Slice Prebiotics & Probiotics root beer

Background information: (from the website) "Since ‘84, Slice has been a household favorite. Now, we’re back with a new attitude. Real ingredients. Bold flavors. Gut-friendly benefits. We’ve kept the fizz, ditched the junk, and brought the fun. Slice is the OG soda with a modern twist."

"Prebiotics: Think of prebiotics as the snacks your gut’s good bacteria can’t get enough of. They’re like fuel for the party, keeping the probiotics energized and ready to work their magic. No prebiotics, no party—it’s that simple.

Probiotics: Probiotics are the cool crowd of good bacteria that live in your gut. They’re the ones keeping everything in check—helping with digestion, boosting your mood, and making sure your immune system stays sharp. Basically, they’re the MVPs of your microbiome.

Postbiotics: Postbiotics are the after-party vibes—what’s left after the probiotics have done their thing. These are the health-boosting byproducts that support your immunity, and keep you feeling amazing. Small but mighty, they’re the cherry on top of gut health!"

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Manufactured for Slice, Oceanside, CA 92056. 30 calories, 3g sugar. Aluminum can. https://slicesoda.com/

Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Slice Gut Blend (Soluble Vegetable Prebiotic Fiber, Bacillus subtilis DE111, Bifidobacterium longum CECT 7347), Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Maple Syrup, Apple Juice (from Concentrate), Natural Flavors, Caramel Color, Organic Vanilla Extract, Stevia Leaf Extract, Citric Acid, Kosher Salt.

My thoughts: Yet another pre/pro/post-biotic root beer from the classic Slice brand. Slice used to be a lemon-lime soda (like 7-Up and Sprite) that closed up many years ago, but has been brought back as a "healthy soda" brand. While I'm not big on these types of root beers, I feel it necessary to test and review, so here we go.

This one has a more root beer taste than many of the similar products I've tried. While the rooty sassafras flavor is slightly weak, it isn't overwhelmed by the prebiotic flavored tinge nearly as much as others. There's a bit of vanilla in there as well, but the whole flavor profile -and especially the aftertaste- is a little overwhelmed by the Stevia, something I tend to find with most of the Stevia sweetened beverages. I really don't care for the taste of Stevia and try to avoid drinks with it.

I like that the top popped with the sound of bubbles and this doesn't disappoint in the carbonation department. The bubbles themselves are smaller and not too aggressive and, while I like super aggressive effervescence, this one is still satisfying. Unlike some other prebiotics, this one doesn't have a thick texture to it, feeling a bit more like a traditional soda. It's not particularly creamy, but smooth enough. As I mentioned earlier, it has a definite Stevia taste to it so, while appropriately sweet, I don't like the quality of that sweetness.

I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed in this. I got a few cans of other flavors of Slice a couple months ago just to try out since they were on sale for 50 cents (root beer wasn't yet available at that time), and I thought they were fairly decent. As a root beer, however, I don't think they quite deliver. If you're more Stevia tolerant than I am, then this is a root beer worth trying. For those of us on the anti-Stevia bandwagon, I'd say you should avoid this.

Rating: D+
flavor: D+
aftertaste: D+
sweetness: C-
smoothness: C+

carbonation: B+ 

Beehive root beer

Background information: (from the website) "The Beehive Pub & Grill is proud to serve Logan with crave-worthy comfort food, signature cocktails, and a place to gather. Come hungry, leave happy — Always Good Eats."

Product details: 24 fl. oz.  Made by The Beehive Pub and Grill, Logan, UT 84321. On tap. Paper fountain cup and plastic lid (as reviewed). https://thebeehivegrill.com/

Ingredients: N/A

My thoughts: This is another less traditional root beer review from me, as this is one only available at a small pub and sold as a fountain style drink, though you can buy an unsealed 64oz glass bottled "growler" and get it filled/refilled. Either way, I was excited to see a new root beer to try while out of town, so here are my thoughts.

The initial flavor is excellent, with a very strong rooty sassafras taste that is one of the boldest root beer flavors I've tried. It's not especially complex, with the usual vanilla notes and a very subtle wintergreen, but it is a really good one. The aftertaste didn't reveal any additional spices or flavors I was detecting in my initial impression, but it's such a pleasing taste that I don't mind.

