Thomas Kemper

To be honest I can’t remember too much about this one, but I know that I liked it OK. It has cane sugar and honey which is a nice touch if a little sweet.

I got it when I was in the food court of a U.S. outdoor mall, The Las Vegas Premium Outlets. But that’s another story.

If I ever find another one I'll do a better review!


Packaging: C
Head: C
Carbonation: B
Taste: B

Final Grade: B-

 

 

Virgil's

C. brought this for me all the way from sunny California!

I like the label, it looks like a coked-out Grizzly Adams serving dinner at the Ponderosa.

The brew has a pretty intense flavour, strong and creamy. It was a little sweet for my taste, but that would have been cut down a bit if I’d had my trusty Mug mug all frosted up, but it’s currently out of commission, sitting on my kitchen counter full of cilantro. As you can see from the photo, I took this picture outside on my first deck dinner of the season!
 
Packaging: A
Head: D
Carbonation: B
Taste: B
Final Grade: B+

 

 

Maine Root

One of my underground sources (Code Named K, the same one that secured me the Beaver) brought me this one. Not only does it have organic ingredients, but it's made with fair trade cane sugar, and that ain't not bad.

I liked the brown glass bottle, but the label was kind of uninspired. 

The colour was quite light, and the drink was quite finely carbonated. Not much head, unfortunately.

The flavour and aroma had a strong wintergreen presence, kind of like a breath mint. The clove oil made my guest M.E. have a numb tongue, but it didn't bother me.

Packaging: B

Head: D

Carbonation: A

Taste: A-

Final Grade: B+ (the plus is for being organic and fair trade)

Beaver Soda

This is new in town.

I liked the can, it was modern like Red Bull but with a vintage baseball motif for an old school vibe.

Weirdly, the pull tab is black so, when seen from any distance, the can looks like it's already open. "Who opened my Beaver Root Beer?" I kept asking myself when I'd see it in the fridge.

The head was not much to write home about, but the colour was nice and dark. The carbonation was strong. The taste is pretty far out, with lots of herb flavour. In fact, I kind of had a gustatory hallucination. (it's real, look it up) Imagine eating a dill pickle chip. Now imagine taking a drink of cola. For a moment you're tasting both dill and cola. Replace the dill with coriander and you get the idea. Kind of weird but I enjoyed it.

Packaging: A

Head: C

Carbonation: A

Taste: B

Final Grade: B+ (the + is for originality)