Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Boylan’s Root Beer

In the absence of Virgil’s, Boylan’s root beer is probably the root beer that I reach for first. It’s well great straight from the fridge, with a sweet taste of honey (a bit strange, given that it’s sweetened with pure cane sugar” a bit of vanilla, and a bit of wintergreen. The company says there’s a taste of sassafrass in there, too, but I don’t know what sassafrass tastes like, so I can’t say. I don’t taste any licorice, which I would normally say is a bit of a shame, but somehow doesn’t seem to matter here. It’s not syrupy, but not too thin, either. Boylan’s is a solid, simple, straightforward, great root beer, and is well worth your time.

Boylan seems to know that they’ve got a good thing in their root beer, too, as it appears to be the flagship soda (flagsoda?) of their flavored soda product line-up, appearing first in lists and centered prominently in group soda photos. This may also becaue their bottle looks good, too, with butterscotch-tan and white printed directly onto the brown glass.

*Note, though, that the Boylan company has two root beers out there (excluding diet varieties). This is their normal, traditional variety, not their “Natural” variety, which I reviewed earlier.

Grade: 9

170 calories per 12 ounce bottle = 14.2 Calories per ounce (moderately high)
Kosher Parve (Kosher Technical Konsultants)
www.boylanbottling.com

Monday, November 12, 2007

Boylan Bottleworks: Near perfection

One of the four root beers gifted to me by Badger, this one fared much better than the last. Much better.

To be clear, this is different from Boylan's 'Natural' variety of root beer, as reviewed by Badger.

The cap comes off and for a few seconds the smell of licorice and even cinnamon is quite strong. It has a fantastic head, with crisp carbonation and an absolutely creamy consistency. In fact, it's the creamiest root beer I've tried yet (yes, creamier than Virgil's). It has a sweet, woody, rooty aftertaste that tugs at you to take another sip.

The bottle is also attractive; it's tall and slender, and it's dark brown with yellow insignia printed right onto the glass. There is also embossed lettering on the bottle ("Boylan Bttlg Co Vintage Soda Pop Family Owned Since 1891").

A big plus for Boylan is that it's sweetened with cane sugar. But it is also, for me, where it falters because it is a little too sweet for my taste. But that will not keep me from seeking out more of this brew.

Grade: 9

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Natural Brew Draft Root Beer: To the bitter end

This is one of four root beers I received as a thoughtful gift from Badger. A Smucker brand root beer, Natural Brew is a bit of a quagmire, flavorwise. Again, here's a soda made with unbleached cane sugar (I assume that's what "evaporated cane juice" implies). It smells wonderful, and promises a nice blend of licorice and vanilla. On first contact with the brew it is delicious, with a strong birchy-minty sweetness that I could enjoy if it lasted. It is creamy, not too sweet, and the carbonation seems just right.

But as I said the flavor is a quagmire because after a few seconds there is a bitter aftertaste that is almost off-putting and all the more surprising when contrasted with the initial flavor. The odd thing is that sip after sip I get the same sequence of licorice, vanilla, and sweet birch that is terminated by an odd stale bitterness that clashes strongly with the rest of the experience, almost leading me to believe that I just might have had a bad bottle. Then again, vanilla does have a bitter aftertaste. So, because of how good this root beer tastes initially, I may give it another try at some point and render another evaluation at that time.

For now, however, I'm going to have to knock off some points for the bitter aftertaste. A shame.

Grade: 4

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Steaz Green Tea Soda: Root Beer

If you're a root beer purist, then you needn't read any further than this: Steaz isn't pure root beer. Instead, they appear to have mixed our beloved drink with tea - green tea, based on the label - and this as caused a divide in the badger community. Since those who do not classify Steaz as root beer ("root beer is made with roots, tea is made with leaves - entirely different") won't be drinking it anyway, this review is for those who are willing to classify it as root beer.

Steaz tastes of sweetened iced tea (say, Arizona?) mixed into cream soda, with a bit of lemon for character. It's sweet, but not really syrupy. Carbonation is mild, yielding a smooth drink, and the bouquet is of vanilla. All in all, Staez reminds me of the old Lemonade commercials with the old guy on his front porch, and I think that's really where this drink would fit - at the end of a full day, watching the sun go down, when you want something cold, something like root beer, but don't want all the fizz of soda. It would probably also fit in at an occasion where soda was deemed too vulgar, as tea brings with it the suggestion of genteelity.

