Big K Root Beer

Quickly… think of your favorite Root Beer.  Did you?  Is it Big K Root Beer?  For those of you who said “yes” then you can refute whatever I’m about to write.  For those of you who answered the negative then just sit back and find out what category I’m about to fall into.  Big K Root Beer is Kroger brand root beer.  For those of you not familiar with Kroger, it’s a super market.  So yes, Big K Root Beer probably won’t be my favorite as very few stores actually try to make a good soda.  I’m pretty sure this won’t be my new favorite root beer, but hopefully this chemical concoction will at least please my taste buds somewhat.  The label even says that they “promise” my whole family will enjoy this or my money back… or a replacement.  I’m kind of curious as to what a proper replacement is of Big K Root Beer.  My imagination is shot for the day so I think I’ll just continue the review.

Big K Root Beer does indeed smell somewhat like a root beer… so… that’s a plus, although there is also something odd about this aroma.  After smelling the somewhat obvious root beer scent the smell just kind of vanishes.  The fragrance (I’m running out of words for ‘smell’) doesn’t seem to be strong enough to maintain a simple inhalation thus frightening me just a bit as to what this will taste like.

Not terrible, not good.  Big K Root Beer is most similar to Barq’s, but without the bite that makes Barq’s slogan so memorable.  The initial mouth fell is very watery and a bit off putting.  As you might expect this is a very generic tasting root beer.  It does have a bit of a licorice flavor to it and just a whisper of wintergreen as well.  Did they actually use these ingredients?  No idea, but the artificial/natural flavors they used somewhat replicate them.  There’s not much else to be said about Big K Root Beer except this.  If you have an extra dollar just buy the Barq’s instead.  While there are better root beers out there than Barq’s at least you’re not rewarding a grocery store for making a less than stellar product… instead you are rewarding the Coca Cola company.  If you want to take a few steps up from that then look no further than these two.

Verdict – Buy a Bottle

~A

This is Twist's "meh" face

Gale's Root Beer (Fan Review!)

They sell this at my local supermarket, so I thought I’d give it a try. I opened the bottle and it has a really different taste. It had a hint of vanilla but wasn’t very sweet, it has kind of a spiced flavor. This isn’t A&W. I tried to figure out what was making it taste so “different” and remembered those wise words from my father:

 “When all else fails, read the instructions”.

 So I looked at the label and found it is is flavored with cinnamon and ginger. It’s a unique taste and probably not going to suit everyone’s palate. Available in selected parts of the USA.

 http://www.galegand.com/booksandproducts.asp#grb

 Verdict:  Buy a bottle – caveat emptor!

Gray's Root Beer (Fan Review!)

150 years and five generations ago, Irish immigrant Joshua Gray moved to Janesville, Wisconsin to brew ales and soft drinks.  The Gray Brewing Company is now one of the family owned beverage companies in the country.

 The root beer recipe dates back 140 years and is made with pure cane sugar. It’s a nice grog, good creamy head, rich vanilla flavor and decent carbonation. It’s one of the better root beers I’ve tasted. It’s only available in southern Wisconsin as far as I know, so a road trip might be in order.  Definitely worth a trip to the brewery and the tied house in Verona, WI.

 Verdict: Buy a pallet

 www.graybrewing.com

Grand Teton Brewing Company - Cream Soda

We rush back to the mountains to review Grand Teton Brewing Company Cream Soda today.  We’ve already reviewed, and enjoyed, their Mountain Berry Soda and root beer so hopefully the cream soda will stand equally as tall as its brothers.  As I’m writing this review I’m realizing that I have very little opinion when it comes to cream soda.  Cream soda is something I enjoy as it reminds me of my childhood for some reason, but I’m just not very passionate about it.  Maybe I just haven’t had a terrible enough cream soda to be disappointed to the point of passion.  I’m a very opinionated person when it comes to very trivial things like Pizza Hut commercials, the pronunciation of particular tree nuts, and the state of Texas A&M football… therefore it’s not like me to just let cream soda slide.  I’ve probably bored most of you out there so I’m going to drop this and continue on with the review of Grand Teton Cream Soda.  DRINK ON… but seriously when’s the last time Pizza Hut had a good commercial?

