Polar Classics Premium Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  2 Responses »
Jun 272012
 

So this one comes in a rather unique bottle. I’ve only ever seen this style on Johnnie Ryan Root Beer. There must be some Northeast bottle maker that does these or something. One really unique thing about this root beer is that it comes with a warning, and not some playful warning about it being too delicious or something, but a legitimate warning. “WARNING: Contents under pressure. Cap may blow off causing eye or other serious injury. Point away from people, especially while opening.” Wow. I’ve never considered root beer a dangerous weapon before. Maybe it’s just this root beer. Though, if you try and hold up a store with a bottle of this, I doubt they’ll be very afraid. Unless of course they’re root beer experts at which point I’m sure it’ll work. I can see it now; “Give me your money!” “What’s that a bottle of soda … Holy Crap! It’s Polar Classics Root Beer! Take it all!” Or something along those lines.

The Body is sweet and creamy with lots of vanilla, yet it is a little less full than it should be. There seems to be something not quite right about it, but not really any bad flavors. There really isn’t much Bite at all, yet it isn’t smooth, it is prickly and goes down prickly. The Head is proper, tall and very frothy, so it lingers around the whole time you drink it. The Aftertaste is lovely vanilla that last just about the right amount of time.

So not bad. This root beer almost pulls it off, but not quite. It just seems not quite right though the vanilla and nice Head give it a boost. I’d drink it again. In fact, if I were held up, I’d offer to buy it first. It’d go well with pizza I’m sure. See how it rates against other root beers.




Reading Draft Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  No Responses »
Jun 202012
 

A picture of a train … could it be, the Reading Railroad? That’s right, this is the root beer sports the railroad of Monopoly fame, and therefore, I dub it the Official Unofficial Monopoly Root Beer! Though, this root beer predates Monopoly by about 14 years. Either way, the title stands. The label itself is pretty cool and classy, and reminds me of another root beer favorite of mine, Iron Horse. Maybe I should start categorization of root beers by their label graphic. I mean, who wouldn’t want to know what the best tasting railway themed root beer is, right? Perhaps another day. Anyhow, on to the Monopoly Root Beer!

The Body is crisp and full with the standard root beer flavors plus a little vanilla. Then there’s an out of place fruity type flavor that really detracts from it. The Bite is sharp and sour. The Head is medium to high height with medium froth. It’s good no doubt, but not exceptional. The Aftertaste is vanilla with that out of place fruity flavor again.

So, kind of disappointing. Of the two bottles I tried, the first was definitely better with the out of place flavor less noticeable, but still there. With the second bottle that fruity type flavor was pretty strong. I’m going to give these guys the benefit of the doubt and assume that the majority of their bottles of root beer are not like the bad one I got, but more like the first one. So this will go good with the snacks you’ll inevitably eat while you play Monopoly but I wouldn’t sit down to a game with only this to tide me over. See how it rates against other root beers.




Northwoods Wild Bill’s Natural Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  No Responses »
Jun 132012
 

Another one from Northwoods Soda, the natural version of their Wild Bill’s. Pretty cool actually that they make two types of root beer. I always appreciate a company that makes more than one type of root beer. This one also features “organic sugar.” They say on the label that it is “Organic dehydrated cane juice” which is marketing speak for JUST PLAIN SUGAR! That’s right, cane juice? That’s what ALL cane sugar is made of. How do you get a solid from a liquid mixture? You remove the water or “dehydrate” it. I’ve been meaning to bring this up for sometime, because you’ll see this more and more these days as companies want to show how healthy and natural their sweetener is. Anyways, I guess organic Michigan beet sugar is too hard to come by or something so they went with cane sugar on this one. While I was excited to try the natural version, I was worried that it would be nasty like that Thomas Kemper Natural Root Beer.

This has a medium Body. There is a nice sweet caramel flavor and some vanilla hints. It is crisp but not creamy. The Bite is a tad sharp but ends smooth. The Head is a decent height and frothy so that it lasts several minutes. The Aftertaste is of spiced caramel and a tad vanilla that lasts awhile.

So, they didn’t screw it up like Thomas Kemper. Another solid brew from Northwoods. When comparing the regular Northwoods Wild Bill’s with this Natural side by side (I do have two frosty mugs after all) reveals that the Natural is a little milder and less creamy. It is more crisp and it has a better Head. I like the original a tad better than this one though they taste extremely similar. See how it rates against other root beers.




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