SodaPopCult

Frostie Root Beer

sodapopcult — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 10:35:00 +0000

Portland, Oregon. I came here in hopes of escaping the heat that’s been surrounding me in Northern California. That plan failed. Being upwards of 100 degrees today, it was definitely a root beer day.

The label depicts the classic Frostie character (there will be more from Frostie in the near future), and snow covered letters. Snow. It sounds like the best thing in the world right now.

Frostie is a rather creamy root beer. It lacks the wintergreen and other strong spice tastes that I prefer, but sometimes simple is best. I see this being great in a float. Frostie is also another root beer made with cane sugar as opposed to high fructose corn syrup. Always a plus to me. The bottle barely broke a buck, so the value is definitely there as well. I can easily recommend a cold bottle of Frostie on a hot day.

Old Town Rootbeer Company Sarsparilla

sodapopcult — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:04:40 +0000

Going into this, I was actually expecting an old timey, real sarsparilla. Old Town is not much more than a basic root beer. There is no mention of sassafras root or any of the other common ingredients that seperate the two.

With the big bubble carbonation it has, it leaves a rather flat, bitter aftertaste. Not an herbal bitter, so much as a chemical type bitter. The initial drink is rather sweet and pleasant, the aftertaste is what I wasn’t to impressed with. It could have just as easy been called Old Town Root Beer and none of us would be the wiser.

Stewart’s Key Lime Soda

sodapopcult — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:18:36 +0000

Do you like key lime pie? If you like key lime pie, I’m almost positive you will enjoy Stewart’s Key Lime soda. It has a great lime taste, with a slight creaminess. The only thing missing is a graham cracker crust. Not sure of the price as it was picked up by a friend, but ice cold, on this hot summer day, it is definitely an enjoyable drink.

Teddy’s Root Beer

sodapopcult — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:55:52 +0000

Teddy’s. Teddy’s is huge in my circle of friends. Although we often have to travel an hour or two to get it, we do, on occasion, stock up.

A good root beer. Although it is reminiscent of some larger branded root beers, it is, in my opinion, creamier, and has a more thorough taste than it’s corporate competition. What sets Teddy’s apart from other brands though, is its value. At under a buck, and sometimes even under 75 cents for a 32 oz. bottle, you can’t beat it.

Kutztown Birch Beer

sodapopcult — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:48:23 +0000

I’ve always been a fan of birch beers. Reminiscent of root beers, although they contain some part or extract of the birch tree and are often a little stronger. In this case, it contains the oil from the black birch tree.

Kutztown has a fairly strong birch taste and is high in wintergreen. The initial drink runs fairly strong with wintergreen, but the aftertaste is slightly more sugary. Although fairly carbonated, it left a rather flat, kind of odd aftertaste. It was also a little sweeter than most birch beers, which I didn’t mind.

Jackson Hole Ginger Beer

sodapopcult — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:38:03 +0000

There’s something truly refreshing about a good ginger beer. Even more so with a cold one, and Jackson Hole is no disappointment. Although it is a little sweeter than I would have liked, it has the ‘burning’ taste that is common with the best of ‘em. One of the features I look forward to every time I try a new brand. Another key selling point is the fact that it’s made with cane sugar, as opposed to high fructose corn syrup. At around $1.50 for a 12 oz. bottle, Jackson Hole is definitely a worthy ginger beer to have around.

Gale’s Root Beer

sodapopcult — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 06:42:39 +0000

Even though I’ve only had this blog running for a few days now, I’ve drank well over a hundred small brand sodas. I am pleased to say that Gale’s Cinnamon, Ginger, Vanilla Root Beer is the best rootbeer I have personally tasted. It is crafted by Chef Gale Gand of Gale’s Bread and Butter Inc. in Riverwoods, Illinois. The cinnamon and the ginger add a slight spice to it that I have never tasted the likes of. The vanilla adds a little bit of creamyness, although nowhere near overpowering. Gale’s is the closest I have found to actually possessing a slight fermented taste, as if it were brewed back in the days of the Wild West. Even the label appears to be hand cut and hand glued on the bottle. I’m not sure you can get any smaller branded than this. I picked it up for $1.49 per 12 oz. bottle. Not too bad for such a quality drink.

Filbert’s Lime Soda

sodapopcult — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:53:45 +0000

So. You may or may not have read my review for Filbert’s Watermelon Soda. Well, when I purchased the Watermelon Soda, the store also had Lime and Blue Raspberry Soda. I figured I might as well buy all three.

Now, I didn’t give that high of a rating for the Watermelon, I’ll admit, so I was looking at the Lime with fairly low expectations. However, I enjoy the Lime more than the Watermelon. I feel that there is a stronger flavor. The color is a bright green, perfectly suited for a Lime flavored drink, and this one leaves you with an after taste of more than carbonated water. I recommend the Lime over the Watermelon, but again at almost 2 bucks a pop, the value just isn’t there.

Filbert’s Watermelon Soda

sodapopcult — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:47:04 +0000

Hmmmm….Watermelon soda, you ask? I was thinking the same thing when I saw this on the shelf, so I had to have it. The color, the same as the inside of a watermelon, without the seeds, of course, and the fact that it is summertime, how could I go wrong?

To start off, it really is a great concept. I mean, who doesn’t really like watermelon on a hot summer day? Unfortunately, when I got back and finally decided to crack it open, I was rather disappointed. I was halfway expecting the taste of real watermelon, but the other half of me was expecting the taste of watermelon candy. Honestly, I got neither. The flavor is rather bland. Almost nothing more than slightly flavored carbonated water. I definitely have to give credit since the idea is there, though. The value wasn’t there either. At almost 2 bucks for a 12 ounce bottle, it was a little pricey.

Barons Original Ginseng Ginger Ale

sodapopcult — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:20:01 +0000

I had no idea what my first review would be. I spent all night thinking about it. I spent all day thinking about it. I had no idea until maybe an hour ago when I paid a visit to the Redwood Valley Bakery for some of the best donuts I’ve ever had. That, my friends, is another story. Anyhow, they had a couple bottles of Barons Ginseng Ginger Ale. I was hoping I’d luck out with rootbeer or ginger ale, so here we go.

Overall, I was pleased. It did lack the ‘burn’ that I love so much about a strong ginger ale, but the ginger taste did prevail, and the ginseng did add a little bit to it that you don’t taste in other ginger ales. It was sweet, but not overly sweet by any means. It reminded me a lot of the ginger ale that is served at the Silver Legacy in Reno, Nevada, which I understand is, or was, made on location.

In the end, it is a nice drink, especially if you don’t care for the spiciness of some of the stronger ginger ales.