ROOT BEER TASTE TEST

[ncbred]

Any particular place you can find these Root Beers that are being mentioned. I love root beer but you will not find anything besides Mugs, A&W, IBC and Sams Choice around here.

 

[Poison_Us]

Sounds like the best things are made locally and are sold in small regions. So unless you visit there or have some shipped to you, most of us are out of luck. Some know this and buy it locally, and sell it on line to those who don't. BevMo.com seems to be such a place.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Of the ten brands listed I was able to round-up nine of them (plus a handfull of gourmet/micro brew varieties). The only one of the ten I was unable to get was the Shasta ... but I know of a place across town that has it in stock and I plan on running over there later today to purchase some. However, I am beginning to realize that this crazy taste-test of mine is considerably more complicated than I initially thought. I say this mainly because of the unavailability of certain brands in certain locals. Thus it may be impossible to come up with a true evaluation. But just for giggles and smiles I intend to follow through with it anyway and ask others who are genuinely interested in participating to do the best you can with however many of the ten brands you have, and we'll see what develops from that. []

What I am doing personally is to judge each brand in two categories ... 1. Amount of foaming head produced when poured into a chilled (no ice) glass. 2. Overall flavor preference. I have discovered already that I need to test them all at the same time, otherwise (even by taking notes) I forget exactly what one tase like from another. Between sips I rinse my mouth with water and then try the next and the next and so on. Although I have only experimented with this so far, later today I intend to perform the real deal. One thing I did do this morning was to taste the least expensive of the ten, which was the Sam's Choice that averaged 35-cents per "can", to a micro-brew brand called Virgil's that averaged $1.50 per "bottle." Needless to say the Virgil's was far superior to the Sam's. Which supports the claim ... "You get what you pay for!" But since Virgil's is one of those regional brands and not one of the ten national brands, I intend to eliminate it from my final taste-test. I mention it here merely as an example of "Good vs Bad."

I will be back later today or tomorrow with my final results, and hope others will do the same.

Thanks to all ...

SPB

Virgil's Rootbeer ... $6.00 per four-pack. Great foam! - Great flavor! (But not as good as "Mr. D'z") []

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

After this I intend to focus only on the "ten," but just for the record here is a little more information on the Virgil's. It's really a fantastic rootbeer, and one of the best I have ever had. Apparently others think so too because it won a couple of awards as indicated by the text on the side of the carton. I recommend you try it if available in your area.

SPB

 

[pyshodoodle]

I've had Virgil's before - I think Boylan's beats it, but I never tried the 2 at the same time.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Okay ... you guys/gals are in trouble now! I just called a Bevmo's store that's about ten miles away and carries Boylan's Rootbeer. I'm driving over there shortly to purchase a 6-pack. I just hope it's worth the drive and is as good as everyone says it is. If not, I'm sending psychodoodle a bill! Lol [] I'll report back later after doing a taste-test. Also, the person I spoke with on the phone said they had "all kinds of soda pop." So I may return home with more than just the Boylan's. Man-o-man, this experiment of mine is getting expensive!

Later alligators,

SPB

 

[Wangan]

When we were making our own root beer it was Hires only.[][]

 

[pyshodoodle]

Skip the Boylan's Cola, btw.... but for later, pick up the birch beer. (We can mix & match here - not sure if you'll be able to do that.)

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Psycho ~ []

If possible, I plan to make a list of every brand of "soda pop" they carry. I forgot to ask if they carry the Mr. D'z brand. They may even have a brochure of some kind. We'll talk about a trade later. But I am game to to the idea.

Thanks,

SPB

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

This is your "blow-by-blow" account of what I am calling ...

~ THE GREAT ROOT BEER RUN OF SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2010 ~

I'm shaved- showered - dressesd and heading down the road to Bevmo's as soon as I post this. Plus I'm stopping at an Antique Row in the area that consist of about ten shops and see if I can find a couple of "keeper" soda bottles to bring home with me and add to my collection. Wish me luck, and I will post an update shortly after I arrive home. []

SODA "PSYCHOTOO" BOB