Hosmer Cola-Blue

I cracked into this while cooking recently:

Brand: Hosmer Cola-Blue.

Origin: Willimantic, CT.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was a typical "good" cola. It had a deep flavor with a strong slightly fruity aftertaste. It was pretty good, but pretty much like other decent colas.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

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!

Dead World Twilight Shuffler Root Beer Zombie Soda

I'm done with finals! **Yay!** Earlier today, I sat in my classroom and graded while drinking this:

Brand: Dead World Twilight Shuffler Root Beer Zombie Soda

Origin: Detroit, MI.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: Ever since this tasting of "Dead World" sodas at Blue Sun Soda, I've been relatively impressed with this "novelty" brand. I was hoping this wouldn't let me down. And it was pretty good! It was quite smooth and relatively creamy. It maybe had a slightly "off" aftertaste which knocked this down a point, but it wasn't horrible. I need to keep trying Dead World Sodas!

Score: 7 out of 10.

Fireman's Brew Black Cherry Soda

This was my 2nd "Fireman's Brew" soda in a month. (I'd picked up a few the last time I was at the Blue Sun Soda Shop)

Brand: Fireman's Brew Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Inyokern, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was pretty smooth - almost TOO smooth. I would have called this a "black cherry CREME soda" if it were up to me. The black cherry was strong and about spot-on. Not a bad soda, just quite smooth.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Jones Birthday Cake Soda

I'm sipping on this during class right now:

Brand: Jones Birthday Cake Soda

Origin: Made in Canada.

Purchase Place: Fresh Thyme Farmer's Market, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Inverted Cane Sugar.

Review: Oh my God. It tastes like a sugary fun-fetti birthday cake. For real. I *like* sweet sodas, but this is too sweet to drink. It's a sipping soda for sure. If you like sweet cake/frosting like at a kids birthday party, you'll be happy with this. If you sometimes think some sodas are too sweet, this might be one of them. Good flavor, but a bit too sweet.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Fireman's Brew Cream Soda

I have this in class with me right now:

Brand: Fireman's Brew Cream Soda

Origin: Inyokern, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was just OK. The cream had a bit of a bite that I didn't care for. Not bad, but nothing fancy.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Dead World Royal Rotter Soda

I'm grading projects right now, and I just cracked into this:

Brand: Dead World Royal Rotter (Black Cherry) Soda

Origin: Detroit, MI.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was pretty good from the start. Surprisingly good. The black cherry flavor was deep and smooth. This went down fast. No big complaints about this - it was good!

Score: 9 out of 10.

Soda Jerk Joke

Blue Sun Soda recently posted this on Instagram:

If you're younger than me, you might not get the joke.  :)

Fitz's Strawberry Pop

I've had pretty good reactions to Fitz's Pop, and it was time to try another one in my classroom yesterday:

Brand: Fitz's Strawberry Pop.

Origin: St. Louis, MO.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: The smell was unmistakeable when I popped the top, and the taste backed it up: it tasted like like my mother-in-law's strawberry pie. So that means it was very sweet, and almost tasted like rich strawberry Jell-O (which is used as the "binder" in her pie). It was sugary and pretty good. I MIGHT have actually been TOO sugary (which I RARELY say), but it was quite enjoyable. This final score might artificially be 1 point high because it reminds me of that great pie...

Score: 7 out of 10.

Oak Creek Blonde Barrel Aged Root Beer

I've been excited to try this, but it's been sitting in my fridge for 2 weeks. I finally opened it today:

Brand: Oak Creek Blonde Barrel Aged Root Beer.

Origin: Redding, California.

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

Sweetener: "25% brown sugar, 75% real sugar."

Review: This starts out tasting like a "blonde" root beer: it's a little weak at first. Almost like a cream soda (and I'm not just saying that based on the color). But it ends a bit more like a root beer with a fuller, more molasses flavor. It's very creamy, smooth, and totally unique. Has a bit of a funny taste when going down, but still a decent soda.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.