Monday, September 23, 2024

Root Beer Shave Ice at Remix

Just a reminder that Remix in St. Paul (2042 Marshall Ave) still has a fun little soda selection...

Sodas at Remix

As well as some TASTY shave ice! I recently had to get some root beer and vanilla:

Shave ice at Remix


You can order popcorn and other treats online, but stop in Wednesday through Sunday to get some shave ice! And here are some pictures from last summer of more shave ice at Remix.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Thursday, September 12, 2024

The Potions Cauldron "Witches Brew" Blue Grape Soda

This was $5.99 for a single bottle, but I HAD to try it:

The Potions Cauldron "Witches Brew" Blue Grape Soda

When you tap and then spin the bottle, this happens:




Brand: The Potions Cauldron "Witches Brew" Blue Grape Soda.

Origin: York, England.

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This was an experience. My boys and I all thought it had good grape flavor and a lot of sweetness - this was a "kids" soda and not an "adult" soda. The flavor was pleasant and it wasn't TOO sweet. The experience of the swirling soda was fun, but I don't know if it was $6 worth of fun. The flavor was good though, and it went down real easy for all of us!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Galvanina Organic Cola

On a camping / mountain biking trip recently, I found this fun bottle of cola - I loved the "embossed" glass:

Galvanina Organic Cola
Yes, that's my boys eating ice cream in the background!

Galvanina Organic Cola
A good head!

Galvanina Organic Cola


Brand: Galvanina Organic Cola.

Origin: Remini, Italy.

Purchase Place: Victual, Crosby, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was a deeply flavored cola. The first part of the sip tasted like any regular cola, but the end of each sip had a deeper and herby flavor. It was very unique, and all of my family who tried it thought it was good (both my boys, along with my sister and my nephew). But we also all agreed that we wouldn't regularly spend $5.50 on this soda like we did at Victual in the cute mountain biking town of Crosby, MN. Fun, unique, and a quality cola.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Monday, August 19, 2024

Northern Soda Company Mrs. Sippy: 1950's Style Spiced Cherry Cream Soda

I grabbed this from Remix recently:

An afternoon treat for me!!


Brand: Northern Soda Company Mrs. Sippy: 1950's Style Spiced Cherry Cream Soda.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix Popcorn, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: First of all, nice play on "Mississippi" (as "Mrs. Sippy") with a paddleboat on the front of the label. Clever. Secondly, the flavor: it was good! It's the best version of what I thought "spiced cherry cream soda" could be. (It's a BIT like a extra fruity Dr. Pepper, but just a little.) The "spiced" bit hits first - it's like an herby note to start each sip. And then it ends with an almost subtle super smooth cherry flavor - something I would definitely call "cherry creme" and not just "cherry." I was afraid this flavor could be too over-powering, but it's not. It's very smooth and goes down easy. It's sweet without being overly sweet. Very unique flavor that DOES taste old fashioned. I love a good unique soda!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Sunday, August 11, 2024

How to Find "Lift Bridge Brewing" at the MN State Fair

 Lift Bridge brewing came out with a comprehensive list of where you can find their drinks (both alcoholic and soda-based) at the upcoming MN State Fair. They posted this on their Facebook page:


Lift Bridge Brewing at the MN State Fair

You can find more info and a complete list on their website - and I love the designs of these "posters!"


Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Northwoods "The Squeeze:" Lime Mint Soda Water

I think when I grabbed this, I thought it was soda, but it was unsweetened flavored water:

Northwoods "The Squeeze:" Lime Mint Soda Water


Brand: Northwoods "The Squeeze:" Lime Mint Soda Water.

Origin: Williamsburg, MI.

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park,  MN.

Sweetener: None.

