Evan Jacobson

Posts Tagged ‘Birch’

Picture above: Evan’s confused about which is which?

StewartS Birch or Root Beer, Part 8 of X, the final December post of 2009.

In a previous December post, I reviewed StewartS Root Beer… My wife and I tasted the soda at Cracker Barrel, a national chain sporting “Southern Cuisine.” To briefly reiterate, we were hungry and thirsty (obviously the reason for eating there). The StewartS was served in a cold, attractive bottle and a frosty mug. We liked it then, but it seems that our tastes have changed. More specifically, I had a major sweet tooth in the past, but have been recently turned off by overly sweet and highly artificial flavors.
This is certainly the case with both StewartS products: Root Beer AND Birch Beer.

My wife and I were in Connecticut for a Wine pairing event. In short, we tasted wines and paired them with various esoteric, NorthWestern Cheeses and sinful Chocolates.  I tend to lean towards sweeter tasting wines, but not over the top ones. Actually, I’m
looking for something that balances slightly sweet, but not too dry. I’m mentioning this because the sweetness factor is a major consideration across the board with both foods and beverages… In any event, we went to an IGA store (just like in the good ol’ Oswego College days…) to see if they had different Root Beers than New York and New Jersey.  They had the Saranac 1888, which I liked despite the HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. I also found a 4-pack of StewartS BIRCH Beer. Actually, I did not know that
StewartS made both prototypes. So, I bought the Birch, drove home, stuck it in the fridge, and tasted it the next day.

I was disappointed (despite the cheesy grin)! I couldn’t tell the difference between the Root Beer or the Birch. They looked the same (dark), and tasted like a sugary Root Beer candy. Again, some people like that sort of thing. However, I was expecting something different. I asked my wife to taste it and she felt the same way: Zero difference, too sweet, and incredibly artificial. I do not have anything personal against StewartS, as they make an awesome Cream Soda, but that goes beyond the scope of this post. Moving forward, the ingredients are basically identical: High Fructose Corn Syrup (you saw that one coming), Yucca, Sodium Benzoate (a standard preservative that I learned to just accept), Gum Acacia, etc. Enough said!

At this point in my search for the ultimate Root Beer, if it has Corn Syrup, I’m not going to waste time. I’ve been poking around and have discovered several Root Beers dispersed throughout the United States. More specifically, the search has expanded to the West. It seems necessary to shell out some extra cash to purchase 6-packs plus shipping. I’m going to find out if some markets in NYC have these esoteric Root Beers… You know what I’m looking for: No Corn Syrup (mentioned earlier), a microbrew, a glass bottle, no caffeine, NATURAL INGREDIENTS, and some other mystical element depicting love. For example, if there is a family in the Root Beer business and they have secretive and special ingredients, then I’m all over it. You know that I’m a fan of putting love into food and drinks.

I’d rather invest my time in great intention, love, and excellent quality instead of “looking for love in all the wrong places…”

Evan J. wanna be gourmet wants to wish my devoted fans a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!!!!!!!

Pictured above: Liquid Smoke (a real picture hog),

a skeleton attached to Dia De Los Muertos Hot sauce,

Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer in a 2-liter bottle, my backsplash,

and various Tortuga sauces…

This is the second “Birch Beer” that I’ve tried. Again, I’m not sure if Root Beer and Birch Beer are equal contenders, but I figured that I’d just go for it since I’ve been on this kick for several weeks…

I purchased a 2 liter bottle because I could not find any smaller sizes, and the price tag was very inexpensive. I’ll most likely be drinking this all week or until the fizz dissipates. Smaller bottles are ideal for my experiment because I’m not feeding several people. My wife, however, might end up drinking some. I asked her to try it and she thought it was better than the Boylans Birch Beer… She liked the bold red color and the taste because it was not very sweet. Both of us like some sweet stuff, but we cannot deal with over the top Glucose in anything. Moving forward, the Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer has a bold red color and a nice taste. Interestingly, it has the same annoying ingredients as the other less desirable Root Beers: High Fructose Corn Syrup, preservatives, artificial flavors, and preservatives. However, it does have a nice taste which reminded me of my Camp Louemma Summer days from the 80′s. There were actual Birch Trees in the camp; we used to break off the branches to smell the Birch flavor. I also wondered how the flavor from a tree branch could be extracted and made into a soda. I guess I’m finding that out!