Carbonation is decent, with bubbles that stick around through the whole 24 oz cup (a decent chunk of that was ice, as most fountain drinks tend to be). The bubbles aren't especially strong and I would have liked a little more aggressiveness from them, but it never felt flat. I thought the sweetness was dialed in and didn't leave me felling overly syrupy feeling. It does have a heavy creaminess to it, so felt smooth going down.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this. The bold, up front flavor was very pleasing, even if it did lack some complexity. The carbonation was only a moderate letdown, though was never outright disappointing. It's too bad they don't offer this bottled for people to take home and enjoy at their leisure (though you can get it in that large, unsealed bottle I mentioned earlier) and they do also offer it in kegs. If you ever find yourself in Logan, UT, I think it's worth a stop to try out.

Rating: B+
flavor: A-
aftertaste: B+
sweetness: A
smoothness: A-

carbonation: C+

Rocky Mountain root beer (2026)

Background information: (from the website): "Rocky Mountain Root Beer was the idea that started it all.  We wanted to make the best flavored, all natural root beer available. We set out to create a flavor that evokes memories of the old West.  Think warm vanilla and caramel notes that glide along a creamy cloud of delicious sassafras flavor.  We also add a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg to give a grounded earthiness that ends with a spicy finish.  We hope you enjoy the end result of our quest to create the best root beer made.

Rocky Mountain Soda Company was created with one goal in mind, quality. We strive to make the most unique, best tasting, highest quality, all natural soda available. We achieve our goal by using only the finest all natural ingredients.

We custom craft each of our flavors in small batches and package every bottle by hand.  The benefit of our efforts is realized in every sip you take. We thank you for the opportunity to present our soda for your drinking pleasure. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do…Cheers!"

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Rocky Mountain Soda Co, 4420 Glencoe Street, Denver, Colorado 80216.  140 calories, 36g sugar. Glass bottle with twist off top. http://www.rockymountainsoda.com


Ingredients: Sparkling water, organic cane sugar, natural flavor extracts, non-GMO citric acid.


My thoughts: I initially reviewed this root beer brand back in 2015, about ten and a half years ago. I recently picked up another bottle and noticed that the ingredients list has changed, so figured I should give the new formulation a try and a new rating to reflect the current offering.

Wow, this stuff is minty! There is so much wintergreen that it overwhelms the other flavors, barely tasting like a root beer at first. A little further into the bottle and the rootiness starts to surface, but the flavor is still dominated by mint. The aftertaste tastes of sassafras, vanilla, and I feel like the slightest hint of anise. Unfortunately, the mint continues to be the strongest flavor rather than just a supporting one.

My very first swig had a nice, fizzy effervescence that was delightful. My second swig, less so. By the fourth, it was basically flat, with hardly any carbonation. Very disappointing. Sweetness is great, with this being sweetened with cane sugar rather than corn syrup. Zero complaints there. It's hard to say if this drink is inherently smooth since there is no carbonation to speak of.

Overall, two things really kill the score for me: over the top wintergreen and dead carbonation. I think the flavors and spices they use are great and that this would be a far better root beer if they dialed back the mint. I shouldn't feel like I'm drinking toothpaste. The total lack of carbonation only a few swigs into the bottle is a total fail. I almost never have one go so flat that fast. This is a bummer, as Rocky Mountain was a pretty solid root beer before, but now I can't recommend it any longer.

Rating: D+
flavor: D-
aftertaste: C
sweetness: A
smoothness: C
carbonation: F+

Island root beer

Background information: (from the website) "Experience the island’s award-winning root beer, handcrafted with all-natural ingredients and plenty of aloha. Our non-alcoholic Island Root Beer is brewed with cane sugar, local honey, and rich Hawaiian vanilla, creating a smooth, authentic flavor that captures a taste of the islands. Sip it straight from the can or enjoy it over Macadamia Nut ice cream for an island-style root beer float."

