"root beer" news and stories

Forget pre-mixed rootbeer floats...this nifty little gadget takes floats to the next level.

The Fizz is, essentially, a cheap plastic domed lid with an opening in the middle that holds a straw and is able to suck up liquids without letting them seep out.

As per the video on the item's website, appropriately set to the tune of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough," the soda enthusiast simply scoops ice cream into the plastic resevoir, screws the lid onto the top of a plastic soda bottle (looks like it has to be plastic, not metal or aluminum), and squeezes the bottle, sucking part of the liquid into the vessel where it mixes with the ice cream for a no-mess float on the go.

This product immediately lost some of its appeal once I realized what it reminds me of: the ACT brand mouthwash that the dentist made me use when I was younger, which also involves squeezing liquid into a plastic resevoir at the top of a bottle.

I immediately thought of using the product to fix a root beer float (probably because that's what the website used as an example, and sometimes I'm easily swayed, especially when it involves refined sugar) but the website offers some other suggestions for flavor combos, including strawberry sherbet/lemon-lime soda, vanilla yogurt/orange soda, or crushed ice and flavored syrup.

If I haven't completely turned you off yet, what do you think? Yay or nay on the soda float-on-the-go?

I have always been a fan of root beer. When my sister and I were kids, our intake of sugary drinks was actively monitored by our mom and so there wasn't much in the way of soda in our house. When we'd go out to eat, my dad would often get a root beer while we had to content ourselves with milk. We'd beg for sips from his glass on those occasions and so I associate root beer with comfortable family outings and special treats.

When I heard that Thomas Kemper, craft brewer of quality sodas (out of my hometown of Portland, OR) had developed a low calorie root beer that was sweetened with Splenda and honey, I was really excited to taste it. The box arrived last week with three artfully arranged bottles of soda and I popped the whole thing into the fridge to chill.

A couple of hours later it was cool and ready to taste (I must say that drinking soda out of a glass bottle is far more satisfying than out of a can). Twisting off the cap, I took a long pull and swallowed. It was nice and fizzy, but sadly didn't live up to the flavor profile of Thomas Kemper's sugar version of root beer. It is missing the sharpness that root beer typically delivers. This product is totally drinkable and for those folks who are watching their calorie and sugar intake, I would say that it's a terrific option. But personally, I would rather have a single, sugar-based root beer once a month than drink this version on a more frequent basis.

This root beer is available starting this month, and they will be following it up with low calorie versions of their ginger ale and black cherry soda in April.

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Don't you hate it when you ask someone what flavor they would like and they say they don't care, whatever, or surprise me? Well, one Singapore company has come up with the solution for your indecisive friends with the launch of new sodas appropriately named Whatever and Anything.

Anything is their carbonated soda which comes in six flavors: Cola with Lemon, Apple, Fizz Up, Cloudy Lemon and Root Beer. Whatever is non-carbonated teas that come in Ice Lemon, Peach, Jasmine Green Tea, White Grape, Apple, and Chrysanthemum Tea flavors.

So what's the big surprise? The cans aren't labeled beyond the names of 'Anything' and 'Whatever', so you truly don't have a clue which flavor you are getting beforehand.

(via TrendHunter.com)

At this point, we all know what happens when you combine Mentos and Diet Coke, but what about combinations of other sodas with other candies? Will they produce similar, or perhaps even more spectacular, results? Thanks to a video linked to by Brian, from Candy Addict, we now know the answer to this subset of life's little mysteries. These film makers bravely tested the following combinations in the name of science: candy corn and root beet, Sweetarts and Sprite and Toucan Toes and milk. Check out the video above to see their results.

I think we'll all sleep a little better tonight, although not quite as good as I'll sleep once I learn where I can get some of those Toucan Toes....

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Root beer floats are fantastic, even if not all the products associated with them are. The combination of slightly peppery soda and creamy vanilla ice cream is hard to resist, so when I saw that Edy's/Dreyer's released a Root Beer Float ice cream, my initial reaction was "it's about time!" Then I saw that Breyer's has a Root Beer Float ice cream flavor out this summer, too. The difference between the two is that Dreyer's - which is limited edition - has vanilla ice cream with root beer flavored ice cream swirls, while Breyer's has vanilla with root beer sorbet swirls. Get them while you can - and try making a real root beer float with the ice creams for a double delicious summer treat.