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Pop/Soda tasting notes [tons o' pics]

Pop/Soda tasting notes [tons o' pics]
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  • Post #181 - September 12th, 2011, 10:17 pm
    Post #181 - September 12th, 2011, 10:17 pm Post #181 - September 12th, 2011, 10:17 pm
    I think I'm going to ask HyVee to stock it. Couldn't hurt to ask!
  • Post #182 - October 5th, 2011, 3:18 pm
    Post #182 - October 5th, 2011, 3:18 pm Post #182 - October 5th, 2011, 3:18 pm
    Bought a 4-pack of your-choice bottles at Mariano's for $3.99. Yeah, not a great deal, but had some cravings. I've sampled three of four so far:

    Sprecher's Ginger Beer: Nice ginger bite, but very sweet and syrupy, the same sort of stickiness you get from a high quality root beer. I'd prefer something a little drier, but pretty good. B+

    Jones Key Lime: More like a lime cream soda. Good, but not great, and not tart enough for key lime. C+

    Jones 0 Cal Black cherry: Grabbed by mistake, meant to get the regular. Better than average black cherry flavor, artificial sweetener aftertaste minimal. B

    The fourth one's a root beer, I don't remember whose.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #183 - October 5th, 2011, 4:12 pm
    Post #183 - October 5th, 2011, 4:12 pm Post #183 - October 5th, 2011, 4:12 pm
    $4/4 actually is a fine deal. Most sodas at America's Market, say, are $1.50-1.75, and a four-pack of Sprecher anything is rarely below $4.
    Ed Fisher
    my chicago food photos

    RIP LTH.
  • Post #184 - October 6th, 2011, 8:50 am
    Post #184 - October 6th, 2011, 8:50 am Post #184 - October 6th, 2011, 8:50 am
    If you are out in the DeKalb/Sycamore area you can get Sprecher's at Farm and Fleet.
  • Post #185 - October 6th, 2011, 9:02 am
    Post #185 - October 6th, 2011, 9:02 am Post #185 - October 6th, 2011, 9:02 am
    You can get it at Jewel here in the city, too. The cheapest place I've seen for it, about the same price as at the brewery itself, is Woodman's in Kenosha. Sometimes as low as $2.50-3 for a 4pk there.
    Ed Fisher
    my chicago food photos

    RIP LTH.
  • Post #186 - November 30th, 2011, 5:12 am
    Post #186 - November 30th, 2011, 5:12 am Post #186 - November 30th, 2011, 5:12 am
    Picked up a four-pack of Sprecher's Red Apple Soda at Woodman's. It's labeled "seasonal." It has a very pleasant sweet apple taste. I'm fond of the Mexican apple soda Sidral Mundet, and liked Sprecher's even better.
  • Post #187 - February 19th, 2012, 12:43 am
    Post #187 - February 19th, 2012, 12:43 am Post #187 - February 19th, 2012, 12:43 am
    For the Sprecher's fans - you can get the syrup for a number of their sodas at the brewery in Glendale, WI. They just request that you call first since it is a long hike to the back to get it.

    For the Moxie fans - Fresh Market often carries it in their cold soda section in Brookfield, WI. Hopefully in Fox Point as well when they open up next month.
  • Post #188 - February 19th, 2012, 2:54 am
    Post #188 - February 19th, 2012, 2:54 am Post #188 - February 19th, 2012, 2:54 am
    Do you just mix the syrup with setzer or is there some process to be followed?
  • Post #189 - February 19th, 2012, 11:11 am
    Post #189 - February 19th, 2012, 11:11 am Post #189 - February 19th, 2012, 11:11 am
    That'd basically be it. Ideally you'd have a soda fountain setup at home that works with bag-in-box syrup. You're looking for a 5:1 ratio of carbonated water to syrup.

    You could also get Dublin Dr. Pepper in bag-in-box form for a long time. Not sure if you still can, what with the upheaval down there. Back when I was still drinking soda regularly, my dream was to have a two-tap soda fountain in the house with Sprecher's and Dublin Dr. Pepper.
    Ed Fisher
    my chicago food photos

    RIP LTH.
  • Post #190 - February 19th, 2012, 2:39 pm
    Post #190 - February 19th, 2012, 2:39 pm Post #190 - February 19th, 2012, 2:39 pm
    zoid wrote:Do you just mix the syrup with setzer or is there some process to be followed?


