Root Beer Reviews – Page 68 – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Summit Vintage Soda Pop Root Beer

Mar 152017

Summit Vintage Soda Pop Root Beer Bottle Summit Vintage Soda Pop is a store brand root beer from the ALDI stores. I had never really heard of ALDI, despite them being all over the world. I’ve never seen one on the West Coast or the mountain states though. Researching for this review turned up that Trader Joe’s is actually owned by one of the ALDI group’s owners, so I guess that ALDI kind of owns Trader Joe’s. Maybe that’s why there are no ALDI stores around here. But they are around the East Coast, so anthony was able to get some for me. I don’t really like their label. Why must they have everything in a different font? What is that supposed to accomplish? The rest is rather plain, but it is just a store brand so I suppose I should be grateful that they even bottle in glass. I wish Safeway would follow their example.

The Body is a little hollow with a generic creamy root beer flavor. There’s some sweet vanilla but nothing else really sticks out. The Bite is sharp from carbonation and spice. It even finishes prickly on your tongue after you’ve swallowed. The Head has good height but lacks staying power. The Aftertaste is sort of bitter and sticky with a slight wintergreen flavor.

Well, this really isn’t horrible, but really isn’t good either. It tastes like a cheap store brand which is what it is. Every category is just sub-par. I wouldn’t ever drink it again, even if there were no other root beers around. See how it rates against other root beers.

Jason’s Deli Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Mar 082017

Jason's Deli Root Beer Bottle The other root beer from my trip to San Antonio so long ago. Jason’s Deli is actually found all over the US but nowhere near me. When I was making the trip plans I thought I’d check to see if there was one and sure enough there was, several actually. Thankfully one was right by the airport so it didn’t really cost anything extra to take a taxi there on the way out (I always love it when it works out that way). One hallmark of this is that it’s an all natural root beer, for those of you who care (not me but my wife at least), with no preservatives and pure cane sugar. The label is pretty plain and I’m not sure if that little design is supposed to be the tops of root beer kegs. It doesn’t need to be, it can just be ovals if they want. Taste is what’s really important.

The Body is mild with a different sort of favor. It’s kind of candyish in a red vines type of way with some unknown spice and the slightest vanilla hints. There’s a slight Bite to it, not much; just that mystery spice and some carbonation. The Head is very tall and foamy like a root beer Head should be. The Aftertaste is a little more of that spice and candy, but there’s really not much Aftertaste at all.

This is a pleasant enough drink that would go well with some deli sandwiches, so it works well enough for their business and all. It’s interesting that it has that sort of Red Vines flavor and is in the same, relatively unique bottle as the other Red Vines root beer Towne Club. I searched but could find no official connection between the two root beers. Also the Towne Club is serious Red Vines while this is only slightly. It’s definitely worth a try if you happen to be eating at a Jason’s Deli anyways. See how it rates against other root beers.

Butchertown Soda Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Mar 012017

butchertown_big Butchertown is not actually a town. It’s a historic neighborhood in Louisville, Kentucky. At one point it had many breweries and distilleries. Though it became more and more industrialized, the few remaining residents fought to protect their community and have a preservation society and stuff. So what does that have to do with the soda company? I’m not sure. Details are scarce in that regard, but I imagine some thrifty entrepreneur decided that a soda company was just what the historic neighborhood needed to bring back the character from the days of yore. The label on the bottle is thick textured paper with an old photo of Butchertown, to help with that historic feel.

The Body is sweet with a strong sarsaparilla flavor. There;s some spices and vanilla in there as well but the dominant flavor is the sarsaparilla by far. The Bite is solid on account of said spices. The Head is nice and tall and the Aftertaste is sarsaparilla and vanilla.

Yum, this is a nice sarsaparilla. It’s a decent root beer too. Regular followers of my site will know how I feel about making root beers that taste like good other things and not overly like root beers. Then there’s the whole sarsaparilla/root beer debate as well, and I say they are different beasts, though closely related, cousin sodas if you will. So what does that all mean? I can’t give it a Seal, but I can say that it’s yummy. See how it rates against other root beers.

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