Blumer's Root Beer

I opened this with supper last night:

Brand: Blumer's Non-Alcoholic Root Beer.

Origin: Monroe, WI.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was good! It was pretty smooth and creamy. It had a nice hint of wintergreen but withOUT being too much - I like a little wintergreen, but many root beers overdo it. Just a solid root beer.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Sno-Cap Root Beer

I opened this while making some ribs the other night (to help baste the ribs, and to also enjoy as a drink):

Brand: Sno-Cap Root Beer.

Origin: Green Bay, WI.

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

Sweetener: Granulated Sugar.

Review: This was pretty smooth, creamy, and tasty! My wife said it tasted like A&W, but it was a bit more unique than that - there was a lot of vanilla flavor, and just a HINT of caramel as well. I don't really care for caramel in root beer, but this is subtle enough that it doesn't ruin it.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Baumeister Vanilla Cream Soda

I've enjoyed Baumeister sodas over the years, so I had high hopes for this:

 
Brand: Baumeister Vanilla Cream Soda.

Origin: Green Bay, WI.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This soda was very sweet and tasty like some other Baumeister sodas that I've had. Both the VANILLA and the CREAM were intense - I don't know that I've had a strong vanilla flavor in a soda before. And it wasn't too much - it was really nice. It was creamy and smooth and went down easy. It was quite sweet and I'd feel overly sugared-out if I were to have more than 1 bottle of this, but the flavor was nice and JUST ON THE VERGE of being too much.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Blumers Root Beer

I brought another soda to class with me this past week:

 
Brand: Blumers Root Beer.

Origin: Monroe, WI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was smooooth! It had a pretty classic root beer flavor with a hint of wintergreen, but it didn't have too much of anything. It really fell on the "smooth" side of root beer (on the "smooth" to "bite" scale). It was frothy and pretty tasty. It wasn't anything unique or amazing, but it was a solid root beer!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Twig's Diet Forget Me Not Grape

I opened this during darkroom time in class earlier today:

 

Brand: Twig's Diet Forget Me Not Grape.  

Origin: Shawano, WI.

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

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This was my first soda from my renewed stash from my run to MN's Largest Candy Store last month before they closed for the season. I've always had decent luck with Twig sodas, and this one didn't disappoint. It does NOT taste diet - it has a full, rich, sugary flavor. There might be the SLIGHTEST "chemically" taste in the aftertaste, but I have to concentrate to really notice if it's there. This was good! (Oh, and a portion of sales goes to the "Forget Me Not Fund" in support of Alzheimer's awareness and education - hence the name and purple ribbons on the bottle.)

Score: 8 out of 10.

Black Bear Root Beer

My wife was walking through Menards last week and picked up a 4-pack of these for me:

 

Brand: Black Bear Root Beer.

Origin: Glendale, WI.

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Glucose Syrup.

Review: This is a different "label" from the Sprecher brand - it's made by them. The label is very simple, nearly laughably plain (look at the "root beer" text at the top and how the "12 FL OZ" is oddly placed within that orange-ish stripe at the bottom.

But onto the flavor: it's decent. It's nothing too special, and it's a bit heavy with a caramel aftertaste. It's pretty smooth with a little hint of wintergreen, but then there's the caramel flavor that's a bit too much. Not bad, but not great. A decent root beer.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Calypso Lemon Tea

This is my first and might be my last review of a bottled tea:

Brand: Calypso Lemon Tea.

Origin: Milwaukee, WI (even though its tagline is "Taste Of The Island").

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was good. It was fine. It was what you'd expect. I was in the mood for a lemon tea when I was walking through Menards, and this hit the spot. It was sweet and lemony and had a good tea flavor. It tasted like every-other sort of lemon tea or lemonade tea or Arnold Palmer that I've ever had. So that's why I say I won't review more things like this, as they are all just decent, refreshing, and similar. Yes, I'm sure there's a difference between different brands, but I don't have them nearly enough to compare flavors. Maybe someday... but I'm not planning on it right now.

