Myers Avenue Red Root Beer

Uh oh. Every once in a while something like this manages to sneak through. A renegade "root beer". This one offers an amber tinge and a nose of Tree Top apple juice.

John: Mild sweetness of cinnamon apple juice, a splash of echinecia, and a drop of alka-seltzer. Maybe it will help a cold. Not bad, but not root beer as we would like to understand it. **

FRED: WHY THIS IS CALLED ROOT BEER I DON'T KNOW. IT DOES NOT SMELL OR TASTE OF ROOT BEER. THEREFORE NO COMMENT.

Saranac Root Beer

1888. Quite a year. Jack the Ripper was mutilating his victims in London, Vincent van Gogh was mutilating himself in France, the "Great Blizzard of '88" left more than 400 people dead along the east coast, and the National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, D.C. In the midst of all this chaos, a brewery was founded in the foothills of the Adriondack mountains of New York. Today, Saranac (Iroquois for "cluster of stars") is a thriving beverage company that prides itself on all its beers...including root.

JOHN: Hits your palate with the flavor of a delicious vanilla ice cream soda. A gently frothy texture, and a pleasing, unobtrusive taste of vanilla and sassafras bark. It's been a while since we've enjoyed a root beer this good. No fancy ingredients on the label, and--get this-- they use high fructose corn syrup instead of pure cane sugar. Guess all that stuff doesn't really matter. ****

FRED: GOOD OLD FASHIONED ROOT BEER. GOOD FROTH AND GOOD SIMPLE TASTE ****

Squamscot

In 1863, while the Civil War was raging, and the 15th Regiment of New Hampshire was spilling their blood in the name of preserving the Union, Squamscot Beverages was founded in Newfields, NH. Still boasting their original recipe, Squamscot invites you to "experience the past...one sip at a time." So as we hoist our glass to the memories of the lost souls of the glorious 15th, we can share a taste in time, and know the same liquid refreshment as they did, all those years ago. But as their last breaths escaped them on the battlefield, did they whisper the name "Squamscot"?

John: Though the ingredients boast a dose of clove oil, that flavor is buried underneath what is yet another excessively sweet root beer. The sticky-sweetness coats your mouth and leaves a distinct sensation of sugar sticking to your teeth. The aftertaste is slightly bitter. **

FRED: HAS A TASTE LIKE DIET ROOT BEER. *

Empire

A simple label. An imposing name. Rhode Island's Empire root beer may be from the smallest state, but that doesn't mean it can't be tremendous in scope and massive in taste!

John: Nothing fancy here. No unusual flavors, no strong spice, no honey, mint, or vanilla. Just tastes like root beer--but an extremely sweet root beer. Not rich, just sweet. Sugary sweet. It's good, but you gotta have a sweet tooth. ***

FRED: GOOD BASIC ROOT BEER. TOO SWEET AND SYRUPY. LINGERING AFTERTASTE **

Bedford's

With a stately coat of arms adorning their label, Washington state's very own Bedford's Root Beer may be a root beer fit for a king!

John: It pours light with no froth whatsoever, and has a distinctive nose of blueberry syrup. A crisp zing of cherry juice dominates the flavor of this root beer, with a slightly acrid aftertaste. It's not bad, and certainly different from your run of the mill root beer, but somehow, just not good enough to join the 3-star club. The aftertaste is a bit sticky and lingers. **

FRED: VERY DIFFERENT FLAVOR. EXOTIC. NO FROTH. GUMMY. **