March 12, 2005

Because the web is made for obsessives. I employ a very rigorous process when taste-testing root beer, in order to determine the most accurate grade. First, I fast for 4 hours. Then I brush my teeth with a new toothbrush using only baking soda. I rinse 3 times with distilled water, then I take some fresh mint (home grown!) and lightly crush it on my tongue. I rinse again, the finish the cleansing of my palette with a very light lime sherbet. Two final rinses and I'm ready to go!
posted by goofyfoot 19 years ago
  • Ok, wait now. Is this for real?
  • Can't be. He ranked Hires above A&W.
  • On his Hate Mail page, he tells someone to 'Repeat after me..."it's just a soft drink"'
  • Bullshit. He hasn't reviewed 1919 yet?
  • Balls, allusion. A&W is sugar water w/carbonation plus more water. C'est tout l'A&W. Hires has at least some of the following [I quote from this here]: Ingredients in early root beers included allspice, birch bark, coriander, juniper, ginger, wintergreen, hops, burdock root, dandelion root, spikenard, pipsissewa, guaiacum chips, sarsaparilla, spicewood, wild cherry bark, yellow dock, prickly ash bark, sassafras root, vanilla beans, hops, dog grass, molasses and licorice. Many of these ingredients are still used in root beer today along with carbonation.
  • Buuuuuurrrrpp.
  • Anyone remember when A&W sold real onion-rings and burgers? And had car service? I swear, if I had a time machine, I'd go back and get me a Teenburger with onion-rings, and a mug of root beer.
  • They brought back the mama/papa/grandpa/babyburgers of my youth. That was enough to bring a smile to my face. No more frosty glass mugs though, far as I've seen. That I miss sorely.
  • And girls on rollerskates! I always wanted to be a rollerskating waitress. With root beer. I bet I could have skated onion rings around the rest of 'em. Barq's! teh. best. preemptive strike: Mug sucks. Did you know root beer can be alcoholic? Many of the brands are gone, but not forgotten. This is a good source of information on root beer, too.
  • I don't know if I can take this guy's opinions very seriously since he gave my two favorites, Frostie and Hank's, C+ ratings.
  • God, I used to love me a frosty mug of Barq's when I was a kid. I can't stomach any kind of sweet soda nowadays, but I used to chug it down.
  • For all his knowledge his taste seems rather pedestrian. But then again I like McDonalds.
  • I feel somewhat vindicated in that he agrees with me that Barqs is the best "mainstream" root beer. I'm surprised he rated Mug as highly as he did. That stuff tastes like cough syrup to me.
  • The sad thing is that I've done this for black olives.
  • Dads is good, but flat, Barqs has no bite, I was let down. A&w is too watered down, good burgers, no vegatrian items at all. Hires is good +, but they made diet rootbeer, - 2 points for that. I bet you the Italians could make some good root beer. Brio is tops for pop(soda to you wankers).
  • Last time I had Hires it was maybe ten years ago. I remember it being overly sweet, syrupy, and flat. To be fair, it might have been a bad batch. By the way, if any monkeys are passing through Toronto, check out the root beer at the Granite microbrewery. (I don't know if the one in Halifax makes root beer also.) See also: Kibo's Fake Dr Pepper Roundup. On preview: I second the Brio Chinotto ruling.
  • Oh yes, there was a place in Halifax with great root beer. Near the Cows ice cream place on the harbour. We're talking about 4 years ago, though. I gorged on those and clam chowder for days... And where are the Ginger root beer reviews? Now that's tasty!
  • Ginger Beer? Why grace is good of course, and damn near the most common brand at the west Indian shops. Grace brand creme soda is nice as well. Best of all is Canada dry Ginger ale. All north Americans pops, should be drunk from a can, no? Especially the colas.
  • Cock and Bull Ginger Beer. Out of this world and kicks Reed's to the curb.