Review: I *think* I thought this was a NorthSTAR and not a NorthWOODS soda when I grabbed it. (And I thought it WAS a soda and not a water.) Oh well. The label was cool and pulled me in. The first sip reminded me of La Croix Lime (or lemon?) that I got from my uncle as a kid. So that was decent. And then each sip ended with that hint of mint flavor, and that was a nice combo with the lime. Not nearly as sweet as a soda (obviously), but still a fun drink.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Saturday, August 3, 2024

Barq's Frozen Root Beer and Vanilla Ice Cream Float

We saw these at Aldi the other week, and had to grab a box:
Barq's Frozen Root Beer and Vanilla Ice Cream Float
Barq's Frozen Root Beer and Vanilla Ice Cream Float

These are creamy and delicious! They don't really taste like a root beer float, but it's a tasty root beer-flavored ice cream treat. I first had these 4 years ago, and they're just as great today!


Thursday, August 1, 2024

Northern Sodas at Target

The Target in the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul has a nice assortment of Northern Sodas:

Northern Sodas at Target

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Pepsi Nitro Draft Cola

"Nitrogen-infused cola?!?" I just had to grab this when I saw it:

Pepsi Nitro Draft Cola

Pepsi Nitro Draft Cola
Chill, "pour hard," and then "admire" and enjoy? Intriguing!

Pepsi Nitro Draft Cola
Lots of long-lasting head.

Pepsi Nitro Draft Cola
The final pour was 80% foam!

Pepsi Nitro Draft Cola
Tearing open the can afterwards to find the nitrogen dispenser at the bottom.


Brand: Pepsi Nitro Draft Cola.

Origin: Purchase, NY.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: The "crack" of opening this can was loud! It startled my wife! I then poured it "hard" (as instructed) into a few glasses for my family to enjoy. It had bigger and longer-lasting head than normal, but nothing too dramatic. 

But it WAS more dramatic in the flavor - it added a real smoothness (almost creaminess) to the Pepsi flavor. This was really good, and very unique on the tongue (if that doesn't sound too pretentious - talking about "mouth feel"). There was a "vanilla cola" version of this next to it at Kowalski's, and I'm thinking about stopping back to try that as well. Very interesting, very tasty, and a bit of a different experience than just a "normal" cola. On taste alone, I'd call this a 9, but I'm almost bumping it up to a 9.5 because of the interesting and foamy head.

Score: 9 out of 10.

Thursday, July 18, 2024

Inotea Pobble Passion Fruit + Apple

I grabbed this from Aldi over the weekend:

Inotea Pobble Passion Fruit + Apple

Inotea Pobble Passion Fruit + Apple
Here are a few of the "popping pearls" in a glass. 


Brand: Inotea Pobble Passion Fruit + Apple.

Origin: Newark, NJ.

Purchase Place: Aldi, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was quite good! It was very sweet, and tasted like a "good" apple cider that you might get on the holidays for the kids - like the sparkling kind, even though this wasn't sparkling. It was mainly apple flavored, and then the "popping pearls" had more of the passion fruit flavor inside. Yes, they are little pearls that are liquid filled that "pop" when you bite into them - I don't think everyone is ready for that experience. :)

My wife tried it, and she doesn't like things that are too sweet, so I thought she wouldn't like this. But after her first sip, she paused and said "... oh, that's GOOD." And my boys loved it too, so it went over well in our house. We'll have to try the other 2 flavors we saw at Aldi as well!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Monday, July 15, 2024

Dr. Pepper and Rum Chata

In more than 1 recent "viral" video, I've heard that mixing Dr. Pepper and coconut Rum Chata is supposed to be delicious. My Mom is a huge fan of "regular" Rum Chata, so I grabbed a mini coconut bottle of Rum Chata before a recent family vacation. I paired that with a Diet Dr. Pepper we got from the convenience store near our rented cabin:

Coconut Creme Rum Chata and Diet Dr. Pepper
On the counter in our cabin.

Coconut Creme Rum Chata and Diet Dr. Pepper
As a mixed drink. It's hard to tell because of the line in the glass, but the top 1/3 is all frothy head!


It came as no surprise that this was delicious! I've had regular Rum Chata a few times with my Mom (which is good mixed with chocolate milk or root beer, or good on its own over ice), but never the "coconut" Rum Chata. The coconut Rum Chata had a bit of a sunscreen vibe to it (many coconut flavored things have that vibe to me), but it was very smooth and tasty mixed with Dr. Pepper! It was a creamy and easy-to-drink mixed drink! I think I'll bring this combo around more often when I'm together with my Mom.