Score: 8 out of 10.

WBC Vanilla Cream Craft Soda

I recently spent 2 nights and 3 days in a little cabin with my boys in Whitewater State Park, and we sipped on this during a game of Catan: 

About to be shared in the tiny camping cups to the left.

Brand: WBC Vanilla Cream Craft Soda.

Origin: Glendale, WI.

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was just OK. It was really sweet and smooth on the front end (and had it stopped there, I'd rank it a little better than average), but then it had a pretty sharp and chemically aftertaste - something that I just hate when trying to enjoy a soda. That extra little "tang" at the end brought this from more of a 6 or 7 down to the 5 range. Not bad, just not great.

Score: 5.5 out of 10.

Gray's Brewing Company Black Cherry Soda

I opened this earlier tonight while working in the kitchen:

Brand: Gray's Brewing Company Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Janesville, WI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Bloomington, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was really creamy. I had to re-look at the label because I expected it to say "Black Cherry CREAM." It's not a Black Cherry COLA which is what I think I was expecting initially. The flavor was really deep and strong and almost a little grape-like. (Had you told me it was grape, I would have believed you!) My 10-year-old son loved it too, but my wife thought it was a little too Nyquil-esque. (But I love a sugary soda!) Solid tasty soda!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Sprecher Maple Root Beer

In "honor" of the Packers losing this past weekend (YASSSS!!!!), I cracked into this 2nd soda that my wife picked up for me recently at Menards: 

Brand: Sprecher Maple Root Beer.

Origin: Glendale, WI.

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar and WI Maple Syrup.

Review: I was ready for this to have a weird funk, but it didn't. It didn't really smell of maple or maple syrup, and it just had a SLIGHT flavor of it, which paired well with a normal root beer flavor. It was so subtle that it seemed to just have a slight butterscotch flavor. The root beer was slightly smooth and pretty decent, and the maple flavor just gave it a little something extra.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Sprecher Vanilla Root Beer

My wife brought this home from Menards (LOVE HER) for me today: 

Brand: Sprecher Vanilla Root Beer.

Origin: Glendale, WI.

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This had a very vanilla scent, and a very vanilla flavor. I didn't love it, but couldn't put my finger on "why" right away. Then I realized what was bothering me: I equate "vanilla" with "smooth," but this had a fair amount of bite after that initial vanilla flavor. It was just an odd combo.  

Score: 6 out of 10.

Baumeister Orange Old-Fashioned Soda

I opened this last night: 

Brand: Baumeister Orange Old-Fashioned Soda.

Origin: Green Bay, WI.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: Once I cracked the top, it smelled like a very smooth "creme"-like orange. I was intrigued. And the taste didn't disappoint! It was smooth, creamy, and very drinkable. It felt "classic" and yet "modern" at the same time. Orange soda is never near the top of my list, but this was quite good! I'm giving this a solid score...

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Baumeister Grape Soda

I opened this with lunch today:

Brand: Baumeister Grape Soda.  

Origin: Green Bay, WI.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This is a very sugary and very rich grape soda. It's like "kids grape candy" sweet. And I mean this is a good way. The flavor is good and pretty deep. The more I drank it, the "richer" the flavor became. It's a solid grape soda if you like sweetness!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

 

Baumeister Root Beer

I opened this during some class prep this afternoon: 

Brand: Baumeister Root Beer.