Incidentally, Syteaz is another clear-glass-beer-bottle soda, but the tea aspect of the drink somehow makes this acceptable.

So, a neat idea, and a neat drink, but not one that I expect I'll purchase regularly.

Grade: 6

90 Calories per 8 ounces = 11.25 Calories per ounce (low)
Organic (USDA, Organic Trade Association, Quality Assurance International)
[Price] for four
www.steaz.com

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Olde Brooklyn Root Beer

I probably should start out by observing that I have a thing for Brooklyn. My mother is from there, friends of mine live there. Brooklyn gave its name to the Brooklyn Bridge, and though Ebbet's Field is long gone, Brooklyn was the home of the Dodgers. So, when I found a root beer bearing that boro's name, it was a cinch that I would buy it and try it.

Unfortunately, the soda is a disappointment. Olde Brooklyn is lightly carbonated, which I have nothing against, and it isn't particularly syrupy, though it is sweetened with corn syrup. However, though the soda isn't watery, it still seems thin, somehow. Flavor is dominated by sweetness, though some wintergreen, and perhaps some other flavors are distinguishable. For those watching calories, but not intrested in diet sodas (and I don't blame you), Olde Brooklyn comes in at a low 120 Calories per 12 oz bottle.

Olde Brooklyn Root Beer comes in clear glass 12 oz beer bottles with clear plastic labels. Bottles are sold individually.

Grade: 5

120 Calories per 12oz = 10 Calories per ounce (low)
Kosher (OU)
$0.89 per bottle, plus deposit (Hastings A&P)
No website listed on bottle

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Virgil's Creamy Brew

Remember when nobody used high fructose corn syrup? Everybody used sugar and nobody had to brag about it. It wasn't that long ago at all.

The people at Virgil's say that their root beer is microbrewed, as opposed to being just stirred together and filtered like other sodas. They also eschew the use of high fructose corn syrup. They claim to use spices and herbs from Jamaica to Madagascar to Indonesia. Well, I don't know what they do for sure but whatever it is, I have a weakness for it and have been an ardent fan since my first swig.

It is impossible for me to be impartial (or unexcited) about Virgil's. I have to say that Virgil's holds a special place in my heart and I do not think of it as a soda. To say that Virgil's Root Beer is creamy is to say that sugar is maybe a little sweet. Rather, I reach for a bottle of Virgil's at the end of a long day as though I were partaking in a fine brew. I sit in silence and sip, and I rediscover a multitude of flavors: from the initial brisk wave of anise and cool licorice to the subtle vanilla and nutmeg that follow and finally the warm cinnamon and outro of molasses that round out the experience.

The folks at Virgil's even sponsor a cooking contest where they award the best recipes created using Virgil's. But I am in complete agreement with my esteemed colleague Badger that a bottle of Virgil's is not to be sullied by the intrusions of the likes of ice cream or other such extraneous flavors--it stands firmly on its own merits as a drink to be savored by itself and without haste.

Grade: 10

Friday, October 19, 2007

Hansen's Natural Soda: Creamy Root Beer

I found Hansen's root beer in the organic section of our local Stop-&-Shop. This in itself was not too unusual, as a few other brands are also often there, but what continues to strike me as strange is that it comes in twelve ounce cans. I don't know that I can think of another limited-distribution root beer that comes in cans. Adding to the peculiarity, it comes in single cans, rather than in six or twelve packs. The label notes that Hansen's supports City of Hope, to fight breast cancer, and encourages you to do the same. But enough about the packaging.

On opening the can there is a distinct, slightly minty smell that reminds me a bit of Wintergreen Altoids. The soda is not syrupy, nor is it thin, and carbonation is good. There is a wintergreen aspect to the flavor, too, but there's another flavor there, too. Unfortunately, it's mostly overpowered by the wintergreen, and I can't figure out what it is. Some sweetness becomes apparent as the soda warms from cold to cool.

Hansen's is a distinctive root beer, which will be enjoyed by wintergreen fans. Others may find that it is too far from normal to be enjoyed as a root beer.