    What we used to do is St. Louis and Cleveland was to get some cheap store brand club soda and refrigerate it. We used "old style' Coca-Cola glasses - the ones with the "syrup" lines. Syrup goes in first, then soda water, then stir and add ice.

    No expensive machine required.


    One more thing. You can use fruit juice concentrates also to make natural sodas. IMO, you need to test the proportions as tehy do vary.
  • Post #191 - March 15th, 2012, 1:53 pm
    Post #191 - March 15th, 2012, 1:53 pm Post #191 - March 15th, 2012, 1:53 pm
    WTF?

    When America's Market closed, I bought a couple bottles of every Ginger Beer they had, plus a bunch of other things.
    One of them was Pangleheimer's Hot Ginger Ale

    I thought "Hot" meant a lot of ginger, like a ginger beer.
    But no, it appears to have a hot chile heat, lip-tinglingly so.

    Not what I'm looking for in a ginger flavor. This is pretty nasty.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #192 - April 30th, 2012, 9:02 am
    Post #192 - April 30th, 2012, 9:02 am Post #192 - April 30th, 2012, 9:02 am
    For the folks above the cheddar curtain:
    The Fox Point Fresh Market has opened up. I went in and cleared them out of Moxie this morning.
    It has been a while since I was there, but the Brookfield store seems to have more soda.
  • Post #193 - June 6th, 2012, 2:13 pm
    Post #193 - June 6th, 2012, 2:13 pm Post #193 - June 6th, 2012, 2:13 pm
    Picked up some interesting pop at World Market recently.

    The four-pack of Bruce Cost Ginger Ale is all gone. Lovely stuff. It's not quite the wow of the house-made version at Big Bowl, but it's easily the best ginger ale I've tried.

    Nesbitt's Orange is a nice orange soda. A little less artificial tasting than many.

    Zuberfizz Key Lime Cream Soda is pretty pleasant, though not very key-limey. I'd like it to have more bite. It's rather like a softer version of Green River, and it's made with cane sugar.
  • Post #194 - June 6th, 2012, 3:03 pm
    Post #194 - June 6th, 2012, 3:03 pm Post #194 - June 6th, 2012, 3:03 pm
    We were as picky when selecting our bottled Root Beer as we were with our craft beer we put in our Pub. If you find a bottle, Fitz Root Beer out of St. Louis was the hands down winner. They do about 8 flavors including a really nice cream soda.
    D.G. Sullivan's, "we're a little bit Irish, and a whole lot of fun"!
  • Post #195 - June 6th, 2012, 9:21 pm
    Post #195 - June 6th, 2012, 9:21 pm Post #195 - June 6th, 2012, 9:21 pm
    Image

    After tasting Mr. Q-Cumber, we went back to World Market to pick up a six-pack, even though it's $1.49 per 7-ounce bottle. I think it's going to be really wonderful with gin.
  • Post #196 - June 22nd, 2015, 8:56 pm
    Post #196 - June 22nd, 2015, 8:56 pm Post #196 - June 22nd, 2015, 8:56 pm
    I've been avoiding pop lately, both sugared and artificial, but I was walking around on a hot evening and felt like I deserved a treat. Local Indian grocer Apna-Desh in Prospect Heights has a few imported drinks, and this caught my eye.

    This rates as "oh hell no!"
    Like mixing tamarind chutney in a cola. Too sweet, and cumin just doesn't work. Could not take more than a couple sips before I tossed it.
    IMAG0234.jpg
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #197 - June 24th, 2015, 9:55 am
    Post #197 - June 24th, 2015, 9:55 am Post #197 - June 24th, 2015, 9:55 am
    I am in Russia and enjoying the elusive Schweppes Bitter Lemon. I am trying to OD on it but to no avail. The stuff is perfect. I also tried the grapefruit flavor but just can not get enough of the Bitter Lemon. There is a Mojito flavor but I am skeptical of mint flavored drinks-too much like mouthwash. But I may take one for the team...... maybe I will mix it with vodka.
    What disease did cured ham actually have?
  • Post #198 - February 12th, 2018, 9:26 am
    Post #198 - February 12th, 2018, 9:26 am Post #198 - February 12th, 2018, 9:26 am
    Slice is back: once-popular soft drink is rebooted as low-calorie drink sweetened with fruit juice

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html
    Never order barbecue in a place that also serves quiche - Lewis Grizzard
  • Post #199 - September 7th, 2018, 2:06 am
    Post #199 - September 7th, 2018, 2:06 am Post #199 - September 7th, 2018, 2:06 am
    gleam wrote:Big backlog today, with a lot of hazy memories:

    Image
    Dr. Pepper Cherry: Not an improvement on the original. Very pretty in the glass, though. B.

