Saturday, January 16, 2016

Sassy Lil' Lass (#29 - Rated 1.5 out of 12)

Before I even start the official review, I have a few issues.  First, the label (seen below) lists this as 2.5 servings per bottle.  Each serving is 8 ounces and it is a 12-ounce bottle.  I hope they are better at making root beer than proof reading.  They also must be sensitive about the words used.  Most manufacturers are just calling High Fructose Corn Syrup just that, although this maker stated “sweetener” as opposed to “syrup”. 

I could not find any information on this brew on the web.  No history or background.  The bottle says established 2014.  I also only found one other review.  Before I start, let me say I have had this twice (extra bottle around) and each time, I dumped it.  Not for the review, I will do my best not to be swayed by the past two strikes.  I am not looking forward to this!




Ingredients: water, sugar and High Fructose Corn Sweetener, caramel color, sodium benzoate (preservative) and natural flavors.

Nutrition 8 oz serving (from the bottle)

120 Calories
30 mg Sodium.
29g (15%) of Daily Carbohydrates


0 mg Caffeine

Aroma and Flavor – 0 out of 3 mugs



Right at the start it smelled like a fermented mess.  I took one drink and three-week-old spoiled milk is what comes to mind.  I tried to get others in the house to take a sip but they refused once the smelled the beverage. 


Head – 1 out of 3 mugs   


It has a head; a very poor head but deserved a score.

Zip – 0.5 out of 3 mugs  

I gave this 0.5 as the taste is so bad that it best a slight nod for that reason only.  Rancid is a taste, right?

Post Consumption Impression – 0 out of 3 mugs  

Run forest, run!  I do not wish any root beer lover the miserable experience I have after just one ounce.   

Would I recommend this at 1.5 out of 12 mugs?

No way!  Never!  I am not sure how anyone could feel good about selling this product as root beer.
           


Saturday, January 2, 2016

Dad's (#28 - Rated 7.0 out of 12)

Dad's Root Beer is considered one of America's most popular soft drinks.  It was developed in the 1930s by partners Barney Berns and Ely Klapman in the basement of Klapman's Chicago-area home. Dad's flavor earned a loyal following. The Dad's Root Beer brand was famous throughout the Midwest and by the late 1940s, was one of the most consumed brands of root beer throughout the United States.

Dad's Root Beer distinguished itself as a brand and industry innovator when it became the first product to use the six-pack format invented by the Atlanta Paper Company in the 1940s. Dad's also introduced the half-gallon bottle, becoming the first brand to market this size. Dad's was marketed as a family. "Junior" bottle size was the smallest, 7, 10 or 12 ounces. "Mama" was a quart bottle, and "Papa" was a half gallon bottle.

The Klapman and Berns families sold all rights to the Dad's name and logo to IC Industries in the 1970s.  During the 1970s, Chicago-based television advertising for Dad's featured a different jingle sung by an ensemble with the following lyrics:

If it foams up to meet you
It's gotta be Dad's, it's gotta be Dad's
If it foams up to treat you
It's gotta be Dad's, it's gotta be Dad's
(Announcer would read the ad copy while a short instrumental section of the jingle played, then the song continued)
So ask for Dad's, it's good old-fashioned
With the taste of yesteryear
If you don't ask for Dad's
All you're gonna get is,
All you're gonna get is,
All you're gonna get is,
...root beer!

The Monarch Beverage Company of Atlanta acquired Dad's from IC Industries of Chicago in 1986. At that time Dad's was distributed by the Coca-Cola bottler network, sold 12 million cases annually, and held the second largest share of the root beer category behind A & W.

In 2007 Dad's Root Beer was purchased from Monarch, along with the Bubble Up, Dr. Wells, and Sun Crest brands, by Hedinger Brands, LLC and licensed to The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC. The company headquarters is now located in Jasper, Indiana.




Ingredients: water, sugar, caramel color, natural and artificial flavors, and sodium benzoate (preservative).


Nutrition 12 oz (from the bottle)

230 Calories 
35 mg Sodium.
44g (15%) of Daily Carbohydrates
0 mg Caffeine

Aroma and Flavor – 2 out of 3 mugs

When opening the bottle, the aroma was commercial.  That means it just had more of a sugar coated wintergreen aroma and a hint to an unknown spice.  At first drink, it really was overly carbonated and wintergreen was the dominant flavor. The aftertaste is a bit metallic.

Head – 2 out of 3 mugs  

The head is not the best yet it does foam up well.  It is much like I would anticipate from a higher carbonated, heavy sugar drink.

Zip -- 1 out of 3 mugs  

This was rather uneventful.  While not bad, it is just a sugar beverage. 

Post Consumption Impression – 2 out of 3 mugs  

Dad’s is above average, but not much more than average.   

Would I recommend this at 7 out of 12 mugs?

While it has some allure, it also is the highest calorie (almost twice of Rocky Mountain Root Beer) and no idea what sugar they used.  Sure has a corn syrup taste.  This would rank very high if it was only used for a root beer.