HEB Old Fashioned root beer

Background information: (from the website) "You don’t have to be from Texas to know that nothing beats the taste of a refreshing, ice‑cold sip of H‑E‑B Old Fashioned Root Beer Soda! This uniquely flavored drink delivers seriously delicious taste, and is perfect with home style BBQ, poured over ice cream, or just straight from the fridge."

Product details: 20 fl. oz.  Made with pride and care for H-E-B, San Antonio, TX 78204. 270 calories, 74g sugar.  Plastic bottle with twist off top. www.heb.com

Ingredients: Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, potassium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservatives), natural and artificial flavor, citric acid.


My thoughts: Continuing with my branching out to non-glass-bottled root beers, here's the in-house HEB brand. HEB is a Texas grocery store chain, so this one can't be found in other states. We'll see if that means you're missing out or not. I also have to admit that this one sat around for quite a while and I only noticed the "best by" date was almost a year ago, something I looked at after taking the first swig and finding no fizz at all.

As far as flavor is concerned, this is a run of the mill root beer. It has the generic rooty flavor with wintergreen. It's not what I'd consider a "minty" root beer, but is a little more noticeable than some of the others. I don't mind it at all, and I generally try to steer clear of the overly minty, toothpasty flavor of the stronger mints. There isn't much to be discovered in the aftertaste, as they seem to have eschewed any other notes of spices.

The 74g of sugar is right in line with the proportionality of the usual 12oz bottles I drink and it has an appropriately sugary feel to it.  As I mentioned at the top of my thoughts, this one is past the "best by" date and I assume the total lack of carbonation is due to that, so I can't offer a fair evaluation at this time (I'll update if I find myself in Texas again). Smoothness is also nearly impossible to judge, as it's typically intertwined with the level of carbonation, though this one lacks the creamy sensation even when flat, so it's not a top-tier creaminess contender.

Well, with what information I have, this is a perfectly adequate root beer that is more or less the same as any other big grocery store chain generic branded drink. Nothing worth getting excited about, but perfectly serviceable in a pinch.

Rating: C-
flavor: C-
aftertaste: C-
sweetness: B
smoothness: n/a
carbonation: n/a

1927 Soda Co. root beer

Background information: The 7-Eleven website makes no mention of this drink. The 1927 Soda Co. brand name comes from 7-11 originally starting up in 1927 as an ice house storefront before becoming Tote'm Stores from 1928-1946. This is likely a rebadged third party produced beverage.

Product details: 20 fl. oz.  Distributed by 7-Eleven, Inc. Irving, TX 75063. 290 calories, 72g sugar.  Plastic bottle with twist off top.


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


My thoughts: Well, I've been having a tough time finding glass bottled root beers I haven't tried before, so I'm branching out a bit. This one is a root beer made for 7-11 convenience stores and comes in a regular plastic bottle. I'm keeping my expectations in check, as I don't expect a convenience store chain to really push the envelope of root beer flavor.

Okay, they definitely went with a wintergreen vibe. The root beer flavor is a bit flat and so the minty dominates. It's not bad, but it's not exactly what I look for in a root beer. The wintergreen isn't too intense so much as it's noticeable due to the weakness of the rooty taste. The aftertaste lets some vanilla show through, so I actually find it to have a very pleasant aftertaste.

The 72g of sugar may seem extremely high compared to the other root beers I've tested, but keep in mind that this is a 20oz bottle rather than the usual 12oz, so proportionally the sugar levels are right in line with the others. As such, it isn't too overly syrupy and at least uses real sugar. Carbonation, on the other hand, is abysmal. The first swig after opening was promising, but all the subsequent ones were almost completely flat. Where did all the carbonation go? It's hard to gauge smoothness with a complete absence of carbonation, but it does seem to have a decently creamy feel to it.

Consider me unimpressed. A mediocre flavor combined with terrible carbonation levels leave this one off my list. In spite of the good aftertaste, it's not one I'll drink again. Hopefully some of the upcoming plastic bottled and canned root beers can compete at least a little bit.
Rating: D
flavor: C-
aftertaste: B
sweetness: B
smoothness: C
carbonation: F-

Saint Arnold root beer

Background information: (from the website): "We noticed that we had a lot of families attending our tours with their children. As giving the kids beer, while legal in the state of Texas as long as they were with their parents, was frowned upon, we decided we needed an alternative. Root beer seemed like a fun idea.