    Recently, my Dad advised he likes Cherry Coke over regular Coca-Cola. I like Coke and Dr. Pepper quite a bit. Impulsively, I bought Cherry Dr. Pepper recently thinking it may be the best of both worlds. If only I had seen gleam's assessment first.

    Cherry Dr. Pepper does not really taste of Dr. Pepper nor is it a Cola, it is a memorable failure. One not to be repeated until what I recently bought is consumed.

    Unfortunately, I consumed enough this evening to be still awake at 3:00 am. This stuff is biting me back.

    Regards,
    Cathy2
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #200 - November 7th, 2018, 11:34 am
    Post #200 - November 7th, 2018, 11:34 am Post #200 - November 7th, 2018, 11:34 am
    WBC spicy ginger ale is a tasty low cost ginger ale that is sold at Jewel. It is made in Chicago and is far better than the big market ginger ales. It really makes a nice gingery mixer for bottom shelf highballs. I also love Sprechters (which you can usually find on sale at Menards) but this is pretty close. It is sold in four pack bottles or a plastic bottle (perhaps quart ) for 3 for $5. Other flavors are vanilla and root beer. Interestingly, our Jewel runs out of the ginger ale more frequently than the other varieties so folks are catching on to it or I am drinking way too many highballs.
    What disease did cured ham actually have?
  • Post #201 - February 23rd, 2020, 2:49 pm
    Post #201 - February 23rd, 2020, 2:49 pm Post #201 - February 23rd, 2020, 2:49 pm
    I don't know where else to post this question, perhaps a stretch to post here, admins feel free to move or delete.

    Looking for cheap, typically house brand soda, mostly diet black cherry or diet ginger ale. While the $1.25 per can Hansen's is good, I will use as a mix for other purposes, so quality is less important. Using this thread because Jewel used to have a house brand diet black cherry and I think diet ginger ale.

    The flavored seltzer waters seem to have displaced most of the diet sodas.

    I take the diet ginger ale and add ginger extract to make a diet ginger beer. You don't want to know what corrupted beverage I make with diet black cherry (I formerly used black cherry fresca when on sale, but fresca has dropped everything but the original flavor).

    Sugared (or at least HFCS) beverages leave me more thirsty than when I started, cane sugar versions are very expensive, and anyway, being pre-diabetic, I need to avoid sugar.
    --Carey aka underdog
  • Post #202 - February 25th, 2020, 8:20 pm
    Post #202 - February 25th, 2020, 8:20 pm Post #202 - February 25th, 2020, 8:20 pm
    diversedancer wrote: {edit}
    Looking for cheap, typically house brand soda, mostly diet black cherry or diet ginger ale. While the $1.25 per can Hansen's is good, I will use as a mix for other purposes, so quality is less important.
    The flavored seltzer waters seem to have displaced most of the diet sodas.
    {edit II}
    Sugared (or at least HFCS) beverages leave me more thirsty than when I started, cane sugar versions are very expensive, and anyway, being pre-diabetic, I need to avoid sugar.
    Carey, have you shopped and | or tried the private brand soda sold in 12-packs of 12-oz cans @ Aldi?
    I'm trying to contemplate in which other stores I've espied private brand soda. Food 4 Less might have something along this avenue. Perhaps Cook Brothers (Grand, North, & Kostner)?
    Don't laugh at this, but have you tried for a soda like this on Google™ shopping? Some of the on-line purveyors like Jet .com and Boxed .com occasionally turn up a deal on semi-obscure soda flavors. Otherwise, this sounds like something a membership warehouse store would have; and flavored seltzers (even craft beer brewers are going to expand into this - with CBD injections) are about to flood the market. But that would entail paying for the membership. :(
    Valuable links for survival, without the monetization attempt: https://pqrs-ltd.xyz/bookmark4.html
  • Post #203 - May 30th, 2020, 7:24 am
    Post #203 - May 30th, 2020, 7:24 am Post #203 - May 30th, 2020, 7:24 am
    What’s the Difference Between Club Soda, Seltzer, and Sparkling Water? + bonus Tonic Water
    They all sparkle. They all bubble. And they’re all water. But club soda, seltzer, and sparkling water are not interchangeable. Here’s what you need to know the next time you reach for one.
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #204 - July 27th, 2020, 1:14 pm
    Post #204 - July 27th, 2020, 1:14 pm Post #204 - July 27th, 2020, 1:14 pm
    Jewel had a recent 39c deal on 2-liter Pepsi products, and Grapefruit Crush caught my eye. I've long been a fan of Squirt* and hoped for something like that.
    Unfortunately, it's about twice as sweet, with very little of the bitter grapefruit flavor. Where Squirt would make a good Greyhound, I can't see using Grapefruit Crush in the same way. It's not any sweeter than Orange Crush, but no less either.
    It's not bad as a soft drink, it's just disappointingly one-note in its sweetness.

