Apr 262017
 

Levi's Root Beer Soda Bottle Levis is an old root beer. From back way in 1895. It was originally served at a marble soda fountain at a place called Levis, that served hot dogs and fish cakes and what not. After seeing the success of Hires’ brew, Levis made his root beer even better with a bold flavor, if the back of the bottle is to be believed. The hot dog stand is actually still there and has been continuously operating since its inception. It doesn’t say when the root beer started to be bottled, but currently the bottled version is owned and distributed by Amazing Beverages. The back of the bottle claims that it’s bottled with the same flavor used for almost 100 years, but they can’t be using exactly the same recipe because they only use part sugar and part sucralose. It still has enough sugar for me to consider it not a diet (25g) but it kind of is some strange hybrid type almost. I can’t imagine that does anything to improve the flavor. It does only have 100 calories per bottle which was probably the reason for the sugar dial down. To appeal to some strange health conscious subset of the population.

The Body is weak with a prominent sour and icky fake sugar taste. Why did they put sucralose in it instead of another 15g of sugar? The Bite is a bit harsh from carbonation and sour. The Head is medium-tall and lingers an average amount of time. It’s not super foamy but it’s okay. The Aftertaste is an icky sucralose flavor that coats my teeth and doesn’t go away.

This stuff is bad, and is what happens when somebody wants to reduce the calories in their root beer a little bit. I mean really, do you think anyone going for a bottle of soda is going to not get it because it has another 40 calories? Has there ever been anyone, in the history of the world, who thinks that the fake sweetener flavor is somehow better than real sugar? I will give them the fact that despite the fake sugar detraction, it does taste old-school-soda-fountiany. See how it rates against other root beers.

2 out of 5 root beer kegs




Apr 122017
 

Ramblin' Root Beer Bottle I like it when I get to taste resurrected brands. Especially if they came from a major company. Ramblin’ was originally introduced in 1979 by none other than The Coca-Cola Company. In the 80’s they even had an ad for it with a cameo by a young Sarah Jessica Parker. Additionally, this brew would often cause classic rock lovers to spontaneously break into either Led Zeppelin or Allman Brothers Band songs (I’m sure it did … I did when I was drinking it…). Yet despite that, sales slowed, and in 1995 Coke decided to Ramble On, as it were, to another root beer, and bought Barq’s, because it had bite, and Johnny could tell the world, or something. And Ramblin’ was relegated to the dust bins of history, or it was until 2015, when Monarch Beverages acquired the brand and the recipe. So now it’s back for us all to enjoy.

First I must say the Head on this is amazing. It is probably the tallest I’ve ever seen. And it has a lot of staying power, so pour with caution, or you’ll be waiting awhile. I’ve never ever said you could have too much of a Head, but this almost makes me think that. The Body is pleasant with a prominent sarsaparilla flavor in a Barq’s-y sort of way. There’s some caramel and vanilla hints as well. The Bite is not very strong though some spice is there. The Aftertaste is vanilla and sarsaparilla mixed so that it almost reminds me of cola.

This is nice, but not quite there, despite the most epic Head ever, I cannot give it a Seal. But it’ll do when gettin’ the Led out. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three and a half kegs




Apr 052017
 

Soda Folk Root Beer Bottle Yet another UK root beer. Well, kind of a UK root beer. Soda Folk is a UK company and this brew can only be obtained there, but the owner is from Colorado and the root beer is actually made by the Tommyknocker Brewery. I figured it out when I saw they used maple syrup and aged vanilla which Tommyknocker also uses. The labels used identical paper as well. The owner, Ken, said that it was even Tommyknocker’s recipe. Then I had to figure out which recipe it was since Tommyknocker seems to have a new recipe every other year, and whether or not it was unique. As best as I could track down it appeared to be Tommyknocker New Root Beer but with some slight differences in the nutritional info, most likely to meet UK standards. So it is different so I can review it. This was very welcome news to anthony who ordered this brew and graciously traded me some. Who’d want to spend shipping fees to England only to find it’s merely a vanity label? But since it isn’t on to the review.

The Body is medium strength with aged vanilla and maple flavors. Wintergreen is also present. The Bite is strong, sharp, and spicy. The Head is good and lingers. The Aftertaste is more maple and vanilla with a little bitter hint, from the wintergreen.

Well this is a pretty good brew. Especially when you think that it’s sold in England. I would say that it’s the best UK root beer yet, but since it’s made in Colorado, I can’t really label it that way. There is hope for our neighbors across the pond though, if they start liking this stuff, maybe it’ll raise the quality of the rest of their brews. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three and a half kegs