that this root beer shouldn’t be rated above a “D,” but my taste buds so want to give this a “B.”
The Professor’s Grade: B –
Zuberfizz Creamy Root Beer
I must say that Zuberfizz is an interesting name for a root beer. Most root beer drinkers (I assume) want an excellent brew that reminds them of yesteryear. They want a unique brew yes, but they want something that reminds them of their youth. In other words, classic! Zuberfizz does say “classic” at the top of their bottle, and the company, “Durango Soda Company” screams classic, but unfortunately that’s all ruined by the name Zuberfizz.
It is slightly more carbonated than I would wish, but it is certainly not over-carbonated. The slight over-carbonation is nice for a change though. The brew claims that it is creamy, and I guess it is creamy, but creamy root beers are a dime a dozen these days and this doesn’t blow me away, not bad at all, it’s just that it doesn’t rock my world.
This root beer tasting was a bit last minute, so unfortunately I just finished chewing a piece of minty gum. Therefore, I’ll drink another bottle at another time for my official letter grade.
Glad I tried it over again, definitely a little better. But it’s becoming harder and harder to find root beers that impress me. This is certainly a nice root beer, but it doesn’t “zuberfizz” me away.
The Professor’s Grade: B
Old Town Root Beer
Sampling a new root beer that you’ve had your eye on and just couldn’t get a hold of is priceless! This was a Christmas present from all my assistant reviewers . . . and it just also happens to be the very last root beer in my fridge . . . for the moment anyway. Thankfully I’ve got some local stores with plenty of new brews to try.
This brew is very smooth, clean, fresh, crisp and well boring. With the combination of cane sugar and honey I was sure that I would like it, but the exact nature of the combination is just got wrong. And maybe it’s not even that they got it wrong as much as they needed something else. Or maybe it’s just that I’ve had too many root beers that have a similar flavor combination that it doesn’t seem like anything special.
It’s not a gross root beer, it’s certainly one that I would give to someone, but it’s probably not one that I would spend any money on in the future.
The Professor’s Grade: C +
Cicero Beverage Company Salted Caramel Root Beer
Wait a minute . . . I am back in Maine at the ocean? It’s that ocean, saltwater smell . . . ahhh it’s good to be back. Nevermind, it’s just that salty root beer smell from the Cicero Beverage Co. called Salted Caramel Root Beer. Hopefully it’s not as salty as a bouillon cube – the label says 130 mg or 5.5% of your recommended daily intake – not too bad really.
The dominant flavor in this brew is not the salt (although that adds a nice compliment), but it’s the caramel. It’s not so strong that it makes it unpleasant however. Caramel is probably not my favorite root beer flavor, but this drink uses the caramel in a way that’s not all bad. I would have no problem offering this to someone, or if someone offered it to me I would drink it with no qualms.
Using a sweetener or flavoring like maple syrup, honey, molasses or caramel for a root beer is certainly a little risky, but Cicero does a nice job combining the caramel with the salt to make a different and half-decent root beer.
The only complaint that I have is that I bought this off of a humble grocery store shelf and upon further examination Anthony received his brew in a special sack, with paper shavings all within a pirate-esque wooden box.
The Professor’s Grade: B
Bedford’s Root Beer
Bedford’s and Maxwell House were in an all-out brawl for my attention this afternoon. The root beer even went as far as hopping into the coffee carafe, and that’s when I decided to reach for the boot mug rather than the coffee cup.
On to the review . . . If it’s possible (and I’m not entirely sure it is), Bedford’s Root Beer appeared to be creamy as it descended into the infamous boot mug. And lo, as expected, this is an extremely creamy brew. This is another Orca Beverage, and I’m quite impressed . . . and not just with Bedford’s but with Orca Root Beers in general.
It’s not bursting with flavor per se, but there is a unique coating of something. To be honest, my palette wasn’t able to identify this “unique coating,” although Cosmo insists it’s molasses (I’ll defer to his judgment on this one).
The Orca web-site says, “Bedford’s sodas have been a Pacific Northwest tradition for over 30 years. Handcrafted and known for outstanding flavor, Bedford’s is now available . . . blah, blah, blah. “ The cool (and redundant) thing about almost all root beers is that it is some kind of special tradition.
Bedford’s is one tradition that’s worth continuing . . .
The Professor’s Grade: B +
Red Arrow Root Beer
Uh oh . . . I admit, I’m going through root beer blogging writers block. Admittedly, I’ve still been sampling the brews, I’ve simply not been telling. But I’m willing to face the pain, the uncomfortability and the sense of general unsatisfaction with this brew . . . actually Red Arrow was quite satisfying . . . but point made.
As I tipped the old boot mug back, I couldn’t help notice the classic root beer flavor. In fact everything is classic about this soda, from the licorice to the wintergreen, to the root beer lettering and to the red arrow which is actually white – go figure.
