Square Root London root beer review

The current UK root market is a little like the sports world. With many being banned for illegal enhancing ingredients, the remaining field has dwindled to only a handful. Stepping up to the challenge is a UK brewed root beer by the name of Square Root from London.

We British love an underdog and from the label and price this one appears to be a classy, well-bred character. Let's call this the Tim Henman of root beer. Lots of fans (back in the day) but ultimately up against the American class it won't win anything major.

First impressions were good, an interesting mixture of flavours. Tasting a little more like honey with a mild impression of the burdock and liquorice hints coming through, you could almost get the impression it was a health drink. After that though most of the subtle flavours disappears which is quite strange. At £2.70 a bottle it is very expensive but with the amount of choice out there it's worth a go. If we don't support these home-grown (home-brewed?) root beers then we risk losing it all through lack of demand.


Many thanks to Cyber Candy for sending me this root beer. They also sell Dominion root beer which is a more traditional American root beer taste and one I would strongly recommend.

7/10 (won't be to everyone's tastes)

Square Root London root beer

Septimus Spyder Medieval Brewhouse Root Beer review

If you're new to this blog or even new to root beer then you won't know that the UK and EU have got tough on imports of food and drinks containing sodium benzoate meaning a ban of a lot of US root beers. Some traders have reported being threatened with fines for selling root beers due to this change in law so this should present an opportunity for UK brewers and manufacturers to create and sell their own.

One UK brewer I've come across is Septimus Sypder who look to have grown from selling at village fetes and country fairs to giving online trading a go. Their website is, how can I say, unique with character. Possibly its been brewed in a cauldron with eye of newt and a Windows 3.1 computer.

The actual drink must have been brewed in a similar way. As soon as the bottle was opened the smell was questionable like a sickly caramel/chocolate smell. My wife described it as the smell of used bandages. The taste was slightly better but not by much. There wasn't any root beer flavouring at all but a very watery caramel taste. There's definitely sugar as it was quite sweet with my enamel buzzing after a few gulps. Worst of all there was no carbonation at all even though the label said there would a little. I didn't notice any alcoholic effects but I doubt 0.5% would really do anything.

When I emailed them to say how flat and off-tasting it was they confirmed that this was how it should be. Any good business should take on customer feedback and consider adapting recipe. I'll assume that Cyber Candy will have bought a batch of this as an attempt to replace their previous vast selection of US root beers. Unfortunately, at the very high price of £3.45 a bottle and awful taste I only see warlocks and hobgoblins enjoying this brew at their local medieval event.

I hope for their sake that the other types of drinks like Ginger Beer, Cream Soda and Dandelion & Burdock are a lot better but I won't be reviewing them here.

At risk of getting a curse from this alchemist I give this:

4/10

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Maine Sarsaparilla root beer review

So after the UK market dries up of decent US made, sodium benzoate -packed root beer there's very little choice out there. Cyber Candy in Covent Garden, London only had Virgil's, this Maine Sarsaparilla root beer and a very weird and wonderful British root beer in stock.

The first swig and I'm almost shocked at the taste. This isn't the sarsaparilla taste I remember. If this is the future for UK root beer fans then I'm not impressed. I'm all for natural and organic ingredients but it tastes weird with even a hint of ginger. It's not a bad taste but I just wouldn't bother.

At this rate I'll be moaning about EU regulations, writing strong letters to my MEP and even voting UKIP (that'll never happen by the way).

I rate this low sodium benzoate root beer:
 
6/10

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Has root beer been banned from the UK?

A few weeks ago I noticed that my local Cyber Candy store in Brighton had removed all root beers from their shelves (although I could see them in a back cupboard). I instantly thought that the store wanted to concentrate maybe on sweets or other products due to profit. I tweeted my disapointment quoting them:

Very disappointed to see @Cybercandy_BR has stopped selling #rootbeer again. Can only assume sales have been down. Sort it out!
— Rob's RootBeerreview (@Rootbeeruk) September 14, 2014

Not expecting a response I received these replies later in the day:

@Rootbeeruk hey :) It's not us it's the E.U!We've had to get all U.S sodas checked as they have different levels of the preservative ..tbc
— Cybercandy Brighton (@Cybercandy_BR) September 17, 2014

And...

@Rootbeeruk sodium benzoate than permitted under UK law. We hope we'll have most of them back soon :) We've got a make your own kit though:)
— Cybercandy Brighton (@Cybercandy_BR) September 17, 2014

So, what's going on?

