That’s right folks, there is an exclamation mark after the word root beer in the title. Unlike the few others that have done this, So Duh! and Dang! That’s Good, the fine people at Big Ben’s are emphasizing that it is Root Beer! They also say “Satisfying!” so they are pretty close to getting carried away with those exclamations. But, when you consider that Big Ben’s has been around continuously since the 1920’s with a line of 23 different flavors and 11 different packaging styles, there is a lot to be excited about. Such a robust independent soft drink company these days is a rare find indeed. Normally, they don’t ship their sodas in glass bottles but thankfully made an exception for yours truly. That way I didn’t have to go all the way to Pennsylvania to get it. Choice!
It has a full dark Body. It is strong with sassafras and hints of anise and wintergreen. It is only slightly creamy. I prefer more creamy. The Bite is very mild, mostly from carbonation. The Head builds to a good height but isn’t very frothy at all and quickly fizzes away. The Aftertaste is mild wintergreen and sassafras.
So overall it’s a decent brew but there really isn’t anything exceptional about it. It is the sort of standard supermarket line of root beer that you’ll find out there (for those supermarkets that bottle them in glass) which makes sense from a soda company with so many flavors that doesn’t specialize in root beer. Good enough to keep in business but it isn’t winning any awards. See how it rates against other root beers.