A&P Premium Root Beer Draft

This was an impulse buy, while I stocked up on more basic staples like chicken and milk. In the middle of one of the header aisles there was an island of the stuff, root beer in brown glass bottles, and even though I knew it was store brand, and thus unlikely to be special, I caved. I can't remember the last time I posted here, so I bit the bullet and placed the four pack into the cart. The things a badger does for his readers.

As I said, I was not expecting this to be special, so I guess I wasn't disappointed. In its favor, I can say that it's appropriately carbonated, by which I mean not too much, and not too little. Many sodas carry more carbonation than necessary, so this is no minor point. Though high fructose corn syrup is the second ingredient, there is no syrupiness to the texture (body? would that be body?) of the drink. The flavor isn't unbalanced (none of the overpowering mintiness of Hansen's, for instance), but that's about as far as I can go.

Now for the negatives. Part of the reason the flavor isn't unbalanced is that there isn't much of it. After an initial sweetness with a bit of vanilla, the flavor evaporates, leaving only a sort of watery, slightly flat seltzer behind. Another strike against it is the pry-top cap, rather than a twist-off. I can't think of another root beer that forces me to reach for a church key (bottle opener, for those of you not in on badger-speak). Given how common twist-off caps are these days, I'm not sure how A&P came to that decision - maybe they thought that an old-fashioned cap might suggest old-fashioned flavor, but this old-fashioned badger isn't fooled.

Grade: 5

170 Calories per 12 oz bottle = 14.2 calories per oz (moderately high)
no website listed, couldn't find the product on the A&P website

Point Premium Root Beer

This initially intriguing 'real draft style' root beer boasts the use of cane sugar and honey and comes in an attractive bottle with a twist-off cap.

I was greeted with a slightly sweeter-than-expected and relatively flat aroma and sure enough the taste wasn't far off. The most notable deficiency in this otherwise passable drink is its toothlessness. It's not for lack of carbonation, but rather I think the sweetness overpowers the spice that must be present in order to produce the characteristic root beer 'bite.'

Scanning the ingredients, there is--of course--the now requisite listing of 'natural and artifical flavors' (whatever they may be). Surprisingly, however, there is also 'cane sugar and/or fructose corn sweetener.' Pardon? That is like saying, 'your knee replacement is made of titanium and/or papier-mache.'

As the bottle sits for a while and my palate acclimates to the sweetness, I become more and more underwhelmed with the lack of other dimensions in the flavor. The label--and website--boast a creamy and smooth taste but I found it kind of thin and brittle. There is sweetness, carbonation, and a generic root beerish flavor that is unassuming to the point of spiceless mediocrity. This just ends up being more of a fountain root beer than a 'draft style' one.

Grade: 3

120 calories per 12 oz bottle (10 calories/oz).

http://www.pointbeer.com/point/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=5