Root Beer

Review

Gale's Root Beer

The Body is a little weak but there is a lot of ginger and cinnamon flavor. It is actually hard to taste anything due to the immense ginger, cinnamon Bite. So much ginger and cinnamon, it bites like a feeding frenzy of great white sharks. It's the first time my tongue was burning from the spices (at least for a root beer). Way too much! The Head is pretty tall but quickly fizzes down. The last centimeter of it does make a decent last stand. The After Taste is ginger, cinnamon and vanilla that is pretty good, but my tongue was still smarting from the Bite. So basically, if you want a root beer with the most epic Bite, here it is. Other than that, I can't think of a reason to drink this.

Berghoff's Root Beer

This was almost drinkable on account of a very sweet Body. It also had a nice Bite to it. The Head however was awful, almost none. The After Taste started out nice, but then turned icky and left a bad flavor in my mouth for quite some time. I had ordered this online.

Barrel Brothers Root Beer

The Body was good at first but then a strange herbal flavor surfaced that was not the tastiest one to have in my mouth. It was creamy though. The tingly herbal Bite attacks you with the first drink. The Head is excellent and frothy, just as the bottle boasts and the After Taste is herbal and of vanilla. In reviewing the ingredients I found Yucca extract to which I attribute the awful herbal flavor. It just ruins everything. I found this at BYU.

Kutztown Root Beer

The Body is very dark and rooty with a hint of vanilla and wintergreen. The cane sugar is noticeable, but it isn't overly sweet. Though it is a strong flavor initially, it seems watered down afterwards. The Bite is ok, but not really good. The Head is moderate height but fizzes away quickly. Not too quickly, but doesn't linger long like it should. The After Taste is sort of a sticky, licorice, herbal flavor that thankfully vanishes quickly. A perusal of the ingredients reveals Yucca! Why would you put something that sounds so much like yucky in your root beer? It was a tough call, it's not really that bad, but I didn't really like it that much, and if I didn't like it much, it isn't really that good, and since my standards are high, it needs to be good to be drinkable.

Abita Root Beer

Abita was a tough one to judge. The Body was strong rooty flavor, yet lacking in that there was no honey and it wasn't very creamy. There was also a hint of icky in the Body after the initial contact. The Bite was solid, though not overly pleasurable. The Head was fair. The After Taste was that same icky though not really strong. When it finally came down to it I had to ask myself if given the opportunity to drink this again, would I? After much deliberation and a few bottles, I must answer no. I ordered this online.

Virgil's Root Beer

This has a very complex flavor with all sorts of things that in my opinion have no business being in root beer. However it has an all right Body but the absence of honey is very noticeable. The After Taste is of anise (one ingredient that I feel has no business in root beer). The Head could be much better, and there is not much Bite. I have found this in many different locations.

Pallino Root Beer

The sweet Body was light on everything else though the anise was noticeable. The Bite was light as well, giving a smooth brew. The Head was rather large but fizzed away quickly. The After Taste was a sticky anise and vanilla flavor. The anise ruins what would otherwise be a pleasurable experience. I found this in Seattle.

Death Valley Root Beer

The Body is dark and sticky. There is a faint licorice flavor that becomes more pronounced the more you drink. It has a candy like flavor as well, like you're sucking on a root beer barrel and eating licorice at the same time. The Bite is a little harsh on the carbonation. The Head is short but frothy and sticks around long enough. The After Taste is a creamy vanilla licorice flavor. I don't like a distinct licorice flavor in my root beer. I also don't like a harsh Bite and a short Head.

Triple XXX Root Beer

I drank more bottles of this root beer than normal and every time I got something different. The Body was sometimes sweet and full, sometimes watery and lacking. The Bite was sometimes harsh, sometimes smooth. The Head was never very frothy but ranged between nonexistent and not bad. It always fizzed away quickly though. The After Taste was sometimes (see a pattern here?) very nice and of vanilla, and sometimes very weak. The inconsistency of it all was appalling, though, sometimes the root beer was really good. Now, does Triple XXX = 9X, X^9, or 3X^3? I ordered this online.

Red Arrow Root Beer

This has a full Body that is loaded with wintergreen. Wow! So much wintergreen! There is also a very noticeable licorice flavor that makes the whole Body rather dark. I don't really like it that much. The Bite is solid, with carbonation first hitting the tongue followed by the spice kick, largely from the wintergreen. It still has a rather smooth finish, though, I prefer it smoother. The Head is pitiful, the classic Two Second Head. It's like they aren't even trying. The After Taste is strong wintergreen and licorice. There is too much licorice and it is sticky. If you love wintergreen and licorice, inseparable at every turn, this is the root beer for you. I on the other hand, will get my root beer enjoyment somewhere else.

