Root Beer Tasting at Blue Sun Soda

On Saturday morning, my boys had a cross country race at Como Park. After that, we headed north to Blue Sun Soda for their free root beer tasting party.

The 10 sodas (and tiny sipping cups on either end) ready for sampling.

I had previously had all but "Fiz Roc City" root beer. Left to right in that photo above was Red Arrow, Dorothy's, Always Ask for Avery's, Bedford's, Death Valley, Squamscot, Fiz, Zuberfizz, Dang!, and Cool Mountain.

My 1st grader got in on the action. We tried all of them and kept track of what one we liked best.

You were supposed to grab a bottle cap and vote for your favorite by putting it in the corresponding bucket.

Henry liked Dang! the best.

Dorothy won for me. Dang! and Zuberfizz weren't far behind.

Dorothy was my 2nd ever review on this blog nearly 6 years ago. I gave it an 8. Dang! actually got a 9 from me when I reviewed it, so I guess my tastes were a little different this past weekend. Blue Sun Soda noted on Facebook that Zuberfizz was the overall winner.

Their selection of their made-in-house Whistler soda.

My pre-schooler played some pinball.

Playing an old bowling game.

"Springtime Sodas."

The boys on a noisy elephant with games and the root beer tasting in the background.

Enjoying some small sugary treats on the way home.

 I left with 10 bottles of new soda. I had just a few more from my old stash to drink first, but then I'll start in on these new sodas. I bought 2 Whistler sodas that I'll need to have soon because as I've noted recently, their caps don't seem to hold their seal for very long.

UPDATE: Blue Sun Soda added on Facebook the ranking of the top 4 of the taste test: "#1 Zuberfizz, #2 Dang, #3 Red Arrow, #4 Dorothy's." So Henry's and my picks were #2 and #4 out of 10. They also noted that they go through about a case of each soda at these "tasting" events, so they went through about 240 bottles total!

Dorothy's Isle of Pines Root Beer

Ely, Minnesota.  It seems like a place where everyone is friendly. And everyone is bearded. And everyone wears plaid. And everyone drinks root beer. (I can't really say - I've never been that far north in Minnesota.)

Yesterday's selection was Dorothy's Isle of Pines Root Beer, brewed just a few hours north of the Cities.

Dorothy Molter is remembered fondly as the “Root Beer Lady.” Dorothy lived in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in northern Minnesota. She lived on the Isle of Pines on Knife Lake for more than 56 years where she paddled, hiked, fished, skied and snowshoed until her death in 1986. She was visited by as many as 7,000 people a year. She was such a part of the community that there is a museum in downtown Ely devoted to her life.

The museum's website writes about her root beer: "Dorothy brewed 10-12,000 bottles of homemade root beer each year. Chilled by ice cut in the winter from Knife Lake, Dorothy’s home brew provided a welcome treat for the thousands of paddlers who visited her island home. While Dorothy’s Root Beer is no longer brewed in her 8-gallon crock, it is still the favorite beverage of travelers to the Canoe Country."

Brand: Dorothy's Isle of Pines Root Beer.

Origin: Ely, Minnesota.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: Smooth, strong, a bit "zesty," and a lot of flavor on the tongue. Flavor disappears quickly and doesn't stick around (which is keeping it from getting a slightly higher score).

Score: 8 out of 10.