And so the research began. Making root beer is much more of an immediate gratification process compared to beer. You heat up some water to dissolve the sugar, then you cool it down and add the root extracts. Most of the extracts are from real plants, but some, such as sassafrass, have pesky carcinogens in them and thus we opted to replace those with artificial flavors. We developed a good root beer base, but we wanted a great root beer so we started playing around with small amounts of other natural flavors. We finally found one that worked great and went with that. We could tell you what it is, but then we'd have to kill you. If we did tell you, you would immediately recognize it. Nobody has come up with it though without being prompted.

We use all cane sugar in our root beer which is stupidly expensive because of government controls on sugar pricing and imports. It creates a great mouthfeel to the root beer though and gives a much fuller sweetness than the thin sweet taste one gets with high fructose corn syrup.

We actually make no money on our root beer. We make it for fun and put no effort into selling it. Sales continue to climb on it even without our trying though. Oh well.

Strange fact: drinking root beer gives you very refreshing burps. It's the wintergreen."

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Bottled by Saint Arnold Brewing Company, Houston, Texas 77020. 140 calories, 36g sugar.  Glass bottle with pry off top. www.http://www.saintarnold.com/


Ingredients: Water, sugar, root beer extract (water, caramel color gum arabic, yucca concentrate, propylene glycol, ethyl alcohol, sodium benzoate, citric acid), sparkling foam (water, yucca extract, sodium benzoate), sodium benzoate (preservative), phosphoric acid.


My thoughts: Forgive me father, for I have sinned. It has been seven months since my last root beer. I am lusting after some new root beer and want to gluttonously consume them. I envy my neighbor who has a cold root beer in his hand and greedily want to hoard all the beverage for me, but I have been too slothful to acquire this nectar of the gods. I'm proud to say I now have one to drink, and if anyone tries to take it from me, they will face my wrath!

Bless me with your -WHOA! That's a lot of wintergreen! Yes, this is one minty root beer, with the main flavor of the day being wintergreen. I don't know if it's just been so long since I've had a root beer, but I don't mind the overwhelming mintiness as much as I usually do. Often they remind me of toothpaste, but this one not so much. There is a decent sassafras flavor underneath there, so it's definitely a root beer, however it's a little overwhelmed. There is a nice natural herbal and vanilla undertone, but again, it's overpowered by the wintergreen. The aftertaste does let these weaker flavors show off a tiny bit more.

Carbonation is pretty weak. Not a whole lot of fizz or bite to this one, which is a letdown. It comes across a bit flat for my preference. It is fairly creamy, however (thanks yucca extract!!!), so has a pleasant smoothness to it, though that may be helped along by the lack of carbonation. I'm always looking for that holy grail of sharp, biting carbonation with a creamy froth to smooth things out. This one is missing the first half of that equation. The sweetness is pretty good and I was surprised that it felt just a tiny bit sugary even though it runs on the lower end of the sugar content spectrum. Strange indeed.

So, is this one getting in through the pearly gates or condemned to burn in an everlasting pit of flames? I don't think it deserves either status. It's not a bad root beer, but it certainly isn't worthy of being exalted either. I'd drink another if it was offered, but won't go out of my way to buy again.
Rating: C
flavor: C
aftertaste: C
sweetness: B-
smoothness: B
carbonation: D+

Gene Simmons Moneybag root beer

Background information: (from the website): "My Moneybag sodas are made only with the most elite of ingredients. This is soda royalty!!! If you have expensive taste, drink Moneybag!"

Aside from this short blurb, the website seems to be quite light on actual information.


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Gene Simmons Company. 180 calories, 45g sugar (bottle says "45mg" but I'm pretty certain that's a typo).  Glass bottle with twist off top. www.http://www.genesimmonsmoneybag.com/


Ingredients: Carbonated water, cane sugar, citric acid, sodium benzoate (used as a preservative), natural flavour and caramel color.


My thoughts: (note- October 2026: It appears this root beer has been reformulated, as I recently bought a bottle -forgetting I had reviewed it before- so I decided to use it in a float. I poured most of it into the float but gave the last little bit a taste only to discover that it's not at all what I reviewed previously. No hint of wintergreen and it had a very strong and creamy vanilla taste. I didn't have enough left to do a full review, so I'll need to revisit this one and give it a proper review update.)

A root beer brought to us from legendary KISS rock and roller Gene Simmons? Sure, I'll give it a try. I can only hope it rocks my mouth like KISS rocked the Popcorn Club on January 30, 1973.

