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+ 

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- 

VitaLife Prebiotic root beer

Background information: This root beer is sold at Aldi grocery stores, but has no product information. It is a seasonal item, however, so may not be readily available.

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Dist. & sold exclusively by Aldi Batavia, IL 60510. 40 calories, 5g sugar. Aluminum can. https://www.aldi.us

Ingredients: Water, Organic Water Kefir (Water, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Kefir Culture), Organic Agave Inulin, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Apple Juice Concentrate, Organic Root Beer Flavor (Water, Organic Caramel Color, Organic Gum Acacia, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid), Organic Stevia, Organic Lemon Juice Concentrate, Organic Vanilla Extract, Organic Monk Fruit Extract, Tartaric Acid, Sea Salt.


My thoughts: I'll admit that I'm not generally a fan of prebiotic sodas. But I saw this root beer and figured that it needed to be added to my reviews, so I bought a can (from my local Aldi's).

Taking a whiff of the just cracked can, it smells like an ordinary root beer. Taste, however, is completely different. Okay, I guess not completely different, as there are some rooty undertones, but the overall flavor is kind of a fruity...something. It doesn't really have a specific fruit flavor so much as it creates an impression of the fruitiness without being a definite flavor. I know that may not make a whole lot of sense, but that's the impression I get. It's not a particularly pleasant flavor, but it's not gag inducing. The aftertaste reveals a little hint of the root beer undertones and some wintergreen or some such mint along with some vanilla. At this point, not having read the ingredient list yet, I suspect the fruitiness is monk fruit, which is often used as a natural sweetener (edit: monk fruit confirmed on the list).

One thing this gets right is the carbonation. While not the really aggressive bubbles I love, it's probably more along the lines of what the average person prefers, a suitably prickly experience that doesn't necessarily dance on the tongue. To go along with that, I feel like it has a decently creamy sensation, going down nice and smooth. As for sweetness, I don't like the flavor monk fruit imparts as a sweetener, so am marking the sweetness down as a negative due to the influence on the flavor profile.

Alright, so as a prebiotic soda, this isn't a terrible drink by any stretch. But as a root beer, it's just not good, falling well below the average tasting root beer. This might be a decent option for those trying to drink healthier beverages, though I'm sure that -as in many things- the health advantages are overstated. I'd rather just eat healthier in general and mix in good tasting root beers in moderation instead.

Rating: D-
flavor: F+
aftertaste: D
sweetness: D
smoothness: B

carbonation: B+ 

Olipop classic root beer

Background information: (from the website) "OLIPOP tastes like the soda you grew up sipping, but with the added benefit of microbiome and digestive health support. With plant fiber, prebiotics, botanicals, and a touch of magic, we made soda healthier AND more delicious!"

"Our botanically driven Root Beer marries a classic bite with a creamy sweetness with extracts of sweet birch, smooth-vanilla bean and naturally sourced burdock root. We recommend pairing it with your favorite ice-cream."

(from the can): "We've spent years crafting a drink that;s as good for your digestion as it is delicious. OLIPOP combines the benefits of prebiotics, plant fiber and botanicals in a sparkling tonic that supports your microbiome and benefits digestive health."

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Manufactured for OLIPOP Inc., Oakland, CA 94610. 35 calories, 2g sugar. Contains 3% juice. Aluminum can. www.drinkolipop.com

Ingredients: Purified water, OLISMART (Chicory Root*, Jerusalem Artichoke*, Kudzu root*, Cassava fiber, Cassava syrup, Marshmallow root*, Slippery Elm bark*, Nopal cactus*, Calendula flower*), Apple juice, Organic Root Beer Flavor extract*, Stevia*, Burdock root*, Pink rock salt, Vanilla bean essence, Sweet Birch*. *extract 


My thoughts: Okay, I'm feeling adventurous. Not only is this not a bottle, but it hits all the buzzwords: Prebiotics; botanicals; plant fiber; digestive health. Seems like it could be a perfect pairing with my avocado toast. I jest. Sort of. Avocado toast is tasty.

Okay, this is an interesting mix of flavors. I can tell it's a root beer, as it has some of the classic sassafras rootiness, but there are a lot of other competing flavors. A lot of the flavors I can't identify, as they are way outside my normal wheelhouse: Cassava, chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke, Kudzu root, etc (see the ingredients list above and most of those I have never had before). These flavors do lend a slightly "healthy herbal medicinal" sensation to the flavors, and I'm not entirely sure I like it. Vanilla is somewhere in this mix and I can taste it a little. The worst offender is probably the stevia, of which I have never been a fan. The stevia lingers strongly in the aftertaste, making me regret this drink.

With my first swig, the carbonation wasn't too bad. Weak, but okay. The effervescence quickly dissipated, leaving an almost entirely flat drink. (note: I had purchased this once before and only noticed it was past it's "best by" date after trying it and discovering it was totally flat, so I dumped it out. Giving it a chance with a newly purchased, fresh can, it seems that being flat is just how this drink rolls.) It's hard to judge smoothness in the near-complete absence of carbonation, but there is a sense of some creaminess. Sweetness is awful, not due to the texture, but the fact it's primarily sweetened with the awful stevia sweetener. Gross.

So this was an absolute failure as a root beer, or even as a moderately drinkable beverage. There is so much going on flavor-wise, with a few hits but mostly misses. I get that this is supposed to be a healthy alternative to regular soda, but they certainly didn't do a good job of convincing me that they are a viable competitor with my regular, not-at-all healthy, root beer. I had a hard enough time finishing this one can and certainly won't be consuming this again.

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