• Naturally Caffeine Free

• No Artificial Colors or Flavors

• No High Fructose Corn Syrup"

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Brewed and canned by Maui Brewing Co. Kihei, Maui Hawaii 96753. 160 calories, 39g sugar. Aluminum can. https://mauibrewingco.com/

Ingredients: Carbonated purified water, cane sugar, local honey, natural root beer flavor, Hawaiian vanilla extract, citric acid, potassium sorbate (preservative).

My thoughts: More root beer in a can, but this time it comes all the way from Hawaii, where it is sweetened (partially) with honey. I'm looking forward to this one.

This is one of the more interestingly flavored root beers I've tried. It has a good rooty flavor, but even up front there is a very interesting side flavor that I can only presume comes from the honey they use. It has a strange taste to the drink that reminds me of something...maybe malt? It's not necessarily pleasant, but nor is it bad. It reminds me of the chocolate float soda I had earlier this year (that was awful, this one is better). There's some vanilla in there as well, but it's a bit buried beneath the main flavor, and maybe a hint of wintergreen, though that's more felt from the cooling sensation than it is the flavor.

The carbonation is solid, with a decent frothiness and bite to the bubbles. It maintained that level of carbonation through the whole can. It is a fairly sweet soda, with the double hit of cane sugar and honey. It did leave me feeling a little sugared out and my tongue and mouth felt a bit coated. It does have a fairly creamy, smooth texture to it, which I like

I had a bit higher expectations from this. As I think through my score, it comes out a little above the bog-standard average canned A&W root beer you find in the store, if for no other reason than it's fairly unique flavor profile. On the other hand, it reminds me of that chocolate float soda I tried earlier this year and ended up tossing out, but fortunately this is a better version of that flavor. Who knows, maybe I'll try this on a different day and will decide I love it. I do think it's certainly worth a try.

Rating: C+
flavor: C
aftertaste: C+
sweetness: C+
smoothness: B

carbonation: A- 

Popwell Prebiotic root beer

Background information: (from the website) "Popwell is a Better-For-You soda that delivers all the soda satisfaction you crave—without the excess sugar and empty calories. Made with prebiotic fiber, real fruit juice, and our Cold Crafted process, Popwell offers bold, refreshing flavors with low calories, 1g of sugar or less, and gut-friendly benefits."

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Talking Rain Beverage Company, Preston, WA 98050. 35 calories, 1g sugar. Aluminum can. https://drinkpopwell.com/

Ingredients: Carbonated water, soluble corn fiber, contains 2% or less of: apple juice concentrate, acerola fruit juice powder, fruit and vegetable juice (for color), natural flavors, niacinamide (vitamin B3), calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5), biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), stevia sweetener, citric acid, zinc sulfate, mushroom glycolipids.

My thoughts: There has been a surge of pre/pro-biotic sodas hitting the shelves in recent years, many of which offer root beers. While not usually my preferred root beer, I'm here to review them all, so I try to at least give them a fair chance.

Cracking open the can, it has a very root beer candy smell to it. The flavor is rooty as well, but with a very strong wintergreen component. The wintergreen quickly overwhelms the rooty flavor, however, and absolutely dominates the aftertaste, leaving me feeling like I just ate a breath mint. If you like your root beers extra minty, then this might be one for you.

Carbonation is on the light side, with fairly tame and tiny bubbles that lend a sense of carbonation, but don't really stand out. While it doesn't feel flat, I think it needs more prickle to really feel properly carbonated. Some of these pre/pro-biotic sodas have a thick texture to them, but this one is lighter and crisp. It doesn't exactly foam up or create a creamy sensation, but feels smooth nonetheless. Sweetness is actually quite decent for a stevia-sweetened drink, as I didn't get too much sense of the stevia flavor (probably overwhelmed by the wintergreen) and my mouth was left feeling fairly clean and fresh...a bit too fresh.

This was a bit different. I'm. not a huge fan of super mint heavy root beers, so this one ranks a fair bit lower than it otherwise might have. In fact, by the end of the can, it tasted more like a mint soda than a root beer.

Rating: D+
flavor: D+
aftertaste: D
sweetness: A
smoothness: B

carbonation: C- 

Virgil's (can) root beer

Background information: (from the website) "REEDS, Inc. is making extraordinary beverages and confections using very old-fashioned, natural methods and wholesome, fresh ingredients. We are a growing family of passionate entrepreneurs who have developed food and drink, which in our opinion exceed any products within their categories in taste, quality and imagination, as we are certain you noticed by now!"