    This table lists calories, sugar, etc. of soft drink brands. Grapefruit Crush is only 8% more calories (108/8oz serving) than Squirt (100), and less than Manzanita Sol Toronja Sol (120) and close to Jarritos Grapefruit (110). Most of the other Crush flavors are also 120kcal/8oz. There's probably not enough acid, would be my guess.

    * the diet version is particularly good, as the grapefruit flavors mask or complement the off flavors of aspartame -- note that part of the NutraSweet company's initial marketing push included use with grapefruit
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #205 - August 5th, 2020, 8:25 pm
    Post #205 - August 5th, 2020, 8:25 pm Post #205 - August 5th, 2020, 8:25 pm
    JoelF wrote: Jewel had a recent 39c deal on 2-liter Pepsi products, and Grapefruit Crush caught my eye. I've long been a fan of Squirt and hoped for something like that.
    Unfortunately, it's about twice as sweet, with very little of the bitter grapefruit flavor. Where Squirt would make a good Greyhound, I can't see using Grapefruit Crush in the same way. It's not any sweeter than Orange Crush, but no less either.
    It's not bad as a soft drink, it's just disappointingly one-note in its sweetness.
    {edit, incl. footnote} Darn it. Crush should cease experimenting with other fruit flavors, and bring back Lime Crush.
    It tasted exactly like Green River, but without the premium price increase for Green River. It would be the (soda | pop) brand I would consensually have multiple 12-packs of 12-oz. cans in the cellar. :)
    Valuable links for survival, without the monetization attempt: https://pqrs-ltd.xyz/bookmark4.html
  • Post #206 - September 4th, 2020, 10:47 am
    Post #206 - September 4th, 2020, 10:47 am Post #206 - September 4th, 2020, 10:47 am
    pudgym29 wrote:
    JoelF wrote: Jewel had a recent 39c deal on 2-liter Pepsi products, and Grapefruit Crush caught my eye. I've long been a fan of Squirt and hoped for something like that.
    Unfortunately, it's about twice as sweet, with very little of the bitter grapefruit flavor. Where Squirt would make a good Greyhound, I can't see using Grapefruit Crush in the same way. It's not any sweeter than Orange Crush, but no less either.
    It's not bad as a soft drink, it's just disappointingly one-note in its sweetness.
    {edit, incl. footnote} Darn it. Crush should cease experimenting with other fruit flavors, and bring back Lime Crush.
    It tasted exactly like Green River, but without the premium price increase for Green River. It would be the (soda | pop) brand I would consensually have multiple 12-packs of 12-oz. cans in the cellar. :)