Pirate's Keg Root Beer

This root beer has an ok Body a weak Bite and the Head is nothing special. The After Taste leaves something to be desired. The bottle and name are cool but all around, it is just not good enough to be drinkable. I found this in the Mystic Land of the North (Canada).

Mercury Root Beer

The Body has a strong, dark sassafras flavor with slight licorice and wintergreen bits coming through. The Bite isn't that good. There are not really any spices though the carbonation is at the right level. The Head is short and gone fast but not one of those two second root beer Heads. The After Taste is heavy wintergreen with a bit of licorice that lingers too long. It's not really bad; it's just not really good either.

Mendocino Taubold's Private Reserve Root Beer

This is a very mild root beer. It has no real Bite to speak of and it also has a weak Body and Head. The After Taste is fruity. But it does have a nice tale on the back of the bottle and it is a yeast brewed root beer so that's pretty cool. I got this in California.

Empire Root Beer

Not the Galactic Empire or the Roman Empire, but Empire bottling works. So, will this imperialistic root beer conquer the world or at least the root beer market or at very least my taste buds and sense for a quality brew? In a word, "No." The Body is dark and rooty, but it is also lacking in some essential flavors. The Bite is nothing special but it's there. The head is a decent height but it doesn't last long at all. The After Taste is a sticky licorice and wintergreen flavor that lingers annoyingly long, especially since it isn't a good flavor to have lingering. All in all, I really don't like this root beer that much.

Bawls Guarana G33k B33r Root Beer

Another energy drink root beer, I must admit I didn't have high expectations. The Body is sweet but with a strange fruity watery flavor. Something in it just tastes out of place. The Bite is sort of weird like teeny tiny needles on the tongue with some strange acidy burn. After that mild assault it goes down pretty smooth. The Head, however, is wonderful! It builds to a good height and is very frothy and foamy. It lingers long after the drink is finished. It doesn't taste the best though. The After Taste is a fruity weird guarana herbal-ness. Though this stuff is not good, it is probably the best energy drink root beer I have encountered. Sadly though, that isn't saying much.

Dorothy Isle of Pines Root Beer

The Body is sweet and creamy but watered down. There really isn't much Bite at all, not from spices nor carbonation. I do like it smooth but it's got to at least be there. The Head is medium height but is gone fast. Make sure not to blink or you might miss it. The brew is nearly flat after that as well. The After Taste is fleeting vanilla. It goes far too soon. This is like the ghost of an excellent root beer. It reminds you of what a good brew should be while not being able to deliver.

Judge Wapner Root Beer

The Body is kind of watery and sort of fruity, maybe a little too much citric acid in it? The Bite is harsh from carbonation but very lacking in spices. The Head is a medium height but not overly frothy. It goes away all too quickly. The After Taste is a light fruity type flavor that is rather empty like the Body. So this is pretty lacking in all departments but not horrible.

Waialua Root Beer

The Body was weak and not very flavorful, you could taste the right stuff but you had to look very hard to find it. The Bite was nothing special. The Head was large but not frothy at all. It fizzed away in several seconds. The After Taste was a very weak vanilla flavor that was almost instantly gone after it appeared. Maybe if they put two to three times the flavor it would be something worth talking about, however, as it was, when I finished drinking it, I looked down at my empty glass asking myself, what did I just drink? If it hadn't said root beer on the label, I wouldn't have known. I ordered this online.

Oogave Esteban's Root Beer

The Body is sweet, crisp, and refreshing but hardly tastes like root beer. There is a fruity hint to it which most likely comes from the agave nectar used for sweetener. The Bite is prickly on the tongue but otherwise weak. The Head is decent but fizzes away quickly. It doesn't go flat though. The After Taste is the same sweet, fruity, agave flavor that intensifies as you drink it. The more you drink the less it tastes like root beer and the more it tastes like agave nectar. Good soda, bad root beer. It is stamped with Esteban's Seal of Approval which I can only assume is based off of something other than the quality of the root beer.

Napa Valley Root Beer

The Body is ok, very sweet but fruity and kind of weak. The bite is really not there at all. The Head is awful; it fizzes away in like two seconds. The After Taste is fruity as well, but luckily it goes away quickly. It is an organic root beer with such organic ingredients as "caramel color" and "natural flavor". It has a hint of the right stuff, but not enough, most likely because natural flavor is the last ingredient. Like other root beers from the Napa Valley area, they wrote some spiel about Napa Valley and quality and what not, but once again, the product does not live up to the "tradition of excellence." I found this in Provo at Macey's.

Mad River Root Beer

Fabolous Bite. But the Head is terrible, the Body is weak and the After Taste is strange. I found this online.

