Apple Beer

I didn't know if this would be any good. I grabbed this Apple Beer from my fridge and hoped for the best.

It smelled like apple cider, and I was ready for it to be a little horrible. But I was pleasantly surprised....

Brand: Apple Beer.

Origin: Salt Lake City, UT.

Purchase Place: Frattallone's Ace Hardware, Burnsville, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This really surprised me. It was quite tasty. It (obviously and rightfully so) had a strong apple taste, but it wasn't tart like cider. It had the gentle smoothness and sweetness of soda, but the flavor of apple. It tasted very "natural" with not a ton of carbonation. This would be a great summertime out-on-the-back-stoop-watching-the-sun-set soda.

Score: 9 out of 10.


Bonus: here's the history of their can from their website:

Mason's Root Beer

I liked this red cap and yellow label combination...

... but I wish it tasted a little better. Dang.

Brand: Mason's Root Beer.

Origin: Atlanta, Georgia.

Purchase Place: Frattallone's Ace Hardware, St. Paul.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This smelled perfect, but was a little heavy on the wintergreen. It wasn't bad, it was just slightly "off." I'd have it again, but it wasn't my favorite. I'm giving this a right-down-the-middle average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Tower Root Beer

Quick side note: why do many small-bottler soda companies have such horribly designed websites. Tower Root Beer fits that mold.

Brand: Tower Root Beer.

Origin: Bristol, RI. (It's bottled with Empire sodas.)

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: It has strong wintergreen flavor, and just a little more anise than I care for. It's maybe a little better than average, and all-around just a good "drinkable" root beer.

Score: 7 out of 10.

GuS Grown-Up Soda Grape Black Currant

This was all natural with ingredients like black current juice concentrate, red grape juice concentrate, and grape skin extract. I was afraid it'd be too much of a "refined taste" for me, and I was right.

Brand: GuS "Grown-up Soda" Grape Black Currant

Origin: New York, NY.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: The currant flavor is pretty strong. The bottle says "not too sweet," but that's what I see as the problem. It tastes a little like carbonated church wine. It's trying to cater to adults, but that's not the purpose of soda to me. If you're buying soda, you want sweet and tasty. This is like drinking wine when you were hoping for some Kool Aid. It reminds me a bit of some of the IZZE drinks, but not quite as good. It's not horrible, but it's just too dry and tart for my taste. I could see this being good in mixes drinks though.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Route 66 Lime Soda

I enjoyed Route 66 Root Beer 2 months ago, and now it was time for some lime!

The color was very similar to Simpson Spring Lemon & Lime soda, and I really liked that soda. So I had high hopes for this.

Brand: Route 66 Lime Soda.

Origin: Lebanon, MO.

Purchase Place: "Frattallone's Ace Hardware," Burnsville, MN.

Sweetener: Real Cane Sugar.

Review: So it wasn't QUITE as good as Simpson Spring Lemon & Lime, but it WAS good. It was very smooth and sugary, without being too heavy or syrupy. Honestly, if they called it "Lemon Lime," I would have believed it. It's a solid Lime soda.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Sea Dog Root Beer

This label caught my eye:

Brand: Sea Dog Root Beer.

Origin: Portland, Maine.

Purchase Place: Frattallone's Ace Hardware, Burnsville, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This reminded me a lot of my last root beer (Capt'n Eli's). It's how root beer should taste. It had a "classic" taste that was fantastic. Smooth, a little bite, a hint of wintergreen and vanilla, and not too much anise. This was GOOD! Try this one today!

Score: 9.5 out of 10 !

A Soda Surprise from my Parents

My parents came up last month to celebrate my birthday. They brought a surprise.

12 sodas (and a drawing from my nephew to the right)

Mom was proud of herself (and she SHOULD be!). She went to my post about getting sodas in Burnsville, she wrote down what I got there, and she made sure to pick other kinds when they stopped by the Frattallone's Ace Hardware on Grand Avenue here in St. Paul (near Macalester College). There were 4 sodas that I've had in the past (2 from "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store" and 2 ordered online), but 3 were good, so I'll be enjoying them again.

PREVIOUSLY DRANK:
- Triple XXX Root Beer
- Barons Boothill Sarsaparilla (my least favorite of these 4)
- Spring Grove Black Cherry (drank before starting this blog)
- Spring Grove Grape (drank before starting this blog)

ROOT BEER:
- Mason's Root Beer
- Barrel Brothers Root Beer
- Dang! That's Good Butterscotch Root Beer
- Berghoff Root Beer

OTHER SODAS:
- Saranac Shirley Temple
- Jolt Cherry Bomb (2x caffeine)
- Frostie Cherry Limeade Soda
- Always Ask for Avery's Zombie Brain Juice (Strawberry Orange)

So I'll be sipping from my TWO different Frattallone's Ace stashes for the next few months. Check back to see what I think!

Capt'n Eli's Root Beer

Time for some Capt'n Eli's.

I cracked into this, and it smelled fantastic. It smelled strong of vanilla, wintergreen, and a hint of anise.

Brand: Capt'n Eli's Root Beer.

Origin: Portland, ME.

Purchase Place: Frattallone's Ace Hardware, Burnsville, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This soda is REALLY smooth and creamy. If you like a lot of head on your root beer, this is for you. It had a bit more anise than I cared for, but I say that a lot - I'm not big on anise. Overall, this was a really great, classic tasting root beer. Go try this!

Score: 9 out of 10.