    I believe that lime Crush is still available in Canada.
  • Post #207 - October 16th, 2020, 1:57 pm
    Post #207 - October 16th, 2020, 1:57 pm Post #207 - October 16th, 2020, 1:57 pm
    Adios to Tab = https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/16/business ... index.html
    Never order barbecue in a place that also serves quiche - Lewis Grizzard
  • Post #208 - November 24th, 2020, 12:22 pm
    Post #208 - November 24th, 2020, 12:22 pm Post #208 - November 24th, 2020, 12:22 pm
    There was one more shopping trip I felt I should make before bunkering inside here at the abode until 2021.
    It was not strictly necessary, but I felt it would provide a buffer in case matters went really haywire. Tony's Fresh Market deigned to put 12-packs of 12-oz. cans of {soda | pop} on sale for $2.99; but only for Wed.-Sat. last week.
    Friday the 20th looked OK as far as weather went.
    I have not yet mentioned it here on LTHF, but I finally got through to the person(s) responsible for delivering the Red Plum | Retail Me Not weekly flyers. Again, after years of trying, they are being left here. That does not mean I do not occasionally go out to get the flyers being left on unoccupied abodes; particularly when they include coupons for Burger King, Popeye's, Culver's, Wendy's, White Castle, and KFC.
    I mention this because they also include the weekly ad for Tony's: The specific ad is for fourteen Tony's, including the one at 5630 W. Belmont Ave., but not the one at 4608 W. Belmont Ave., which is the one I opted to shop this time.
    The difference is not liquor. Having scarfed the flyer from 4608 W. Belmont on the trip, it seems 4608 does not have an olive bar.
    {Besides, 5630 was the store which did not have a liquor license when Tony's purchased it from A & G.}
    So I pulled the 1987 Chevy Sprint out of the garage one more time. The eight 12-packs were all I bought. There was a reasonable selection of brands this time. But I had to shop the regular {soda | pop} aisle for that. The end points were Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper.
    Cutting to the summary, because it seems some LTHF members would rather glimpse posts stuffed with numerous 670 kb images rather than a text reply longer than forty-eight lines, here is what is in storage downstairs. The brands are followed by either their "Best by" date or the Julian date of when they were packaged.

    • Cherry Coca-Cola (5) 17 May, 21 Jun
    • Sprite (4) 15 Mar, 29 Mar, 19 Jul
    • Cherry Pepsi-Cola (4) 20 Feb, 10 May
    • Dr. Pepper (4) 0165, 0176, 0242, 0319
    • Pepsi with real sugar (3) 29 Mar, 17 May
    • Royal Crown (3) 0170, 0176, 0240
    • 7-Up (3) 0171, 0181, 0242
    • Canada Dry ginger ale (2) 0236, 0320
    • Dr. Pepper & Cream Soda (2) 14 Mar, 21 Mar
    • Pepsi-Cola 29 Mar
    • Mountain Dew Liberty 11 Jan
    • Sprite Lymonade 12 Apr
    • Big Red 0197
    • Vernors ginger soda 0238
    • Fanta Orange 10 May
    • Fanta Strawberry 05 Jul
    • Fanta Pineapple 26 Jul
    • Minute Maid Lemonade 08 Feb
    • Schweppes ginger ale 10 May
    • Squirt Ruby Red 17 Feb
    • Dr. Pepper with real sugar 0151
    • Sierra Mist with real sugar 29 Mar
    A keen eye will notice the lack of Crush Lime.
    Valuable links for survival, without the monetization attempt: https://pqrs-ltd.xyz/bookmark4.html
  • Post #209 - January 22nd, 2021, 9:11 am
    Post #209 - January 22nd, 2021, 9:11 am Post #209 - January 22nd, 2021, 9:11 am
    Mountain Dew's first new flavor in over a decade is Major Melon. I got a free bottle (No Sugar variety) from Jewel as part of their Saturday Sampler program.
    I was hoping for a cantaloupe or honedew, but instead it's watermelon - should have been obvious with the pink color.

    Surprisingly, it's not as Jolly Rancher as I'd feared. That fake-sour flavor is what hits you first, but it finishes closer to agua sandia fresa (watermelon juice). I could probably mock this up using regular Dew, some blendered watermelon, and maybe dissolve an extra Jolly Rancher. I imagine it pairs nicely with chicken nuggets or a fine mozzarella stick.

    It's OK, but I'm not likely to buy it again -- I don't drink much pop these days, saving it for special occasions, and I prefer Coca-Cola when I do.

    The most interesting thing is that normally I can guzzle down a can or bottle of pop, but this one seemed to satiate after a few sips -- the 20oz bottle lasted through three meals.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #210 - January 22nd, 2021, 9:41 am
    Post #210 - January 22nd, 2021, 9:41 am Post #210 - January 22nd, 2021, 9:41 am
    Same, rare to drink soda anymore but when I do it is a coke. My wife got a couple cases of the 8 oz glass bottles for the Holidays (she always does) and it is a good batch. Buuuurpp.

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