That is a sugar filled scent attaching itself to the inner workings of my nose.  The scent itself is smooth, buttery, and very enticing.  Maybe, just maybe, today will be the day I become passionate about the taste of my cream sodas.  If today is indeed that day please believe me when I tell you that the first paragraph was not a “lead in” for the rest of this review that I wrote after consuming this beverage.  All of my reviews are consumed in the same order the reviews are written, from staring at the label, to opening, to consumption.  I’m over explaining a lot today, hopefully I just need a good cream soda to shut me up. 

This, my friends, is a good cream soda.  It doesn’t invoke passion in me, but that bridge may never be crossed.  That said, Grand Teton Cream Soda is a solid entry into the cream soda market.  The aroma inhaled earlier is an honest representation of the taste I’m experiencing now.  It has a very smooth, creamy mouth feel that any cream soda enthusiast would enjoy.  The carbonation adds a fleeting bite to the back of my throat upon each gulp which is something I’m not quite used to in a cream soda, but it’s only worth noting not complaint.  One small thing irks me though, the finish.  Completing each sip I’m left with an aftertaste that starts off just fine but ends on an artificial note.  It’d be like having a delicious sundae in front of you, but instead of a cherry on top you have a cherry made of wax.  Sure you can take it off, but you aren’t going to be as happy as you would be with an actual cherry.  With that said, Grand Teton Cream Soda is good enough to purchase multiples and my rating will say the same.

Verdict-  Buy a Pack!

~A

Twist was just spotted peeping over the fence. Stay cool, stay cool.

Rockstar Energy Drink: Sugar Free (Fan Review!)

The idea of sugar-fee energy drinks puzzles me.  Beverages that are known to have loads of ingredients to help one glean more energy aren’t supposed to good for my health, just help me achieve the intended goal.  Plus drinks notoriously lose the integrity of their taste once refined sugar is replaced with whatever substitute is popular at the moment.  With those two elements in mind I had a decision to make.  Add Rock Star Energy Drink Sugar Free to my sizable grocery tally, or let an opportunity to review a new beverage go to waste.  The choice I made should be obvious.

Now with a chilled can in hand I scavenge the stark white and gold label to see how much of a shallow sales pitch I can find.  I certainly didn’t have to go far. “Bigger. Better. Faster.  Stronger.  The world’s most powerful energy drink is now sugar free and contains zero carbs!”  Credibility can be a fragile commodity, and that statement eroded what little this drink had.  Another admonishment is located in small letters on the back of the can and reads “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”  Why does that statement even need to be on the label? Who would have thought Rockstar Energy drink could cure them of anything? How could a beverage diagnose a disease? Hypothetical If I were sick, would I really need to be told Rockstar Energy Drink is not a viable option for relief?  These are questions that may never have an answer.  I also wonder what kind of liability the company that produces Rockstar is trying to avoid.  Eager to hasten the conclusion of my Rockstar Energy Drink Sugar Free experience I decide to stop reading the label and just drink some.

So with pronounced trepidation I crack the top and take the plunge.  A bubblegum taste that is a cross between unfortunate and horrid strikes my taste buds with anvil force.  An after taste lingers in my mouth and resembles the all too common metallic flavor frequently found in sugar free drinks. I take another sip hoping I was mistaken.  I was not mistaken at all; the bubble gum taste hasn’t improved and still tastes like something even carnival workers wouldn’t sell.  So with two gulps down I set the oversized can down and decide not to return.  Now one more question will go unanswered, why does this stuff even exist?

Final review:  Do not buy!  Folks if you need energy please find something different than Rockstar Sugar Free!  Old coffee, flat soda, even warm Zima would be better than this stuff!

C.W.