May 072025
 

I don’t know how I’m supposed to say this name. Thankfully this is a written post and not a video, or I’d be in deep trouble. For a root beer that’s supposedly been established in 1938, they sure have done a good job keeping it a secret from me. I got this in a trade from anthony, I think he got it in either New York or Pennsylvania, because those are the two addresses on the label. Also, in small print, it says it was produced by Mobilia Farms, so maybe he got it there? Also did you know there’s a town in Pennsylvania called North East? I thought they were just being general in the area, but nope, it’s a real place. On Lake Erie, by the town of Erie, but you guessed it, a little North and East. Anyways The one other part is that they are “Manufacturers of high grade beverages” which evidently means they put propylene glycol in their root beer, because they did. Anyways.

The Body is sweet and mild. There’s an aged sarsaparilla flavor which is good, but there isn’t a lot of other flavors. The Bite is sharp and prickly but light on spices. The Head is very tall and foamy, but fizzes down a bit two quickly. The Aftertaste is mild sarsaparilla.

This should probably be labeled as a sarsaparilla and not a root beer. Though that gets into the whole is a sarsaparilla a root beer which I’ve gone over my stance many times, but incase you’re new, I’ll summarize by saying if you call it a root beer but serve me a sarsaparilla, it can be decent, which this is. It’s drinkable. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three kegs

Apr 022025
 

Pumpkin root beers. The limited edition brews that show up near the end of September and stick around through pumpkin spice season. I’ve had mixed experiences with pumpkin root beers. Granted, I’ve only had two of them before, making it one of the rarest type of flavored root beer. One of those two is toppest tier while the other was very meh. I’ve known about this one for a few years but it has eluded me until recently when anthony sent me some. Filbert’s is a brand I had tried awhile back and it was decent but nothing special. But now they’ve made pumpkin so is this the redemption arc? I like their label, what with the horses and wagon, but shouldn’t it be carrying pumpkins and not just kegs? I mean, we get that the root beer is in kegs but add that extra pumpkin? I don’t know. The orange on black does capture the Halloween asthetic.

The Body is sweet with a mild pumpkin spice flavor. There’s a distinct lack of root beer flavors. Just pumpkin. The Bite is decent with some clove and other pumpkin spices shining through. The Head is short and fizzes away quickly. The Aftertaste is sweet pumpkin spice.

Well, this is a pleasant soda, but isn’t really a root beer at all. I get they want it to taste like pumpkin, but there has to be a way to make the pumpkin flavor shine over a root beer core. I’ve tasted it done properly and this is not done properly. They should likely just call this pumpkin soda or something but they didn’t so I don’t really like it. See how it rates against other root beers.

2.5/5 Root Beer Kegs

Mar 052025
 
Seal of Approval

The root beer that could have been my 500th review. I bought the bottle after trying my 499th, but, I didn’t think it was “special enough” to be 500. It’s another resurrected brand from Orca Beverages, of which there are several, and that’s just a bit to plain a backstory for the storied 500th brew. I found this at the store formerly known as Blue Sun Soda, and I do like the motif of an old keg being called Old Keg. I mean, I throw pictures of old kegs all over this site of mine. But does it really have that, “old keg” flavor and profile?

The Body sweet with rich honey and vanilla complimenting a nice rooty sassafras core. It is really delicious. The Bite is spicy and prickly with a smooth finish. The Head is medium tall and foamy that fizzes away faster than I prefer by coalescing into increasingly larger bubbles. That’s rather unique. The Aftertaste is a delicious honey sassafras with hints of vanilla.

This is my kind of root beer. Darker than classic, with honey showing through. I love it. Honestly, as far as quality of the root beer goes, this would have been a better 500th than what I had, and while it didn’t have a backstory then, it’s lack of backstory has become one of the better ones. Ah, the brew and review that could have been, but at least it won the Seal. See how it rates against other root beers.

4 kegs