The Pop Shoppe Root Beer

My wife recently grabbed 2 bottles of soda for me at Lunds and called them my Valentine's Day present (I'm not complaining, as it was more than I got her - we don't do Valentine's Day). Here was the first one I cracked into: 

Brand: The Pop Shoppe Root Beer.

Origin: Ontario, Canada.

Purchase Place: Lunds & Byerlys, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was decent! It had a deep almost smokey flavor that was quite smooth. It did little to stand out from other root beers, but it was relatively classic flavor (maybe a slightly modern take on a classic root beer, but nothing drastically different). 

(And whooooa... this makes 5 out of the last 8 posts being root beer related! Nice!)

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Dad's Diet Old Fashioned Root Beer

This Diet Dad's was another gift from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law from their party:

Brand: Dad's Diet Old Fashioned Root Beer.

Origin: Jasper, IN.

Purchase Place: unknown (western suburbs).

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This was quite tasty! It had a real deep (almost smokey) flavor which was surprising being it was a diet root beer. There wasn't that "thin and watered down" flavor that many diet sodas (especially root beers) have. Deep classic flavor, just a little bite, and quite easy to drink. Solid soda!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Jelly Belly A&W Root Beer Jelly Beans

I forget where we picked these up, but they showed up in my boys's Christmas stockings 2 months ago: 

We just recently opened it, and my oldest son really enjoyed them! Root beer barrels have a bit more of a "bite" to them, but these jelly beans have a bit more of a "smooth" root beer flavor (which is usually what I prefer). You might have to check these out!

Thunder Beast American Cream Soda

I opened this with my boys this afternoon: 

Brand: Thunder Beast American Cream Soda

Origin: Washington, D.C.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: When I tried my first Thunder Beast soda last year, I REALLY didn't like it. So I didn't have high hopes for this one. It smelled VERY sweet when I opened it. And it almost tasted THICK and syrupy when I took my first sip. The "cream soda" flavor was pretty spot on, just VERY sugary. (Sorry for all the CAPS in this review, but this soda IS a bit EXTREME.) 

If you like sugary, then try this. I tend to like sweeter and more syrupy sodas, and this is even a bit much for me. But decent smooth cream soda flavor with a slightly caramel aftertaste.

Score: 7 out of 10.

 

State Fair Soda: Chocolate Chip Cookie

I was at a little shindig at my brother-in-law's house over the weekend, and him and his wife did something very sweet: they know I don't drink wine or beer (and the other 5 people there DO), so they grabbed 4 fun bottles of soda for me at the grocery store! This was the one I opened and had with their delicious supper: 

Brand: State Fair Soda: Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

Purchase Place: Unknown (western suburbs of the Twin Cities).

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This had a really sweet initial taste. There was definitely a "dough-like" flavor that came through, but not really anything like chocolate chips. It had a slightly chemically aftertaste, but it wasn't bad! (And we assume it's trying to be "Sweet Martha's Cookies" without saying that...)

I had to look back to when I tried a handful of "State Fair Sodas" 2.5 years ago, and I ranked "Chocolate Chip Cookie" as my LEAST favorite of the 5. So I'm excited to try some of the other flavors as if I called this my least favorite, we're only going up from here!

Score: 6 out of 10.

Sprecher Maple Root Beer

In "honor" of the Packers losing this past weekend (YASSSS!!!!), I cracked into this 2nd soda that my wife picked up for me recently at Menards: 

Brand: Sprecher Maple Root Beer.

Origin: Glendale, WI.

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar and WI Maple Syrup.

Review: I was ready for this to have a weird funk, but it didn't. It didn't really smell of maple or maple syrup, and it just had a SLIGHT flavor of it, which paired well with a normal root beer flavor. It was so subtle that it seemed to just have a slight butterscotch flavor. The root beer was slightly smooth and pretty decent, and the maple flavor just gave it a little something extra.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Blue Sun Soda Shop is Expanding!

Last month, I hit another one of the locations of Blue Sun Soda Shop. And 2 days ago, they announced they are now expanding outside of the Twin Cities:

Here are some of the pics they shared:

I haven't been out to Stillwater in a while, but this would be a good trip with my boys this summer. Good luck Blue Sun Soda!

Sprecher Vanilla Root Beer

My wife brought this home from Menards (LOVE HER) for me today: 

Brand: Sprecher Vanilla Root Beer.

Origin: Glendale, WI.

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This had a very vanilla scent, and a very vanilla flavor. I didn't love it, but couldn't put my finger on "why" right away. Then I realized what was bothering me: I equate "vanilla" with "smooth," but this had a fair amount of bite after that initial vanilla flavor. It was just an odd combo.  

Score: 6 out of 10.

Mexicana Cola

I opened a soda from my recent trip to the Bloomington Blue Sun Soda Shop:

Brand: Mexicana Cola

Origin: Mukilteo, WA.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Bloomington, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar and Mexican Agave Syrup.

Review: This initially had a DEEP cola flavor, but it also had a bit of an unusual bitterness. I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming it might be from the agave as a sweetener. It's flavor was OK, but I was turned off a bit my the slight bitterness. In the end, it was worth trying, but not high on my list of colas.

Score: 6 out of 10.

It's Hard Out There on the Playground...