Review: Boylan Bottling Co. Birch Beer

I never really know what to expect with a birch beer...because many companies don't really seem to know what exactly a birch beer is supposed to be.
Boylan seems to be another one of those companies.
I enjoyed this standard root beer with a slight hint of birch flavor. It wasn't too sweet, but it was not anything I would go back to buy again.
If you're unfamiliar with birch...think again. It is the primary flavor of old school baseball card package sticks of gum. Yes, THAT gum that "tastes like the bleachers".

Taste- 4/7
A pretty basic root beer, but a little less sweet and just a tiny hint of birch.

Aroma- 2.5/5
It didn't really smell like anything...which was odd, but not exactly unpleasant.

Packaging- 2/5
Boylan has a nice clean uniform labeling system that varies in color based on flavor...but it is also incredibly dull and not eye catching at all.

Overall- 8.5/17
This may have been one of the most mediocre soda's I have ever had, but would have been helped by not touting itself as a Birch Beer.
It'd be like if something was called "vanilla cola", but the vanilla flavor was only evident after you drank the whole bottle and licked your lips.

Review: Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer (Father's Day Special!)

In honor of father's day, I thought I'd review an old childhood favorite of mine-Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer.
Growing up I knew there was something that separated Dad's from all of the rest, and I could never quite put my finger on it-there was a very distinct, earthy kind of flavor that reminded me vaguely of something else from my little pocket of the universe.
After having tried dozens of different sodas with various flavoring agents over the years, I've narrowed it down-Dad's is an Old Fashioned style(meaning it uses an artificial Sassafras flavor) root beer-which puts it in the same category as A&W, IBC, and Hires. The distinguishing feature, however, is birch. The first drink immediately calls to mind that other childhood treat-the stick of gum in a pack of baseball cards. I only realized that birch was  the source of that "bleacher" taste behind the baseball card gum after purchasing and imbibing my first birch beer.
So, in short, if you equate baseball card gum with dirt or the underside of the bench/bleachers at a baseball game, I'd stay steer clear of Dad's Root Beer or any other Birch Beer. However, if you're like me, there's few better carbonated beverages to crack open and poor into a cool, frosted mug on a hot summer's day.
To all the fathers out there on our special day-I tip my metaphorically frosty mug to you!

Packaging- 3/5
Bright blue label, a yellow square and red-lined block writing. Looks old fashioned, grabs attention, but still incredibly hideous. Much more appealing to the child in me.

Aroma- 3.5/5
Unfortunately, I had a HFCS version of this wonderful soda, so it really just smells like sweetness, only a slight hint of the tasty, delicious root-beery goodness that lie beneath. Maybe I'll have to track down some real sugar Dad's.

Taste- 5.5/7
It's not perfect, but it damn near is. The biggest mark against it is the almost immediate flatness that accompanies the second sip and beyond. The first crack gives a moderate amount of fizz-it's as though they only carbonated enough that it pours with a slight head(as any good root beer needs), but nothing else.

Overall- 12/17
So, how did one of childhood favorites get one of the lowest ratings in my site's history? Well, it loses carbonation too quickly, and a flat root beer is not a great root beer. The flavor is amazing, but not everyone is going to enjoy the birch-sassafras combo when the birch is the overwhelming factor. I still love Dad's, but until I find a sugar version it will remain lowly related. Could also be that the 1 liter Big Daddy Size is horrible on carbonation. We'll see.

Soda vs. Pop vs. Other

An eternal debate in these United States. Is it soda? Is it pop? Is it coke?
A little bit of background. I grew up in Toledo, Ohio- the majority of people around me referred to it as "pop", and on as a generic term for "carbonated beverage" I did as well. Why would I or anyone else call it anything differently? It's what we heard all the time, and had no reason to call it anything else.
I, for the most part, however, called every soda by name-if it was a Coca-Cola, it was Coke, if it was Pepsi, it was a Pepsi. If it was Root Beer, I called it either "root beer", or (as necessary), by the specific brand. More often then not, I called each and every individual root beer by the specific brand I was referring to at the moment. I never asked my parents to get me "pop" when they went to the store, and I always specifically said I wanted "Dad's", "A&W", "IBC", "Barq's" or "Mug"(which my 3 year old daughter affectionately calls "doggy soda"). I was a huge Root Beer fanatic, and still am. I'm a huge purist as well, as I don't consider Birch Beer to be a type of Root Beer at all-too distinct of a flavor for me.
Anyways, back on topic. I started off calling it "pop", but after watching thousands of hours of television I noticed that the majority of people on screen referred to it as "soft drink"(something that is too general a descriptor for my needs), and/or "soda". Of course, I knew that it was "soda pop", but since I had always known "pop", it seemed natural to call it that. Then, when I was about 15 or 16 I had a friend that only called it "soda", and I slowly just made the transition. Low and behold, 7 or 8 years after that I ended up in Bellingham, Wa-where it is almost evenly referred to as "soda" or "pop"(breaking slightly more towards the "soda" category. Long story short, I end up "fitting in" regardless of my company.
Because of the differences in location, however, my daughters like to tell me that "Grandma Melody has Pop, and we have soda...I want "pop" like at Grandma Melody's!"
I even have relatives in the south who literally call it "sodey pop", and that bugs me to no end. It sounds even more hickish when spoken by someone without a redneck accent, however, so there is always that I guess.
In my mind, it doesn't really matter what you refer to it as in the states-everyone is going to understand you one way or the other, and only the most persnickety are going to call you out on it. Go with your gut and call it what you will. Either way, you will enjoy it(or not) all the same.