Jan 012014
 

Bedford's Root Beer Bottle Bedford’s is another root beer that comes from close to my home. Their company is from Port Angeles, and though it seems that they originally bottled it there, it is currently listed Orca Beverages as one they bottle. Ironically, I didn’t find it anywhere in Washington, but down in Provo, UT. It was several years ago and you can see that whoever bottled it then, used aluminum screw caps which you almost never see anymore (and Orca doesn’t currently do). Jones also uses those bottles so maybe it’s a Puget Sound thing. As an aside, even the first A&W I had from glass bottles was like that but more on that another day. I like the medieval-ish banner and logo. Then there’s the fact that they used the same font for all of the text and the label’s a winner in my book.

The Body is sweet and creamy but a little weaker than it should be. Also, there is a hint of something strange in the flavor that just doesn’t belong. The Bite is really non-existent. The Head is nice, but not frothy so even though there is a lot of it, it doesn’t linger. The Aftertaste is pleasant, but that same strange flavor is there.

This root beer on the whole has got the right stuff, but just not enough. The first two bottles of this stuff that I drank were actually wonderful, but the rest were lacking and so you get my average review. I feel consistency between bottles is important after all. I want to be sure of quality if I’m going to recommend this to someone. But even at its worst is still a decent brew. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three and a half kegs




Dec 252013
 

Flashback Root Beer Bottle Merry Christmas! Located near the beach in Seaside Oregon is the Flashback Malt Shoppe. They have over 200 types of glass bottled sodas and serve all manner of frozen desserts. Their own line of sodas is a recent, yet welcome development as the world always needs more gourmet root beer. While Seaside isn’t too far a drive it’s actually bottled by Orca Beverages which is extremely close. However, I got this in a trade from anthony who lives in NJ. I it makes me happy to know that this root beer traveled across the country and back just to make it to my refrigerator. I like their brick wall background with the logo and the sparkleys. The whole use-a-different-font-for-every-line is kind of annoying, but a lot of people do that for some reason. I didn’t study marketing so there may be something I don’t know. As for what their official soda name is I’m not quite sure. I even went so far as to ask them on their Facebook page and they just said, “Thank you for your input” which was not exactly helpful so I went with what’s written above. They also have a birch beer which their website calls a “Birch Root Beer” but the label says otherwise, much to my chagrin. Maybe they’ll change the label some day so I can review that one too.

The Body is medium strength with delicious vanilla and honey accents. There’s a lot of spice in there as well. The Bite is strong from the spice and the carbonation, almost too much. The Head is deplorable, barely better than the two second Head. The Aftertaste is a light vanilla and honey that lasts an appropriate amount of time.

This is good but really needs a proper Head. I’m starting to wonder if this is more of a problem with Orca than the brands themselves, as most of the Orca brands have had terrible Heads. Especially when you consider the nearly identical Bulldog and Steelhead brews with the Bulldog, having a poor Head, bottled by Orca. Oh well. It still tastes really good so if you’re ever in Seaside you should get some. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three and a half kegs




Dec 222013
 

Wisco Pop! Incredients

Some people want their sodas fresh and all natural using only the highest quality local ingredients produced in a sustainable manner. For those people, finding a gourmet root beer is often a challenge. Thankfully, the people at Wisco Pop! are out to make it easier. They’ve already made their root beer, but they need a bottling line to take their operation to the next step. This is where you come it. They’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign for the funds necessary. They’ve got some great rewards including growlers of their root beer if you live in the nearby area. I’ve backed this myself and would love to see it succeed so I can give their root beer try. Let’s make it happen.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/343253418/wisco-pop-bottles?ref=live