After my last root beer, it was nice to once again have a strong, rooty sassafras taste. It leans a little more towards the candy root beer flavor, with less emphasis on subtle notes of other spices, but there is wintergreen in there. It's not necessarily doing anything special, but it has the basics down. The aftertaste is pleasant, with the wintergreen growing a little more noticeable, but never too strong, and the rooty taste slowly fading.

It is a little on the sugary side from the ingredient list, but not any more so than any other average root beer. I do like how strong the carbonation is, with fairly aggressive bubbles initially though they fade to average by the last third of the bottle. It's not super smooth up front due to the strong carbonation, but become smoother as the bottle empties. Strong carbonation is generally a tradeoff with smoothness, and this does a decent job. It's not super creamy, but good.

Well, it didn't quite rock my face off the way KISS was known to rock their concerts, but it is a solid, just above average root beer. And some days that's all I need. It doesn't quite compete with the best out there, but I wouldn't hesitate to grab one of these out of the fridge. I also have to note that I find it interesting that Gene made his own root beer, seeing as how there's already a KISS Army branded root beer in existence (and one that seems to have similar flavor characteristics).
Rating: C+
flavor: C+
aftertaste: C
sweetness: B-
smoothness: B-
carbonation: B+

Ramblin' Butterscotch root beer

Background information: (from the Monarch website) "A quick history of Ramblin' Root Beer. Following its introduction in 1979 Ramblin' became one of the most popular root beers in America.

The vintage brand's first commercial featured a cameo by a young Sarah Jessica Parker, and the accompanying jingle, "Ramblin' Root Beer's something more!" would be in the minds of Americans for years to come.

Today, with a lineup of new flavors and fresh, new package designs, the best root beer is back and brought friends along to remind the passionate fans what they've been missing."

So yeah, the website is pretty light on information. Not the worst I've seen (there have been some extremely sparse websites), but very basic.


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Bottled by Rocket Fizz under the authority of The Monarch Beverage Co., Inc. Atlanta, GA 30326. 150 calories, 37g sugar.  Glass bottle with twist off top. www.rocketfizz.com


Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Potassium Benzoate (as preservative), Natural Flavor, Quillaia Extract, and Phosphoric Acid.

My thoughts: Having reviewed the regular Ramblin' root beer as well as the Ramblin' Maple root beer, I have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this one. Ramblin' has never been strong on the rootiness, with a thin, watery sensation to the root beer flavor. So we'll see if the tradition continues.

Whereas the Maple variation had a very strong scent to it, there is only a subtle hint of butterscotch to the smell of this one. I like butterscotch, so expect this to be good and it's... *UGGH!* It's terrible! The butterscotch tastes like chemicals. I can't quite identify what it is, but it's awful. There is a slight butterscotch taste to it, but it's overwhelmed by the chemical taste. Gross. The aftertaste isn't much better, but a hint of rooty sassafras taste comes through.

Like it's predecessors, sweetness is pretty good, but it's hard to get a great grasp on it as I can't get past the horrible taste. Carbonation is good, with small, moderately aggressive bubbles. I don't know how well that carbonation sticks around through the bottle as I couldn't get more than about a quarter of the way through this one. While it does have quillaia extract, it isn't as smooth or creamy as I would expect and continues the streak of disappointment with this drink.

I'm pretty sure I've finished all the bottles of root beer I've tested except for one or two. This one gets the great distinction of being added to the list. I would, under no circumstance, recommend this one. Major fail.


Rating: F
flavor: F-
aftertaste: F-
sweetness: B
smoothness: C
carbonation: B+

Ramblin' Maple root beer

Background information: (from the Monarch website) "A quick history of Ramblin' Root Beer. Following its introduction in 1979 Ramblin' became one of the most popular root beers in America.

The vintage brand's first commercial featured a cameo by a young Sarah Jessica Parker, and the accompanying jingle, "Ramblin' Root Beer's something more!" would be in the minds of Americans for years to come.

Today, with a lineup of new flavors and fresh, new package designs, the best root beer is back and brought friends along to remind the passionate fans what they've been missing."

So yeah, the website is pretty light on information. Not the worst I've seen (there have been some extremely sparse websites), but very basic.


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Bottled by Rocket Fizz under the authority of The Monarch Beverage Co., Inc. Atlanta, GA 30326. 150 calories, 37g sugar.  Glass bottle with twist off top. www.rocketfizz.com


Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Potassium Benzoate (as preservative), Natural Flavor, Quillaia Extract, and Phosphoric Acid.


