Sioux City Ginger Beer

I opened this in my office between classes today:

The odd thing is that the label contained hardly any more info than what's pictured above: just a barcode to the left (barely visible near the bottom of the label in that pic), and which states you can get a refund for the bottle on the right. No other info. Strange. So I got the rest of the info from Beverages Direct.


Brand: Sioux City Ginger Beer.

Origin: Whitestone, NY.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was pretty decent (and this coming from someone who doesn't care for ginger things). It had a good, natural bite of ginger (the kind that nearly stings the back of your throat), but then it almost finished smooth. That combo I like (a bite, but then smooth), so this was better than I figured it would be. It was like a ginger ale mixed with a slightly "thin" cola (but not in a bad way). If you are a ginger fan, check this out.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Hosmer Mountain Beverages Diet Root Beer

I opened this just before class this afternoon:

Brand: Hosmer Mountain Beverages Diet Root Beer.

Origin: Willimantic, CT.

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

Sweetener: Fructose and Aspartame.

Review: This wasn't that great. First of all, it had that "thin" flavor that many diet sodas have. Secondly, it had a burnt caramel flavor to it that was not appealing at all. Luckily, that flavor wasn't too bad because it didn't have much flavor. This was not very drinkable and well below average.

Score: 2.5 out of 10.

Route 66 Cream Soda

In my office yesterday, I opened this between classes:

Brand: Route 66 Cream Soda.

Origin: Chicago, IL.

Purchase Place: Lunds Grocery Store, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Real Cane Sugar.

Review: This was nice and smooth the way a cream soda should be. There's nothing incredibly unique about this, but it's a solid/decent cream soda. It has a BIT of a sharper flavor at the end of each sip which is SLIGHTLY different, but otherwise, just a normal cream soda. I'll rank this just above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Sprite Popsicles

Here's a good weird idea:

I'm really unsure about this...

O-So Strawberry Soda

I picked this up at Lund's last month, and it was time to try it out:

Brand: O-So Strawberry Soda.

Origin: Mukilteo, WA.

Purchase Place: Lunds Grocery Store, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This wasn't an overly sweet soda. It tasted a bit "adult." In fact, I'd NEARLY call it a "strawberry rhubarb" soda because of it's flavor and lack of super sweetness. I'm not complaining - I'm just noting that if you like a syrupy sweet soda, then this isn't for you. If you like more depth of flavor, then give this a try. I'll rate this just a bit above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Vanilla Hi Ball Energy

I did a triathlon 2 weeks ago, and these were being handed out at the finish:

Brand: Vanilla Hi Ball Energy.

Origin: San Francisco, CA.

Purchase Place: Maple Grove Triathlon.

Sweetener: None.

Review: I saw a woman at the race dumping hers on the ground, so I didn't have high hopes. Turns out, she was 100% justified. This was horrible. It tasted like the worst possible version of La Croix water. The vanilla flavor was OK, but NOT in an unsweetened carbonated water drink. Gah. It needed about 50 grams of sugar to be drinkable. Disgusting. I only could manage a few sips of this.

Score: 1 out of 10.

Lift Bridge Root Beer Pork Roast

Over the weekend, I made a pork roast in the crock pot. And I sweetened it up with root beer:

A roast split in half, with an onion and season on top. Ready for some root beer!

With most of that can of root beer added.

After 4 hours on high, it was tender and pulled apart well. I saved the onions and juice, shredded the meat, put the meat back in the crock, and added back about half the liquid until it was moist enough. Tasty and sweet!

Lift Bridge Mini Donut Cream Soda

In the name of having just been to the State Fair, it was time to try this glorious can:

Brand: Lift Bridge Mini Donut Cream Soda

Origin: Stillwater, MN.

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

Sweetener: Natural Sugar.

Review: This was odd... but pretty good. It was cinnamon and sugar flavored, much like mini donuts. And it had the creaminess of a cream soda. I was trying to put my finger on the flavor, and I realized it's a bit like a snickerdoodle cookie... which is a bit cinnamony and sugary as well. It's a pretty decent flavor, and QUITE sweet. So you have to like sweet sodas to like this.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Lunds Soda Selection

I was at Lunds in St. Paul yesterday, and I noticed they had really added to their individual bottle soda selection:

In the past, they had maybe a few bottles, and then a few options of 4-packs or 6-packs (as you see on the right in this photo). But this was a LOT more individual bottles than I'd seen before. I picked up 2 to try at home (an "O-So" and a "Route 66"). Thanks Lunds!

Judge For Yourself! Root Beer

I opened this up tonight:

Brand: Judge For Yourself! Root Beer

Origin: Gardena, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: The side of this bottle said "So good it should be banned." And "Judgement day cometh to those who have lost their fizz." Good stuff. The taste? Well, it was OK. It was a bit heavy on the anise for me, but had a nice frothy head. It was just OK - nothing great, but still drinkable. So I'll give it an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.