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Moneybag's Creme Soda

I was recently "up north" with family in a cabin, and I brought this to enjoy:

Decent normal creme soda.

Moneybag's Creme Soda
Under the bottle cap.

Moneybag's Creme Soda
Wait... Gene Simmons?
     

Brand: Moneybag's Creme Soda.

Origin: Niagara Falls, NY.

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: First of all... yes, this is put out by Gene Simmons of KISS fame. I enjoyed the design on the front of the bottle, but didn't spot Simmons's name until I took off the cap. It's a pretty smooth cream (or "créme" as it's spelled on the bottle) and it went down easily. Nice and sugary. There's a BIT of a chemically aftertaste, but it's not bad. I'll rank this just a bit over average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Saturday, July 6, 2024

Buddy's Strawberry Soda

I opened this yesterday afternoon:
 
Buddy's Strawberry Soda


Brand: Buddy's Strawberry Soda.

Origin: Sleepy Eye, MN.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was classically good! It had a strong strawberry flavor (like "candy" strawberry and not "real" strawberry), and it was really creamy - not creamy enough to be a "strawberry CREAM," but nice and smooth. This went down easy and had the perfect amount of sweetness - it was really sugary, but not TOO sugary. This was a treat.

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Monday, July 1, 2024

Black Bear Cherry Soda

I was recently on a camping trip with my boys, niece, and nephew, and I grabbed this from a candy store in Ely:

Black Bear Cherry Soda


Brand: Black Bear Cherry Soda.

Origin: Glendale, WI.

Purchase Place: Ely's Old Fashioned Candy, Ely, MN.

Sweetener: Glucose Syrup.

Review: I took the first sip, and had to look again at the label. It had a more “cola” flavor than just a cherry “soda” (but it was just a “soda” and not a “cola” as the label confirmed). I like cherry cola, so that wasn’t a problem. It had a little bit of a sharp medicinal taste that was less desirable. Flavor was strong, but the sharpness wasn’t great. I’ll call this an average “5.”

Score: 5 out of 10.

(And again, see more "up north" photos from our camping trip on my other blog.)

Monday, June 17, 2024

Diet Faygo Cola

I grabbed this on a car ride back from a camping trip, and didn't get a photo of it until I was back home cleaning out my car:

Diet Faygo Cola
Messy car... unloading from a wet weekend of camping!


Brand: Diet Faygo Cola.

Origin: Detroit, MI.

Purchase Place: Kwik Trip, Rochester, MN.

Sweetener: Aspartame.

Review: This was a decent cola, but there was nothing fancy, special, or unique about it. It had decent flavor for being diet as well - not that strong, but also not TOO weak. Very decent and what I expected (and wanted). I'll rank this just above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Sunday, June 2, 2024

Lester's Fixins Horchata Soda

I opened this yesterday as it didn't seem to be too "risky" of a novelty soda:

Lester's Fixins Horchata Soda

 
Brand: Lester's Fixins Horchata Soda.

Origin: Incline Village, NV.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Something felt "wrong" about drinking a horchata from a guy named "Lester." (It's a drink that originated in northern Africa before settling in Spain and often being thought of as a Mexican drink today.) 

The first sip was odd because the flavor was about right on (including a cinnamon-like hit at the end like Mexican horchata has), but it was a bit strange with the carbonation. 

I actually let it sit in the fridge open for a while, and I think it got better - I like this more with a "softer" carbonation. Overall, it tasted pretty right on and nicely sweet, but the carbonation added a sharpness to it that wasn't as great.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Sunday, May 26, 2024

GT's Alive Root Beer Ancient Mushroom Elixir

I knew this was a risk. I still tried it:

Still too much of a vinegar kick for me!

 

Brand: GT's Alive Root Beer Ancient Mushroom Elixir.

Origin: Beverly Hills, CA.

Purchase Place: Fresh Thyme Grocery Store, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Stevia.