My thoughts: Having reviewed the regular Ramblin' root beer in the past, I'm curious to see if any of the basic traits remain, as that one had a very strong vanilla, but slightly watered down sassafras rootiness. This one, however, adds maple and is bottled by Rocket Fizz, rather than directly by Monarch Beverage.

Well, in the place of vanilla this one has an extremely strong maple taste to it, just like maple syrup. Following in the footsteps of the regular Ramblin' root beer, the sassafras flavor is fairly weak, perhaps exacerbated by the overwhelming strength of the maple. The flavors are somewhat complimentary, so it's not like the two are battling out in the flavor arena with two completely different taste directions in mind, so it works, but I'd call this a maple flavored soda first and a root beer second. There still is vanilla in there, with it being noticeable both in the initial taste as well as the aftertaste. The rootiness becomes pretty thin feeling in the aftertaste, again, just like the original Ramblin'.

I'm going to be lazy with this next part, as my previous review holds true for this one as well: Sweetness is pretty good, though perhaps a tad on the sugary side, as it leaves a moderately stronger than usual sugary feel in my mouth. That sensation is odd, seeing as how it has less sugar (37g) than the average root beer (generally 40-45g). Carbonation is decent, with a very fine bubble structure that doesn't prick the tongue. I wouldn't mind a slightly more aggressive effervescence to it, but it certainly isn't flat. As for smoothness, this is one of the creamier root beers, likely aided by the inclusion of quillaia extract, which usually lends a hand in this regard. It goes down nice and smooth.

So, my final thoughts. It's pretty good (better than I had anticipated after catching my first whiff of the super-maple scent) and an interesting flavor addition, but as a root beer, it feels like it's more of a maple soda than a root beer, so my scoring takes that into account with it tasting good, but not necessarily being a great root beer. I'd certainly drink it again and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it if you're in the mood for maple. If you are really craving root beer, perhaps look elsewhere.


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

Ozark Mountain Bottleworks root beer

Background information: (from the website) "Ozark Mountain Bottleworks, Inc. was started in 2009 as a way to share our unique recipes."

"The OZMB team is comprised of the mother and daughter combo of Debbie Walters and Tina King. Tina’s husband, Chris King, is also a joint owner in the company. The OZMB team brings together years of business experience and an entrepreneurial spirit to form a company based on family values and community involvement."

"Our Root Beer is handcrafted with 100% pure cane sugar. It is designed to highlight the classic flavors of Root Beer and Sarsaparilla to create a unique taste unlike anything else on the market."


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Ozark Mountain Bottleworks, Branson, MO. 160 calories, 30g sugar.  Glass bottle with twist off top. www.ozmb.com


Ingredients: Carbonated Spring Water, Pure Cane Sugar, Natural Flavors, Caramel Color, Quillaja Extract, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Potassium Sorbate (Preservative).


My thoughts: With a lower than average sugar content, I'm curious to see how this root beer turns out. I'm always happy when I see quillaja as an ingredient, as I know it'll have an excellent creamy sensation, so hopefully this one doesn't let me down. Okay, time to drink!

The root beer flavor is strong with this one...but in a generic way. It has a strong sassafras taste, but seems to lack most of the usual spices that add variety. Oh yeah, except the "punch you in the face" wintergreen, which almost overwhelms the rest of the flavor. There might be other things going on in their mix, but I can't taste it over the mint, which becomes even more pronounced as an aftertaste. While I don't mind a mintier aftertaste and I like a little wintergreen, this one is too much for me. If you're a wintergreen fan, this might be the root beer you're looking for.

Carbonation is nice, with smaller feeling bubbles that provide just a little bit of sting. It seems to be fairly consistent through drinking the whole bottle, only slightly lessening in strength as I reached the bottom. The quillaja extract makes for a nice, creamy sensation, helping it to feel smooth and frothy. Sweetness is spot on, which comes at a bit of a surprise with only 30g of sugar instead of the 40g or so in the average root beer. It doesn't leave my mouth feeling overly syrupy or sugar coated.

While the flavor is pedestrian and too minty for my taste, I like what Ozark Mountain Bottleworks is doing with the other aspects. They certainly nailed the carbonation, smoothness, and sugar, but those aspects are overshadowed by the taste. I'd like to see what they could do with better proportioned ratio of the spices they use. Alas, I don't think this will be one I'd make the effort to buy again.


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