Highlights:

**Bold Red Color

**A rich foam and tantalizing effervescence

**No Caffeine

**NOT too sweet

Shortcomings:

**Artificial ingredients to cause tooth decay if consumed in excess

**One 2 liter size (small cans or bottles are unknown at this time)

**Currently unavailable in the South Bronx

To sum it up, it has a nice, pleasant taste overall.  Despite the annoying corn syrup, I’ve been drinking it all week long.  The pros seem to outweigh the cons, and I’m glad that I stumbled upon this during my search for the ultimate Root Beer and Birch Beer.  As soon as I finish the 2 liter bottle, I’ll move on and try something else.  Remember, my fridge is never empty!

Stay tuned for Part 7… the search is not over, Survivor!

Root Beer, Part 4 of X: BOYLAN’S BIRCH BEER

In the first 3 installments of my Root Beer posts, I’ve sampled A&W, MUG,
SARANACS 1888, IBC, and VIRGIL’S Microbrew. However, I’ve just taken my first sip of BOYLAN’S CREAMY RED BIRCH BEER (VINTAGE SODA POP), and it is delicious. I guess I’m going to search various markets for more BIRCH BEER. BOYLAN’S red color is bold and the front of the bottle mentions, “sweetened with pure cane sugar.” I thought that this was another typical setup and seriously dreading the high fructose corn syrup. However, there is nothing to fear but fear itself because there is zero corn syrup. Moreover, all of the ingredients seem to be safe and natural: Pure Birch oils, Vanilla, natural Yucca extract, etc. At the bottom of the ingredients, one can see the preservative Sodium Benzoate. Since it’s the LAST ingredient, I’m not spooked at all. The lack of caffeine is another strong selling point. My search for the quintessential Root Beer or Birch beer is not over. However, Virgil’s has some competition, unless someone in the audience objects to Birch Beer. When all of the testing is over, I might end up having a winner for each category (Root Beer and Birch Beer). Boylan’s website is: www.boylanbottling.com

Stay tuned for Part 5…

Pictured above (front row): 3 flavors of Root Beer
Pictured behind (back row): An incomplete set of knifes, Liquid Smoke, and a Tea Kettle.

Root Beer, Part 1, by Evan Jacobson

I thought that this post would be appropriate as December 4 approaches:  International Root Beer Day (IRBD). Since it falls on a Friday in 2009, I’m going to share this concept with my students for the first time in my teaching career.  I’ll let you know how it turns out after the fact… For more information about this historical day, check out one of many websites:

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Root_beer

What is your favorite beverage? In terms of hot beverages, Coffee and its various permutations are number one. As far as the cold and sweet treat category is concerned, carbonated beverages (especially Root Beer), are at the top of my list. To get even more decadent, Root Beer Floats are the bomb. A “Float” (in a drinking context) is a combination of Soda and Ice Cream. If you grew up circa 1950’s, then you’d hang out in Ice Cream Parlors, or Soda Shops (or Shoppes). Rather than trace the development of popular beverage and Ice Cream trends since the 1950’s, this post is all about ROOT BEER. Some of my research will come from the internet because I’d like to establish credibility as a regular guy that loves a frosty cold Root Beer after a long day at the office. For example, I’ll recommend an interesting URL from Wikipedia to give a broad overview, but I cannot say that the information is 100% accurate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_beer

To truly research many aspects of Root Beer would most likely require me to return to graduate school for a third Masters Degree. It really does sound appealing, but I just don’t have the time to acquire more student loans or alienate my friends and family. Moreover, I had a professor a few years back (name omitted to prevent law suits) who “tore me a new one” because I used an Undergraduate source for Graduate level research. The nightmares and PTSD have finally ceased and my life has returned to a somewhat “normal” state. Enough said!