Review: "Mushroom Elixir?" I think that means "mushrooms mushed up in water." Umm... yummy?  Maybe not. When we cracked the top (I say "we" because I tried this with my family), it really smelled of pretty classic root beer. I got my hopes up a little! And PART of the flavor of this was root beer, but a lot of it was based off apple cider vinegar. So... no thanks. There was no mushroom funk to this, but the kombucha-like sharpness from the apple cider vinegar overpowered anything that was decent about the root beer flavor. If you like kombucha, this might be worth a try. But if you get it solely based the fact that it's root beer flavored, you'll be let down. Not for me! 

Score: 2 out of 10.

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Fresh Fizz Organic Soda Sparkling Jalapeno Limeade

I opened this while in my car waiting for one of my sons' sports practices:

Fresh Fizz Organic Soda Sparkling Jalapeño Limeade
Sitting in my car


Brand: Fresh Fizz Organic Soda Sparkling Jalapeño Limeade.

Origin: Island Park, NY.

Purchase Place: Fresh Thyme, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Organic Honey.

Review: This was a risky soda. I grow jalapeño peppers and like cooking with them, but I didn't know how I'd like that flavor in a soda... and if they'd be able to CREATE that flavor in a soda.

The first time bringing it to my mouth gave me a sniff of what smelled like TRUE jalapeño peppers - I was impressed already one second before taking my first sip. After my first sip, I was even more impressed - the jalapeño flavor came through well and was spot on! There are only 4 ingredients (carbonated water, lime juice, honey, and jalapeño peppers) and they all pull their own weight. 

This was not a "gulping" soda... this is definitely a "sipping" soda. My wife enjoyed the flavor and remarked this would be good in a cocktail, which is 100% right. The limeade cuts through the jalapeño nicely, and they work well together! It's hard to give this a score because it's not something I would just open and gulp down because it's so tasty, but I would sip on it for a while because it's refreshing. I was impressed by this!

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Pop vs Soda: Where in the US

When I grew up in southern Minnesota, it was always "pop." But over the last 2 decades, I've moved to saying "soda." I'd tend to agree with the gist of this map:

Pop vs Soda


Wednesday, May 8, 2024

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):

Sno-Cap Root Beer



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.

Saturday, May 4, 2024

Premium Fitz's Pumpkin Pop

I cracked into this at work:

Premium Fitz's Pumpkin Pop


Brand: Premium Fitz's Pumpkin Pop.

Origin: St. Louis, MO.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: I was leary about this from the start. If I hadn't read "pumpkin" on the label, I would NOT have known it was supposed to be pumpkin! It was very heavy on the cinnamon - like baking cinnamon and not "red hot" cinnamon. I think they were going for like a "pumpkin spice" but made it very "spice"-heavy. In this case, it tasted all of cinnamon spice.

Now, all that being said, it was GOOD! It still tasted good. It was sweet and dessert-like. This one surprised me!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Appalachian Root Beer

I opened this at work today as another soda from my Grandpa Joe's grand opening stash: 

Appalachian Root Beer
Yes, my desk is messy... it's the end of the semester...


Brand: Appalachian Root Beer.

Origin: Mechanicsburg, PA.

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar and Honey.

Review: This was OK. I don't mind honey as a sweetner in soda (as I LOVE honey), but it sometimes sits as a strange combo with root beer, and it's doing that here - the honey comes on too strong. The root beer is deep and pretty tasty with a hint of wintergreen and a lot of herby notes, but I just don't care for how much honey flavor there is on top of that. Nice and smooth overall. Not bad, but not great.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Unicorn Magic Honeydew Soda

I cracked into this at work earlier today:

Unicorn Magic Honeydew Soda


Brand: Unicorn Magic Honeydew Soda 

Origin: Incline Village, NV 

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park, MN. 

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar. 

Review: I didn't know what this would taste like... like I wasn't sure what to expect for a "honeydew" flavored soda. And after my first sip, I STILL didn't know what it tasted like. It was like a slightly muted extra sweet Mountain Dew flavor (and I don't think that was just because it was about the same color). 

I kept sipping, and I kept liking it less and less. It had an off flavor to it. I enjoy honeydew, but it SURE wasn't honeydew. I thought this would be decent, but it wasn't. It was like sweet wet cardboard. The score I'm giving it is only as good as it is because it was sweet. 