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Manufactured for Reed's Inc., Norwalk, CT 06851. 170 calories, 42g sugar. Aluminum can. https://www.virgils.com/ (listed on the can, but website isn't functioning)

Ingredients: Sparkling filtered water, cane sugar, natural root beer flavor, natural cream flavor, caramel color, citric acid, natural mushroom extract (to protect quality).


My thoughts: Virgil's comes, in a can. They were put there by a man, in a factory downtown. If I had my little way, would I drink Virgil's every day? Let's open the can and find out.

Okay, my initial taste impression is pretty good. It has a good rooty sassafras flavor with some anise (licorice) and vanilla going on. The aftertaste doesn't reveal any spices that I wasn't tasting with the initial flavor, but after letting the aftertaste sit for a while, it has a strange, extremely subtle soap taste/sensation. It's so subtle that I almost doubted it was there at all, but after several tries and really letting it sit and paying attention, I still feel like there's a soap feeling maybe more than a flavor. It's very hard to describe, as it's not strong enough to really say for certain what it is; just that the sensation it leaves reminds me of soap for some reason. It's very weird.

The carbonation on this one is pretty good, with medium sized bubbles and a fair amount of them, which keeps this feeling peppy all the way to the end. Partly due to the not-too-aggressive carbonation, this one feels pretty smooth and creamy, though not overly foamy. Sweetness is spot on, giving a tasty drink without feeling overly syrupy or leaving my mouth coated with too much sugar.

So, I'm a bit mixed on this. It has some interesting things with the flavor that are good and not so good, but nothing amazing or outright terrible, though the soap sensation throws me off a bit. I've heard they reformulated this since I last reviewed it in bottle form, and I don't know that they've really made an improvement.

Rating: C-
flavor: B+
aftertaste: D-
sweetness: A
smoothness: A-

carbonation: B+ 

Freddie's root beer

Background information: (from the website): "Throughout the challenges of floods, fires, tornadoes and even Prohibition, the American family-owned Buffalo Trace Distillery has never compromised. A timeless dedication to respecting the past while fearlessly innovating for the future has served us well for more than two centuries. No matter the challenge, be it Mother Nature or man, the people of our Distillery have been part of the story that shaped America and the spirit industry as well."

"Crafted with natural herbs, real birch oil & imported vanilla."

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Bottled under the authority of Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601. 180 calories, 44g sugar. Glass bottle with twist off top. https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/

Ingredients: Purified carbonated water, high fructose corn sweetener and/or cane sugar, pure vanilla, natural and artificial flavors, caramel color, sodium benzoate (preservative) and phosphoric acid.


My thoughts: Back to a bottled root beer! I've mostly been finding new root beers in cans lately, so I'm glad to get back to the traditional glass bottle. While that doesn't necessarily promise a better root beer, it's how I prefer to drink mine.

It's been a long time since I've had a root beer, so maybe I'm just missing that flavor, but this one tastes really good! It has a vanilla-forward root beer flavor that is nice and strong, with a bit of mint to it (probably due to the birch oil), but not so strong as to give me that toothpaste feel. It has a very pleasant aftertaste and it might have a hint of anise, but I'm not totally certain on that one.

Okay, with a really good flavor, I hate to say it, but the carbonation is pitiful. There are hardly any bubbles and what little it has are fairly weak. I don't like my sodas flat, and this one is disappointingly so. The lack of carbonation and strong vanilla do give it a very creamy, almost root beer float sensation, so I do like the creaminess. And I feel like they got the right amount of sugar dialed in, even though I would have preferred real sugar instead of "high fructose corn sweetener and/or cane sugar".

I really like the flavor, but this one let me down with the almost complete absence of carbonation. I may want to give this a try with some dry ice to add in some of the lacking fizz, but that seems like a lot of extra work when I can just grab a bottle of good tasting and well carbonated root beer instead. I think if they got their carbonation issue solved, this would be a much more compelling contender.

Rating: B-
flavor: A-
aftertaste: B+
sweetness: A-
smoothness: A-

carbonation: D