Grade: 4

160 Calories per 12 ounce can = 13.3 calories per ounce (normal)
Kosher (OU)
www.hansens.com

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Stewart's Original Fountain Classics Root Beer

I'm never sure whether to classify Stewart's as a microbrew or a mainstream offering. Their brown glass beer-bottle package suggests microbrew, but their wide availability argues for their being a mainstream bottler. In any event, Their root beer has just about the right amount of carbonation straight from the refrigerator, which is noteworthy in itself, but also because it allows the vanilla/caramel flavor to show from the beginning. Stewart's does have a bit of a syrupy nature to it, but not so much as to leave you wanting to brush your teeth after you drink it. Aftertaste is so minimal that I'm not sure what it reminds me of. The aftertaste isn't bad, but I think the soda would be better without it.

Strangely, the flavor seems to become a bit thinner as the soda approaches room temperature.

Stewart's comes in the familiar brown beer bottle. The company name appears on a clear sticker in front of a diamond, which is orange in the case of their root beer. Below the diamond is a wooden keg with a handle, apparently filled with Stewart's root beer with a substantial head. Heathen that I am, I'm drinking from the bottle, so I couldn't comment on the accuracy of that.

The company name is also molded into the bottle, and on the bottleneck a clear sticker bears the legend "since 1924". Another clear sticker holds the nutrition info on the bottle's back.

Grade: 7

160 Calories per 12 ounce bottle = 13.3 Calories per ounce (normal)
Kosher (OU)
www.drinkstewarts.com

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Jones Pure Cane Soda Root Beer

Jones sodas come in clear glass beer bottles which bear metal twist off caps similar to those of large soda bottles back in the 1980s. Personally, I think the clear bottle is a bit weird, not to say creepy. The label is silver, with white trim and black print, and a color photograph, the nature of which varies from one bottle to the next. The label encourages users to "Send us your photo. If we like it we will put it on our label".

The soda bears a faint scent of sugar and caramel.

This is another root beer that is sweetened with only cane sugar, and it feels slightly thin, though not so much as Boylan's Natural Kind. An initial fizzy sweetness is followed by a definite taste of mint, and the soda is not at all syrupy. A slight flavor of - nutmeg? appears as the soda cools. The fizziness also falls as the soda cools, though not quite enough.

Grade: 6; the photos are a nice gimmick, but they don't make Jones a great root beer.

180 calories per 12 ounce bottle = 15 Calories per ounce (high)
Kosher (Star-K Kosher Certification)
www.jonessoda.com

Monday, October 8, 2007

Virgil's Root Beer

Virgil's comes in a 12 ounce brown glass bottle with a twist-off cap. The front paper label bears a painting of a pair of children seated at a table, being served soda (Virgil's root beer, no doubt). The neck label on the test bottle advertises a sweepstakes, and notes, for the environmentally conscious, that the bottle is "constructed of 100% recycled material".

There is a very faint odor of - licorice? and perhaps - caramel? The soda is not at all syrupy and has the right amount of carbonation.

Straight from the fridge, Virgil's tastes like cold, fizzy licorice. Once it is allowed to warm up a bit, caramel, licorice, and wintergreen appear; and as the drink moves from cold into cool, cinnamon also becomes distinguishable, and perhaps some nutmeg, creating a pleasing blend of flavors and carbonation. This is not a root beer to hide in a root beer float, but one to enjoy in its pure state, cool and unadulterated.

Grade: 10

160 calories per 12 ounce bottle = 13.3 Calories per ounce (normal)
Kosher (OU)
www.Virgils.com

Boylan's Root Beer: the Natural Kind

I found this in the store yesterday. I was familiar with (and will have to write a review on) the standard Boylan's root beer, but this variety is "sweetened with pure cane sugar; 100 natural," according to the legend on the bottleneck's front.

The root beer comes in a brown glass 12 ounce bottle, with the label printed directly onto the glass, much like Boylan's other products. The legend around the circular label reads "BOYLAN'S" in normal writing, then "THE NATURAL KIND" in reverse letters, with the and kind in smaller letters. The tan twist-off bottle cap bears a logo similar to that on the front of the bottle.

There is a faint smell of what I take to be licorice. The soda is a little thinner than I expected, and not very syrupy at all. Although its flavor is light and not overpoweringly sweet, it has very little behind the sweetness, leaving it somewhat bland. As the soda starts to warm up to room temperature, it gains a very slight aftertaste of artificial sweetener (peculiar, given that it's marketed as only being sweetened with cane sugar).

Grade: 5

170 calories per 12 ounce bottle = 14.2 Calories per ounce (moderately high)
Kosher Parve (Kosher Technical Konsultants)
www.boylanbottling.com

[Image added 9 Oct @ 12:30am]
[Nutrition info added 9 Oct at 1:30am]