Jul 112012
 

Simpson Spring is evidently the “Oldest Bottling Plant in the USA” They use water from … Simpson Spring. The spring was originally the primary water source of the Assowompset Indians, a tribe of such notoriety that there isn’t even a Wikipedia article on them, which is sad, because they sound like an amazing tribe. So the waters of this spring, which are naturally bubbling, are now used make a line of sodas. You can also buy the just the bubbly water if you want. I kind of like the label, not too busy with some nice gold on it. But, why does it say there is only 10 FL OZ when this bottle seems the exact same size as all of the 12 OZ bottles I drink, and it seems just as full. I would imagine the loss of 2 OZ would be more noticeable. It may be they’re just using old labels on new bottles or something, so I guess I should be happy that I’m getting unadvertised bonus root beer. Promise less, deliver more. Nothing wrong with that.

The Body on this seems a little watered down sadly. There is a nice minty vanilla flavor on the initial contact but then the core is rather weak. The Bite is a tad sharper than I prefer. The Head is exceedingly tall and moderately frothy. As it fizzes down it forms larger bubbles to a point which gives a rather odd head of about an inch or so with bubbles about a centimeter in diameter. The Aftertaste is vanilla and wintergreen with a slight bitter hint that increases the more you drink so by the end I can hardly stand it.

So really this isn’t bad if it weren’t for the increasingly bitter Aftertaste. I blame the spring water itself. There’s probably some natural occurring minerals or something that cause it, but that’s no excuse. It ruins the whole experience. Though, if you were used to drinking this water, then this probably wouldn’t be as noticeable, but it still needs a fuller flavor. See how it rates against other root beers.




Jul 042012
 

Another one from Sacramento. Well Folsom really but that’s essentially Sacramento. The brewery is named after the famous Folsom prison (gotta lock em down you know) and has many of their brews named after places in Folsom. Rainbow Root Beer is named after … the Rainbow Bridge of course. Not sure why it’s called that other than it has an underside arch so maybe that’s like a rainbow, or perhaps when they built it they were hoping to extend all the way to Asgard or something, whatever. Not to let a good gimmick go to waste though, they claim their root beer is made with “a rainbow of flavors” and then proceed to list licorice bark, orange peel, cinnamon, and vanilla. Ok, I see the rainbow; brown (black), orange, red, white. But orange peel? Seriously? Well it’s a new ingredient for my list but I don’t think that will make it taste particularly good, I could be wrong. Other than that the label is pretty cool though the actual name of the root beer is so off to the side you can’t see it in photo. I don’t appreciate labels that are that busy as it messes with the format I like to have. Oh well.

This one tastes different for sure. The Body is sweet and mild on first contact, and then gets a sour fruity cinnamon flavor with some vanilla accents. There’s that dried orange peel. The Bite is a sour and spicy from said orange peel and the cinnamon. The Head is decent a medium height and froth. Not exceptional by any means, but adequate. The Aftertaste is more fruity cinnamon with a bit of vanilla.

So they almost pulled it off with the orange peel. It’s not bad, but it’s just too fruity. I don’t really like fruity root beers but with the vanilla and the cinnamon the strong fruity flavor almost works, kind of like a sarsaparilla. Now it says on the bottle a “true old fashioned style root beer … just like you remember!” But I don’t EVER remember orange peel in my root beer. See how it rates against other root beers.




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.