Spike's Root Beer Reviews and Ratings
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How are these rated? 

I employ a very rigorous process when taste-testing root beer, in order to determine the most accurate grade. First, I fast for 4 hours. Then I brush my teeth with a new toothbrush using only baking soda. I rinse 3 times with distilled water, then I take some fresh mint (home grown!) and lightly crush it on my tongue. I rinse again, the finish the cleansing of my palette with a very light lime sherbet. Two final rinses and I'm ready to go!

The root beer is poured into hand-washed glasses chilled to 35°F. I evaluate color and head, then allow the brew to breathe for 3 minutes. I smell it, and take gentle sips, careful not to upset the carbonation. I record my observations on tape and have my secretary transcribe them. I review the transcript, assign a grade, and the whole package (including empty bottle/can and cap) is sent to my production department which assembles the final page.

The ratings:

By Name Grade   A&W Root Beer C    Adirondack Draft Style Root Beer  D+ Barq's Famous Olde Tyme Root Beer B- Best Health Root Beer B   Blue Sky Natural Root Beer D Boulder Springs Rocky Mountain Rootbeer C- Boylan Root Beer B Chugs Choice Root Beer B+ Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer D+   Dan's Mountain Root Beer D+ Dave and Buster's Old Fashioned Philly Root Beer C- Dominion Root Beer C+   Duffy's Rowdy Root Beer  B- Frostie Root Beer C+ Frozen Run B Goose Island Root Beer B+ Hansen's Signature Sarsaparilla Soda A-   Health Valley Old Fashioned Root Beer D+   Health Valley Sarsaparilla Root Beer B   Henry Weinhard's Root Beer A   IBC Root Beer C-   Journey Shenandoah Sassafras Root Beer F+ McCaffrey's Breakaway Creamy Root Beer C   Natural Brew Draft Root Beer B Olde Brooklyn Birch Beer D   Rawhide Rootbeer C+ RJ Corr Natural Soda B- Root 66 Root Beer B+   Shasta Root Beer C- Sioux City Root Beer D Sioux City Sarsaparilla B Snapple Tru Root Beer D Sprecher Root Beer Soda B   Stewart's Root Beer C-   Think Interactive Root Beer F   Thomas Kemper Pure Draft Root Beer B+   Tommyknocker 1859 Original Root Beer  D    Virgil's Rootbeer B   Way 2 Cool B+  Wild West Sarsaparilla  D-

By Grade (alphabetically within each grade) Grade   Henry Weinhard's Root Beer A Hansen's Signature Sarsaparilla Soda A- Chugs Choice Root Beer B+ Goose Island Root Beer B+ Root 66 Root Beer B+   Thomas Kemper Pure Draft Root Beer B+   Way 2 Cool B+ Best Health Root Beer B Boylan Root Beer B Frozen Run B Health Valley Sarsaparilla Root Beer B   Natural Brew Draft Root Beer B Sioux City Sarsaparilla B Sprecher Root Beer Soda B   Virgil's Rootbeer B Barq's Famous Olde Tyme Root Beer B-   Duffy's Rowdy Root Beer B- RJ Corr Natural Soda B- Dominion Root Beer C+ Frostie Root Beer C+   Rawhide Rootbeer C+   A&W Root Beer C McCaffrey's Breakaway Creamy Root Beer C Boulder Springs Rocky Mountain Rootbeer C- Dave and Buster's Old Fashioned Philly Root Beer C-   IBC Root Beer C-   Shasta Root Beer C-   Stewart's Root Beer C-    Adirondack Draft Style Root Beer  D+ Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer D+   Dan's Mountain Root Beer D+   Health Valley Old Fashioned Root Beer D+   Blue Sky Natural Root Beer D Olde Brooklyn Birch Beer D Sioux City Root Beer D Snapple Tru Root Beer D   Tommyknocker 1859 Original Root Beer D    Wild West Sarsaparilla  D-   Journey Shenandoah Sassafras Root Beer F+   Think Interactive Root Beer F

Questions? Comments? Send them to callmespike@home.com