MN State Fair Sodas

Last Friday, my boys and I went to the MN State Fair. One of our first stops was a root beer barrel for a root beer:

My 8-year-old did the ordering.

A small is $2, and the "Blue Ribbon Bargain Book" had a $1 off coupon. So this $1 IBC root beer might have been our deal of the day.

We also had to stop at the Spring Grove Soda stand by the DNR building. I let the boys pick the flavor, and they picked orange. We had a $1 off coupon for this too, so it was only $2 after the coupon:

My 5-year-old hogging the orange soda.

This was just after a burp, so he looks quite drunk off soda.  ;)

Check out the State Fair before it closes on Monday!

And in related posts, click the "Minnesota State Fair" tag at the bottom of this post to go back year-after-year. Or click directly on my 2 favorite State Fair posts: rating lots of fair food 3 years ago, and having treats and Spring Grove Soda 5 years ago.

Cock Cola

I opened this last night:

Brand: Cock Cola.

Origin: Incline Village, NV.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: In case you're wondering (like I was), they give no indication as to why they call it "cock" cola. Nothing. So that's still a mystery. But the line at the bottom of the label saying "strong cola taste" is pretty right on: it's a strong-tasting but pretty normal cola. Nothing stands out about it, but it was fine. I'm giving it a pretty average score.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Towne Club Lemonade

I opened this the other day with my boys:

Brand: Towne Club Lemonade

Origin: Detroit, MI.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: It was just slightly carbonated, and it was good. It wasn't too sweet - almost a little tart. That made my wife and I like it quite a bit, but my boys say they wished it was sweeter. So it was an "adult" lemonade. Pretty good!

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Grand Teton Brewing "Old Faithful" Root Beer

Some "internet friends" recently had a tasty root beer, and they thought of me! (I'm honored!) So they tracked down another can (which wasn't easy - they had it in Yellowstone and then had to find another can for me later at an ice cream shop) and spent $10 to mail a can first class to me. Thanks Brandon and Theresa!

They mailed it a few weeks ago when we were out of town. I got it and put it in the fridge right away, and I was saving it for a special occasion. Yesterday, I spent some time outside working on the foundation of our house, and then my boys and I ate supper outside because it was so beautiful. PERFECT time to crack out a good root beer.

In the backyard.

The boys getting a few ounces of my root beer after supper in the backyard.

Brand: Grand Teton Brewing "Old Faithful" Root Beer.

Origin: Victor, ID.

Purchase Place: Genuine Ice Cream Co, Bozeman, MT.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was very creamy. But more importantly, it was VERY "herby." If you like a "rooty" and herb-filled root beer, then try this. It might be the most herby I've ever had. But it wasn't overpowering. And then there was a fruity sweetness at the end. Theresa noted that it had a good head, but mine was a bit flatter (could have been from being in the mail for a few days?), but it wasn't a problem. Unique and tasty!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Flavors of Soda