Origin: Green Bay, WI.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: At first sniff, this was heavy (not overpowering) on the wintergreen. The first sip confirmed it. It's a decent, "classic" root beer that's relatively creamy that has a bit of a strong wintergreen kick. Nothing fancy, but quite nice. I enjoyed this.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Twig's Diet Black Cherry Soda

I just stopped at "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store" to refresh my soda stash (I might post about that soon), and I only have a few "old" sodas to finish before I get to crack into my "new" ones. Here was was on the old ones that was hiding in the corner of a case: 

Brand: Twig's Diet Black Cherry Soda

Origin: Shawano, WI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This has a decent black cherry flavor at first, but each sip ends a little weakly (as you'd expect with a diet soda). So it tastes diet, but it's not bad. The black cherry is a bit sharp, but it's good. If this wasn't diet, I'd rate it around average, but I'm giving it an extra point for having decent flavor and still being diet.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Twig's Diet Forget Me Not Grape

I brought this with me to class last night, and I sipped on it throughout: 

Brand: Twig's Diet Forget Me Not Grape

Origin: Shawano, WI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: As I was taking my first sip, I forgot this was diet. Truly! It was one of the smoothest and richest diet sodas I've had in a long time! Yes, I tend to like grape sodas, and yes, maybe it's easy to fake sweetness with grape sodas. But they're doing it well. There was the SLIGHTEST bit of "thin" taste at the very end of each sip, but this was good and tasted like the real thing.

Also, it's great that this is called "forget me not grape" as a portion goes to the "forget me not fund" for Alzheimer's. That's what the purple ribbons are about on either side of the label.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Twig's Orange Soda

I opened this after a big day of working in my basement today: 

Brand: Twig's Orange Soda.

Origin: Shawano, WI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: The unique thing about this orange soda is that it had quite a sharpness to it. It was like a sharp carbonation. I prefer a smoother orange soda (it's no secret that I tend to lean towards "smooth" on the "smooth-to-sharp" scale). It was unique, but just OK - it was definitely a sipping soda, because I couldn't drink a ton of this at one time. Nor horrible, but not great.

Score: 5.5 out of 10.

Sprecher Diamond Lychee Soda

"Lychee" is one of those flavors that I couldn't describe to you, but I'd know it if I tasted it. With that "knowledge" (or lack there-of), I cracked into this earlier today before class:

I didn't know anything about Sprecher's "Diamond" line, but I found these fancier sodas in a Reddit thread:

Brand: Sprecher Diamond Lychee Soda.

Origin: Glendale, WI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar, Sucrose, and Raw Wisconsin Honey.

Review: This was sweet and smooth. There's a slight fruitiness to it that makes it quite drinkable. The "lychee" flavor is what I'd expected (sorry, I can't define that flavor well, but THIS was IT). There was a slight harshness in it's aftertaste, but that's the only negative thing I can say. I'd be excited to find those other 3 "diamond" sodas shown above.

Oh, and being it's Sprecher, I'm not surprised that honey is one of it's sweeteners.  They use honey a LOT (from what I can recall). This had THREE sweeteners, so it was good and sweet, but not TOO sweet.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Farmer's Brew Butterscotch Root Beer

Sorry, I haven't posted this month yet! I've had this soda sitting in the fridge for the past 4-5 weeks, and I finally opened it up today:

Brand: Farmer's Brew Butterscotch Root Beer

Origin: Shawano, WI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: I like butterscotch. And I like root beer. But often, the 2 flavors don't mix that well. I could really only taste the butterscotch here, as it tasted like a "butterscotch soda" (or maybe a "butterscotch cola"). It just wasn't something I enjoyed. I feel bad, because there wasn't something I HATED about it. I just didn't like it.

Score: 3.5 out of 10.

Twig's Lime Soda

Jeez, it's been nearly 3 weeks since I've posted! Sorry! I've had this in my fridge about that long, and maybe I've been scared to try it because of it's almost radioactive color:

Brand: Twig's Lime Soda.

Origin: Shawano, WI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was pretty "thick" (not in a bad way) and smooth. One of the ingredients is the controversial "brominated vegetable oil," and that maybe that lent itself to the "thick" feeling. It was good and went down easy. If things can be TOO sweet for you, this might be a little too much. But I thought its sweetness was good.

Score: 6 out of 10.