And as you probably figured out long ago, I prefer brews that are lightly to moderately carbonated. When a beverage is overcarbonated I begin to wonder what grotesque flavors are being hidden. This soda is perfectly carbonated, not to much and not to little.
I do get a little bit of a kick out of lines like, “Folklore says the brand was a tribute to the Red Arrow Brigade.” I would go out on a limb to say that a better tribute would be to make the arrow on the side of the bottle red rather than white – but again that’s just me and my crazy opinion.
Despite the white arrow, I am pretty happy with this root beer. There is not really that new with this brew, but a good solid classic nonetheless.
The Professor’s Grade: A –
Rocky Mountain Root Beer
The longer I review root beers, the more I find that I look forward to it less – I think that makes sense?? I mean, often you get root beers like Big K, or Hannaford Brand just because the brews are cheap, available and haven’t been reviewed yet.
But I was really looking forward to trying Rocky Mountain Root Beer. I mean everything about this root beer shouts quality. The bottle is quality with an awesome picture of a sheep on steroids . . . or is that a ram? Anyway, it doesn’t really matter, because a bottle with a manly looking animal on the front is awesome.
Some of the little quips on this bottle say, “batch brewed,” “all-natural,” “made with beet sugar”, and “handcrafted.” And all of these quips are completely true! Wait . . . made with beet sugar? That’s right, not high-fructose corn syrup, not honey, not molasses and not even pure cane sugar. This baby is made with BEET SUGAR!! How cool is that! In fact, if your interested my next post will be for the purpose of explaining a little more about beet sugar.
Everything about this root beer screams quality. And in fact, it is a high-quality root beer, but sadly it’s not the kind of quality root beer that delights my taste buds. The beet sugar is distinctive, and although there is not an over abundance of sugar in this brew it tastes way too sweet for my liking. There is also a strong licorice or anise taste and I’m not sure if its that actual spice or if it’s a flavor of the beet sugar. Much too strong for my liking.
The Professor’s Grade: C –
Big K Root Beer
Let me begin with a quote from the side of the bottle. It says,
We Promise your whole family will enjoy the refreshing flavor of Big K. If you are not delighted, let us know. We will make it right with a replacement or refund. (I took a picture of little professor #1 laughing after I read this)
No, I am not making this up. On the side of an uninspiring, store-brand, .89 cent root beer, it says “if you are not delighted, let us know.” The problem for me is two-fold. First of all, I am not delighted, but my kids are. In fact, I think that if you add sugar and carbonate toilet water they would still be delighted. Secondly, I have to ask myself if it’s really worth it to create a stink over an .89 cent root beer.
The bottom-line for this root beer review is that the name, label and root beer are all at the bottom of the barrel. In fact, I normally don’t get all upset at a bad label (because it’s the taste that really counts), but this label is so bad that it’s embarrassing for the whole Kroger Supermarket Chain.
Unfortunately, this brew will have to be added to the curriculum for “The Greatest Root Beer Failures of All-Time.”
The Professor’s Grade: F –
A & W 10
There are so many different kinds of A & W that I sincerely believe I could review only A & W Root Beers for the next three months. Anyway, here I go to A & W TEN. If my calculations are correct, there are in fact six sodas, all made by the Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group that have a new 10 calorie version. Here is a little quip from a press release I found online:
The new versions get their fewer calories by starting with the diet versions, which are sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame potassium, and adding a little high-fructose corn syrup.
Wow . . . “aspartame, acesulfame, high-fructose” . . . they sure know how to make a soda sound delicious.
So, let me get this straight, same great old diet soda with a little high-fructose corn-syrup mixed in – hmmmm. Sounds like one of A & W’s rocket scientists came up with this one.
The bottom-line is that this is pretty much the A & W Diet Root Beer with a little sugar mixed in to take the edge off of the obnoxious taste. It is refreshing and creamy like all A & W Root Beers, and it’s got that nice frothy character to it.
The Professor’s Grade: D +
Hansen’s Creamy Root Beer
I bought a six-pack of this so that my son could have a root beer for his science project. A little professor in the making, he tested the acidity in a few different sodas, one of them being Hansen’s Root Beer. We eventually got an acid test meter that is after Hansen’s utterly refused to tell us the acidic level in their root beer. Apparently, that’s proprietary information . . . but I think it was just crushing a little fifth graders dreams.
Well, as much as I would love to crush the hopes and dreams of this natural root beer it’s actually pretty good. It’s one of the better natural root beers that i’ve had. The sassafras and tahitian vanilla really made this brew quite special, especially in the after-taste department.
This is a good root beer that’s easily accessible in many grocery stores . . . at least in the western part of the U.S.
The Professor’s Grade: B –