Score: 2.5 out of 10.

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Inotea Brown Sugar Bubble Tea

I grabbed this while shopping with my son at Aldi recently:

Inotea Brown Sugar Bubble Tea



Brand: Inotea Brown Sugar Bubble Tea.

Origin: Newark, NJ.

Purchase Place: Aldi, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar and Brown Sugar.

Review: The tea was quite good! I shared a sip with my boys, and they both loved it. It was what I'd expect from a boba tea store when I order a "Milk Tea" or anything along those lines.  (One store near us calls it a "Royal Tea Latte" even though it doesn't have any coffee flavor.) I had no complaints about the tea!

But the tapioca pearls were another story. They were kind of pasty and hard. They weren't "chewy" in a good way, but in a bad way. They almost wanted to disintegrate when bit down on, but only after a fair amount of force. I like tapioca pearls, but apparently they need to be fresh. The drink ("pre-pearls") would have earned about an 8.5, but I had to knock it down after having the pearls. 

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Thursday, April 4, 2024

Wild Bill's Root Beer

Last night, I cracked into my first soda from the Grandpa Joe's grand opening a few weeks back:

Wild Bill's Root Beer
Cool skinny "wrapped" can.



Brand: Wild Bill's Root Beer.

Origin: Millington, NJ.

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: Maybe it was just the fancy can that "woo-ed" me, but this was good from the first sip. It wasn't trying too hard to be something new - it was just good. It had a bit of an herby bite, but not too much. It had the perfect amount of sweetness, and the flavor was decent - it MAYBE could have had a bit stronger flavor. All-in-all, a very good root beer! I'm excited to try more "Wild Bill" sodas from Grandpa Joes!

Score: 9 out of 10.

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Coca Cola "Spiced"

My wife picked this up for me recently:

Coca Cola "Spiced"

 

Brand: Coca Cola "Spiced"

Origin: Atlanta, GA.

Purchase Place: Target, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: It smells like Christmas in a mall near a Yankee Candle store... not IN the store, but just NEAR the store when you get a hint of aroma in the air. And it tastes similar. There's a slight cinnamon flavor to this, as well as like a "Christmas spice." It's not bad. I don't get a ton of "raspberry" flavor even though that's what is says at the bottom of the can: "Raspberry Spiced Coke & Other Natural Flavors." If a slightly cinnamon version of Coke with a hint of generic Christmas spice sounds good to you, then give this a try. It was better than I thought it was going to be!

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Grand Opening at "Grandpa Joe's" (formerly Blue Sun Soda)

My son and I just got back from the north metro because we HAD to check out the Grand Opening of Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop! They purchased Blue Sun Soda in Spring Lake Park. They just announced it on Facebook 10 days ago, so a LOT has happened since then. 

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
A little bummed they painted over the mural out front.

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
It was HOPPIN' inside! Charlie was handed a sweet soda jerk hat when he walked in.

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
FUDGE! That's new!

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
This is where all the long aisles of soda used to be, and now it's all CANDY and GAMES! 

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
Some soda farther back.

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
I had to grab a "Wild Bill's" root beer, and Grandpa Joe's has some wild novelty flavors.

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
"Buy 5 Get 1 FREE." So I did!

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
This has been a big draw from social media: a $5 candy buffet!

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
More sodas near the register.

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
Soda fountain AND ice cream bar!

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
The bottler was up and running, and people could watch.

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
Back in the candy area. THEY STLL HAVE "BILLY THE SODA JERK" BACK THERE!
He was cracking people up, including my son. 

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
New hand-painted details by the door.

Grand Opening at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
This was by the checkout. I need to try these sometime.


I still have some Blue Sun sodas to try, so this might not be my last post with the Blue Sun Soda tag, but it's the first with the Grandpa Joe's tag! My son got a few boxes of candy, and I grabbed a six pack of assorted sodas (because the 6th was free). I can't wait to go back to snoop around more without a hundred other people there. They don't seem to have QUITE as much soda as before, but it's a better experience all around - super excited to take my oldest son there sometime as he couldn't make it tonight. We'll be back!

Check out Grandpa Joe's on Facebook to stay in the loop.