Stewart’s Diet Root Beer
Ahhh, Remember the days when diet sodas were believed to be healthy? I love these comforting nostalgic feelings . . . let me just bask in this for a few minutes while I drink this diet brew . . .
Oh well, on to the review. I got this bottle from a friend who has provided me with a few root beers already. The first thing I notice about Stewart’s is the fantastic bottle and label. When you drink from a bottle like this you simply feel good all over . . . that is until you actually taste it. Unfortunately, the taste is pretty flat. Not flat in a carbonation sense, but flat in an overall taste sense. It’s weird because there are actually a combination of flavors at work in this brew, but when they are combined together it results in a big old pile of flatness.
On a side note, the foam in the root beer was amazing, but the artificial flavoring was pretty amazing as well (in a bad way of course).
The was not obnoxious by any means, but I guess it’s pretty darn close.
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 –
Anchor Ginger Root Beer
It’s a bit ironic that I would take a picture of this bottle on land, when the whole premise of this root beer is somehow associated with the sea. In fact there is some phraseology on the side of this bottle that says, “As a tribute to all the Sea Dogs and Scallywags looking for adventure on the high seas . . . blah, blah, blah, blah.”
Frankly, this is a very good root beer and it doesn’t need any catchy statements about pirates and oceans and sea anemones in small print on the side of the bottle. Even though the “sea junk” is pretty corny, the bottle design itself (the anchor) is pretty darn cool.
When I sipped this root beer, I sensed that a ginger beer and a root beer had collided to create this wonderful brew. Admittedly, this could have been an all out disaster, but this turned about to be an all out success. This is simply a pleasant brew which has a slightly different flavor than the average root beer.
I really, really liked the root beer and I wish I had another. And yet . . . I can’t help but think how much better this would be with a little honey sweetener . . . ahhh honey, ginger and natural root beer flavor . . . now that would be good.
The Professor’s Grade: A –
A & W Diet Root Beer Restaurant Review
Same visit to A & W, but i decided to get two root beers for the price of one – you can learn more about that in Economics 101. Anyway, after I finished my cup (and yes I did says cup, no mug at this visit) of A & W Root Beer, I filled it right up with A & W Diet Root Beer. One of the first things that I noticed was that the diet brew had the same great root beer flavor as the sugar version. The diet taste was of course noticable, but this was still a pretty enjoyable cup of diet root beer.
Maybe I’m getting caught up in the whole experience, or maybe I had enough of the regular A & W flavor left in my mouth from my first cup of the the real stuff. I don’t know . . . but what I do know is the evening ended with my son getting a good root beer burp up the nose. And by the way . . . his burp was not from the diet version.
The Professors Grade: D +
A & W Root Beer Restaurant Review
We were having a little bit of a rough day, so we decided to drown our sorrows away in a nice cold mug of root beer. These A & W restaurants are becoming few and far between, so we were thrilled to find one so close to our house (even if it is a hybrid KFC & A&W).
Full Disclosure – Most of these pictures are from when my family enjoyed root beer floats, but the actual reviewed occurred on another date. Also, come to find out you need to ask for the frosty mugs . . . they give you paper cups otherwise. So, the actual review occurred with a paper cup, and at the time I was under the impression that they no longer served root beers with frosty mugs – I was wrong . . . thankfully.
On to the review . . . root beer served in a glass bottle is always better than root beer served in a can. But draft root beer served in a restaurant is better than root beer served in a glass bottle. Thus, “IHO” A&W from a restaurant will always be better than what you can buy in a grocery store. Bottom line is that i enjoyed the whole experience and the root beer was creamy, smooth and light. The flavor was reminiscent of the kind of root beer I enjoyed as a kid.
My son kept saying, “this tastes different . . . this tastes different” and he meant that in a good way. And, I agree, this is better than any A&W I’ve had in recent history.
The Professor’s Grade: B –
Dublin Dr. Pepper vs. Regular Dr. Pepper
Let’s get this out of the way . . . Dr. Pepper is a root beer, albeit an inferior brand (as is Moxie, but we’ll get to that in another review). So, I’m going to classify this as an “other”, but it’s a root beer knock-off . . . plain and simple. Dublin Dr.Pepper is no longer made, and because of that simple fact I recently bought two cases of this dying soda. I wanted to own a little piece of history, and maybe pass along some of my good luck to people desparate to have the last of this special bottle.