Unfortunately, for root beer fans, Cyber Candy and other shops should no longer be selling root beers identified to have more than the allowed quota of sodium benzoate. According to Wikipedia it says that Benzene in soft drinks is of potential concern due to the carcinogenic nature of the benzene molecule. This means something that can cause cancer! Ok, let's not get all Daily Mail here and I would suspect that you would have to drink this continuously in litres for years until something seruous like this would happen.

To be honest you have to be a nutrionist to truly undertstand what's in the root beers that means the ban to being imported.

So, root beer hasn't been banned?

Forgive the attention-grabbing headline but it appears that some brands of root beer have stopped being imported. I've checked with a contact with American Fizz and there's still hope for root beer fans. 

Tom Turner from American Fizz confirmed that:

"... this affects all varieties of Root Beer imported from the United States including A&W, Barq's and Faygo. These varieties are no longer available for sale and unless the regulations surrounding Sodium Benzoate change, which they are not likely to, these drinks will not be returning."

I asked Tom if he thought US manufacturers would consider changing their recipes and ingredients to compensate for this UK and European law. He said:

"Unfortunately not. We have spoken to a few US manufacturers in the hope that they will adjust their formula for sale in Europe. We were met with very cold responses that were basically along the lines of “You are too small for us to even consider modifying our formula”. "

And another contact I have in the industry said that Rob's Root Beer Review favourite Goose Island had "3 times" the amount of sodium benzoate allowable so we'll never see that again in the UK!

US manufacturers not bothered about international markets

Since I started this blog and visiting websites for US manufacturers of root beer and I got the sense that marketing activities have been kept to a minimum since their websites look dated and very out of date with old news. Could it be fair (and worth a groan at) to say that the US market for root beer has lost its fizz? I know from Twitter activity that there are some passionate people out there in the UK who love root beer and even some restaurants serve it could be caught out by this change in law. So with every threat there's an opportunity for another. Therefore if any ambitious US manufacturers out there are reading this then now's the chance to change and take a chance on new markets like the UK and Europe.

So what can I buy now with this ban in place

American Fizz has taken the initiative to find new root beers that do have the allowed amount of sodium benzoate. Virgil's Gourmet Root Beer will soon be sold on their website.

Another highly rated root beer not affected by this import ban is Dominion Root Beer as confirmed by Heathwick Ltd, their official importer.

Otherwise, you can check with your local or favourite online shop. Existing stocks of root beer whatever your favourite brand may still be available but not for long!

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Frosties root beer review

This was a bargain at 99p from American Fizz but was a special deal at the time and is now priced at £2.29. It's a huge bottle of 947ml or a quart in US measurements designed for sharing with.

The taste is ok, smoother than the canned HFSC root beers but not as good as it's Frostie Vanilla root beer counterpart which I reviewed back in January. After a day being originally opened in the fridge, a lot of the carbonation had gone and didn't retain its taste either.

Checking the actual ingredients is rather confusing and I'm sure would be illegal in the UK. It quotes 'High Fructose Corn Syrup and/or Cane Sugar'. Well, which is it?? It tastes more like sugar but the overall quality is less so than the top rated root beers so can only assume there's a mixture.

On taste alone this I would award this:

7/10

Dr Pepper Vanilla Float review

Bought this Dr Pepper 'Vanilla Float' can from American Fizz with a couple of root beers (already reviewed). I went through a phase of liking Dr Pepper a few years ago but now I just find it weird.

I was hoping the Vanilla Float would conjure up tastes reminding me of vanilla ice cream floats but it seems the packaging is a complete lie as it still tastes exactly like original Dr Pepper. No wonder its so misunderstood!

Anyone who regularly drinks Doc P and is still curious or has actually had it and disagrees please comment below. Otherwise American Fizz sell it at 99p a 355ml can.

Rating:

N/A

Goose Island Chicago Style root beer review

I'd been recommended this root beer via a fan on Twitter but had almost dismissed it thinking it would never be available in the UK. Yet when searching a little deeper via Google for UK root beer shops American Fizz was discovered i.e. the Bournemouth shop who are importers for Faygo, reviewed recently.

This Goose Island root beer taste of vanilla flavouring and a subtle caramel-like smoothness which makes this a fast drink as its so delicious. Like any sensual experience you want it to last yet for every first time you always do it too quickly and leave you wanting more.

And what a bargain too at £1.49 for a 340ml bottle and none of that HFSC either - just 100% natural cane sugar. So whilst you're on the American Fizz website order some other drinks and snacks too (just re-ordered another 5 bottles plus cans of Inka Cola, Fanta Grape and Frostie root beer) so you make the postage count.

Probably the best craft or gourmet-style root beer at a decent price. If you're looking to upgrade from the mass-produced A & W's and Barq's then try this, you won't regret it.

9/10

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