Gray's Gourmet Root Beer

The Body is hollow, very hollow. There's a little flavor in there but not much. There is also a hint of something strange that I cannot place. The Bite is very sharp, like needles on the tongue. It bites you like a school of piranhas. The Head is low in height and medium froth content. It goes away quickly but not too quickly. The After Taste has that same strange flavor with some wintergreen and a little bit of fruity. Gray's Brewing Company is one of the oldest family owned beverage companies in America, over five generations. I guess their other stuff is much better than this.

A J Stephan's Root Beer

The Body is not very sweet and "dark" tasting if you know what I mean. There is lots of "flavor" (one of the ingredients) but I wouldn't say that that is necessarily a good thing. There is not much Bite at all. The Head is nice though it could be frothier. The After Taste is sticky, almost cola-ish, and with more of the "flavor." I think that I caught a hint of anise in there too. My reaction when I finished it, "Yeah, it's a root beer." I ordered this online.

Natural Brew Root Beer

I am not too fond of this one. It starts out with a full Body and good Bite. Then a strong licorice flavor surfaces that grows stronger the more you drink, however. The After Taste is very strong licorice. I have found this all across the west coast in the health food section of the supermarkets.

Old Fashioned Root Beer

This is all right at first but an absence of vanilla ruins the Body and the After Taste. The After Taste is a strange herbal flavor and there is not much Bite at all. Head is mediocre at best. I have found this all across the west coast in the health food section of the supermarkets.

Crater Lake Root Beer

I remember a trip to Crater Lake when I was 17. It was beautiful. I had hoped that this root beer would capture the majesty of the lake and caldera in a brew beyond description. Sadly it was not to be. The first thing noticeable when drinking this is a very sweet cane sugar flavor. That is about all that this root beer has going for it though. The Body is watery with a sweet sassafras and wintergreen flavor. Not creamy at all. The Bite is pretty weak but still not smooth going down. The Head is pathetic. It is less than a centimeter and fizzes away in seconds leaving the root beer nearly flat. The After Taste is sort of sticky sassafras and wintergreen which are two necessary ingredients to root beer but not the only ones. This reminded me a lot of FLM root beer. Maybe they have an agreement that all root beers named after a lake have to be bad.

Bundaberg Root Beer

The Body on this is not really like anything I've ever tasted before. The very first drink of the bottle makes me almost gag of surprise but then it isn't so bad. Then is a strange and complex flavor that is fruity, so much fruity. I didn't expect that fruit flavor at all. Not really much root beer flavor, but not terrible. It is actually very sweet. The Bite is very mellow and sour. The Head is actually not bad. It builds to a medium height and has a decent amount of frothiness to it. It still fizzes away faster than it should, though. The After Taste is a very tart fruity flavor with the faintest trace of some creamy vanilla. It actually isn't bad, but it doesn't seem to be a root beer. If you relabeled the bottle and called it something else (I'm not sure what) I am sure that it would be a quite good whatever it should be called. It's from Australia so I suppose this is what they think root beer should taste like. It is also pretty disappointing because based on the ingredients, it should be much better than this.

Eric's Famous Root Beer

First of all, I am NOT affiliated with this root beer (thankfully). Second of all, Ew! This is one of those energy drink, caffeinated, guarana enriched type root beers (see the Bad Root Beers Section). The Body is weak with an herbish flavor that is mildly sweetish. It doesn't make me gag though like other root beers of this genre. The Bite is sharp like needles on your tongue, too much. The Head is decent, but it fizzes away in a few seconds. The After Taste is sweet with a hint of vanilla. Though this isn't very good, it is the best strange energy drink root beer that I have had. It seems from the bottle that this Eric makes famous colas. My advice to him, stick to your core competencies. I found this in Seattle.

Red Jammer Root Beer

The Body is weak and indistinct, not very sweet and has a hint of anise flavor in it. It is kind of gross if you ask me. The Bite is alright. The Head is bad. The After Taste is kind of gross with a mild anise flavor. All in all it tastes like a Flathead Lake Monster Root Beer that some one stuck a licorice stick in over night, which is actually an improvement over normal FLM. I wonder if that is because they are both made by the same brewery ... This is the official root beer of Glacier National Park. If you want it I do suggest to take a trip there and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Flathead Lake Monster Root Beer

The Body is weak, hollow and fruity which I attribute to the citric acid. The Bite is medium. The Head lives up to its name. The After Taste is fruity as well. It says on the bottle that the root beer is fresh. If this is true I wonder why they needed two preservatives (Citric Acid and Sodium Benzoate). It also says "Fight Corporate Root beer." My suggestion to them is that if this is their objective a good battle plan would be to make a better root beer. Finally, the bottle says "Root beer we make from the bottom of the lake." I must say that the taste of the root beer validates this claim. I found this in Montana.