Let’s get to the review – I didn’t want to simply sip the Dublin out of the bottle and get all caught up in the hype and nostalgia (as my 10 year old son did). I wanted to be fair and square and drink the modern version and the Dublin side by side out of plastic cups.
My co-professor and I both did this, and to be completely frank, the taste was very similar. I’d be equally happy drinking an occassional Dr. Pepper whether it be of the Dublin or the Snapple variety. But although they were similar, there was a difference. The Dublin was smoother, creamier and had much less of a bite. I actually felt like the Snapple version had a bit more “in your face” Dr. Pepper flavor. The modern version kind of out “Dr. Peppered” the original.
But to be honest, my co-professor and I got uttlerly confused during our blind taste test. She ultimately guessed wrong, and then based on her wrong conclusion, my conclusion went even futher down the toilet hole. Sort of like what happened to Adam and Eve in the garden. All the women’s fault . . . of course. But the truth be told, we couldn’t really determine which was the Dublin.
If I wasn’t tasting this blind, I would undoubtedly choose the Dublin – pure cane sugar always beats out high fructose corn syrup. And it’s just cool to drink out of an 8oz. glass bottle from Dublin, Texas. But honestly as far as taste goes, I don’t think the Dublin blows the regular out of the water. Both were pretty good.
The Professor’s Decision: A Draw
Teddy’s Root Beer
My little professor # 3 weighed in on this root beer. She said, and I quote, “I weally like this woot beer.” In all truthfulness she first said “blah, blah blah”, but I made her say something a little more constructive.
Not that you really want to hear what the elder professor has to say, but I’m going to say it anyway. This brew was pretty good for a plastic bottle root beer. Nothing great, nothing bad . . . a little bit better than the diet Teddy’s alternative though. It was a bit sweet, a bit syrupy, a bit wintergreeny and possibly a bit sarsaparilly. My other co-professor (the wifey) felt like it left a left a weird fuzzy feeling on her tongue (I’ve heard her claim this before so I wouldn’t take it too seriously . . . although if you’re worried about fuzziness than you may want to stay away from this root beer).
If you can’t afford all the bottled root beers, this is a cheaper alternative as it’s about $1 for a 1 liter bottle.
And yes . . . I do drink root beer in a boot.
The Professor’s Grade: C
Teddy’s Diet Root Beer
The same slogans and phrases that appear on Teddy’s regular root beer, unfortunately also appear on the diet bottle. For example, I don’t think “America’s Favorite” or “Premium” really apply to the Teddy’s diet brand . . . or any other diet brand for that matter.
Like most other diet sodas, Teddy’s fall woefully flat . . . not on fizz but on flavor. Actually, in this case I don’t think it’s the “diet’s” fault. Even though it’s a diet, it could still have some fanciful combination of spices and herbs, but this just has a weak flavor that possibly passes for a root beer . . . maybe?
The more I ponder this brew, there is a slight flavor towards the end of each sip. I’m guessing it could be a sarsaparilla, or at least an imitation sarsaparilla taste, but alas there is absolutely no information about the ingredients on their web-site. A side note – when there is not information on the company’s web-site, it’s usually an indication that you are not intended to know what is in the brew!
Ummmm . . . the more I drink the more bearable it becomes. Teddy’s Diet Root Beer just got bumped up!
The Professor’s Grade: D –
Virgil’s Zero Root Beer
That tag line for this root beer is “you’ll swear it’s made in heaven.” Unfortunately, heaven doesn’t make root beer like they used to. To be frank, it barely had a root beer taste at all. It was clouded (probably a result of being made in heaven) with a huge diet taste of stevia rebaudiana leaf extract and that dang GMO-free caramel color. Truth be told, I’m not on the up and up on the GMO, and this root beer is not really worth the couple of extra minutes to research it.
I do love the fact that it has zero calories and it’s using a sweetener that doesn’t cause years of soft-drink induced cancer. I actually like diet soda a bit too much and it would be nice to find a tasty alternative. Virgil’s Zero Root Beer is not that alternative . . . although it is a really nice alternative for muddy water.
One other thing that I absolutely love about this root beer can be found right on their web-site. It says, and I quote, “no sugar alcohols that upset your intestines.” Awesome . . . simply awesome.
Although I’ve never been a huge Virgil’s fan to begin with, I think they have a much “higher standard” to live up to – this brew is a big disappointment.
The Professor’s Grade: F
