Root Beer Reviews – Page 121 – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Private Label Beverages Root Beer

May 212014

Private Label Beverages Root Beer Bottle Back when I traded for the the Ithaca, I also got two bottles of Lehman’s Root Beer and two bottles of Biker Brew Root Beer. I immediately got suspicious because both of them had the same sticker label, same ingredients, same nutritional values, and both didn’t appear on a Google search. Further inspection showed that the two also had the same barcodes so if that doesn’t prove they’re the same nothing does. I thought about calling Dr. Percival C. McGillicuddy but I didn’t want to pay exorbitant P.I. fees. I sent an email to the Lehman’s people and they were very accommodating and told me they got it from Private Label Beverages. I’m sure it’s bottled by Ginseng Up but these use sugar instead of the HFCS that Ginseng does so I don’t have to dig deep to find out that its a unique brew.

The body is sweet with a little bit of spicy vanilla and caramel notes; a very standard root beer flavor but well proportioned. The Bite is pretty mild, some carbonation tingle and just enough spice. The Head is super tall and pretty much foams over the top of the mug. Thankfully it doesn’t last forever so you can actually drink your root beer without having to slurp ridiculous amounts of foam off the top. The Aftertaste is some light, sweet vanilla and caramel.

This is a pretty solid, middle of the road brew with my favorite flavor profile. It was nearly a tossup as where to rate it. The super tall Head just barely pushed it over to a four. So now there’s another quality choice for your own custom soda. See how it rates against other root beers.

Mason’s Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

May 142014

Mason's Root Beer Bottle I ordered this in a mixed pack several years back. I was very excited because finally, I could have the root beer of the international brotherhood of the Masons. The label sadly, is missing all of the appropriate symbols, the all seeing eye, the square, the compass, etc. Unless that is, it’s hidden more than usual. Stare closely at the root beer keg featured prominently, tweak your eyes a bit like one of those Magic Eye things, and soon you will see the hidden world of Masonic knowledge. Or not. Yes, despite my best efforts I could find no Masonic anything with this, which is really a shame. Maybe the root beer itself is a Masonic symbol, and the displaying of it grants access into the deepest recesses of the lodge. Or maybe isn’t even made by the Masons. Maybe Mr. Mason was a Mason but didn’t want his Mason’s Root Beer to be too Masonic? My head hurts from thinking all of this. Maybe if I watch National Treasure again I’ll figure it out. Lemon juice on the back of the label? Hmm…

The Body is very sweet with an initial good root beer flavor, but then a slight fruity and out of place flavor sneaks its way in to disrupt the otherwise pleasant experience. The Bite is lacking. The Head is acceptable and rather frothy and foamy but on the light side. The Aftertaste is sticky and not quite as it should be.

So I think this root beer’s problem may have something to do with more sodium benzoate and citric acid than flavoring in the root beer. “Keg Brewed Flavor” indeed. It’s not that bad really, it’s actually tolerable should you be invited to a Masonic Lodge or just happen to be a big fan of The Lost Symbol, have a bottle or two with the rest of the snacks. I won’t be buying it to drink on its own, however. See how it rates against other root beers.

R & B Produce Homemade Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers 1 Response »

May 072014

R & B Produce Root Beer Bottle When I first relaunched the site and started actively started trading for new root beers with other reviewers, anthony asked if I wanted some nasty Amish home brew. I told him that as long as it was bottled with a label on the bottle I’d love it. He sent some but it was lost in the mail for two weeks due to an erroneous zip code. I had just moved and messed up my address. Since it was yeast carbonated, the bottles had leaked over half of their contents out due to over carbonation, though luckily they were in plastic bags and it didn’t ruin the rest of the root beer bottles in that trade. I had to wait another two years before he tried sending it again. This time we made sure the address was right, and he insulated the package and put ice packs in it. Three days later it came all wet and soggy. The postal workers never stamped fragile on the package so it was tossed around and one of the three bottles was smashed, which tore the plastic bag, leaking root beer everywhere. I thought the others leaked too, but after washing them, drying them, and inspecting, I was relieved to find they were intact. I was even able to mostly save the label on one for my collection. I’m not sure what R & B stand for, so I’m guessing it’s Root and Beer. I’m sure it’s a good little produce market that sells carrots, turnips, beets, sweet potatoes, and this brew.

The Body is yeasty, sour, fruity, and weak in the normal root beer flavor department. There’s a sour acidic type of carbonation Bite that isn’t very pleasant. The Head is medium tall but fizzes away very quickly. The Aftertaste is sour yeastiness.

So, light on root beer, high on sour yeast. You can guess how I feel about that. This isn’t the nastiest Amish home brew I’ve tried (I’m looking at you Olde Heritage) but it’s definitely not what you want when you need a good root beer. See how it rates against other root beers.

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