Several follow up posts regarding Root Beer will be written because I’d like to just go wild and see what happens with the comparison taste tests. Years ago, I remember the Coke and Pepsi challenge which had a twofold purpose: Telling the difference between both beverages when one is blindfolded; deciding (subjectively) which is better tasting. Hence, I’m focussing on the latter and promise that I will not be blindfolded. By doing this, I’ll know exactly what I’m drinking and I won’t be endangering myself or others (another disclaimer to prevent law suits–mentioned earlier) Finally, I will need something to talk about at my next party, Bar-Mitzvah, wedding, or other social event. Hopefully, this will be less trite than engaging in sports talk, work, or other glib discourse.

Today in part 1, I will critique a few different brands (again, this is not a blindfolded experiment)… I’ll share strong opinions about my palette after every swallow. If you have your own questions, I’ve provided information taken right from the can/bottle so you can contact the company.

1- VIRGIL’S ROOT BEER is my favorite at the moment.  My friend, Will, introduced it to me at the turn of the century, and I’ve been enamored with it ever since.  Since then, I have savored every sip from the bottle.  It’s very natural tasting, does not contain corn syrup or caffeine, preservative free, and filled with quality ingredients.  When it’s consumed cold, I taste Anise, Wintergreen, Vanilla, the obvious root beer flavor (Sarsaparilla, Birch, or whatever), etc. The ingredients are listed on the bottle… Every bottle is microbrewed and sold as a four-pack from Trader Joe’s for around $5.00. That, in itself, is a tremendous value. I’m not basing my favoritism on price, but it’s a bonus feature, especially during tough times. So far, it seems to be the greatest Root Beer in my 41 years of living.  :)

VIRGIL’S MICRO BREWED ROOT BEER www.Virgils.com
REED’S Inc., LA, CA 90061 call for questions or comments: 1-800-997-3337

2- A & W ROOT BEER also has a rich flavor minus the caffeine. Wasn’t it marketed years ago as the drink with a frosty mug taste? I apologize for the non-sequitur…
In any event, I am making a point mentioning caffeine because I get my fix from the morning coffee. At night, I’d like to actually fall asleep, and caffeine seems to disrupt my deep REM sleep. I know there are brands with caffeine and I’ll discover them in the next few weeks. Why add the caffeine if the drink tastes great? If you want a buzz, drink something with uppers in it. Root Beer, in my opinion, should be enjoyed at a party or when one is relaxing in front of the Tube. As far as taste is concerned, A & W is rich and sweet. It also seems to be incredibly frothy. I’m a Cappuccino Man, so froth is nice. Honestly, both MUG and A & W seem to be similar tasting. In short, I’ll rank this as number 2 and Mug scores 3rd place (see below). Again, it will be interesting to see what happens when I discover some new Root Beers in the next few weeks. Then, I’ll revise the ratings when approaching the end of my experiment. I’ll be searching for Stewart’s, Hires, Dr. Browns, et al.

A & W ROOT BEER www.rootbeer.com
CANNED BY CANADA DRY DELAWARE VALLEY, 8275 US 130, PENNSAUKEN, NJ 08110 UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF DR PEPPER/SEVEN UP, INC., 5301 LEGACY DRIVE, PLANO, TX 75024; consumer comments: 1-866-AW ROOT BEER

3- I sampled MUG ROOT BEER in a very cold mug (I apologize for the redundancy) at my cousin’s house a few weeks ago. It is also caffeine free and has a tremendously satisfying flavor. Unfortunately, it has corn syrup and almost too sweet. Oddly enough, sweet and fat seem to please people. Again, personal preference will dictate what a person likes… Should you drink this when dieting? It’s probably not a good idea. In short, it has a very nice flavor and no obnoxious aftertaste.

MUG ROOT BEER WWW.MUGROOTBEER.COM
NEW CENTURY BEVERAGE CO., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110
call for questions or comments: 1-800-433-2652

Please stay tuned for Root Beer, Part 2, as it’s coming very soon to a computer near you!

Evan J. wanna be gourmet…