Continue reading »]]> On the first day I meet my wife, we ate at an Old Country Buffet. I remember going to get her a orange soda pop out of the fountain machine. Fast forward 10 years later, I am looking for an orange pop to give to her as a treat for our 10 year celebration. My local Mejier just started carrying Northwoods Sodas. I already had their root beer, so I thought this occassion would make the perfect time to try out their orange cream soda.

Whenever I open a bottle of orange cream soda, I am expecting a few things. I am expecting to be drinking something reminiscent to an orange cream ice cream bar. It needs to have a good orange flavor, along with a creaminess mouthfeel with a pleasant vanilla flavor in their somewhere. I have found my soda companies (Frostop for example) to have done this well. So how did Northwoods do with their Wild Bill’s Orange Cream?

I loved this drink as an orange soda pop. But as an orange cream, I don’t think it packed the creaminess I wanted. I really didn’t get that sense of drinking a liquid orange cream bar. This is not an overly sweet concoction, which some of the other orange creams I experienced I have been. But like I said as an orange soda, this was has a good depth to it, with some vanilla undertones. Boylan is the best orange soda I have had. Frostop is the best orange cream soda I have had. This one fall somewhere in the middle between those. So I will go ahead with a four star rating, which means it will find a way into my shopping cart again!

Where to Buy
You can find it in the new Made in Michigan section at your local Meijer store. You can also purchase it directly from the company, through their website.

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I recently wrote a post celebrating the pop (or soda) that is made in Michigan. While doing research for that post, I read about a soda called Northwoods Soda. It is made up in the Grand Traverse area of Michigan. I have never seen it in stores before. That was until yesterday. Meijer stores across Michigan have begun an initiuative to support Michigan made products. There is a new section in select Mejier stores featuring just Michigan made products. One of those products selected to be a part of this program was Northwoods Soda.

Whenever I trying out a new brand of soda pop, I tend to select root beer first. I figure if your root beer isn’t good, then it’s likely the rest of your flavors aren’t going to be good either. Northwoods Soda calls their root beer “Wild Bill’s Root Beer”. “Wild Bill” is company founder, Bill Fosdick. The recipe for this brew has been perfected over a twenty year time period. The bottle boasts the claim “A Rare, Smooth Beverage”. So I keep that in mind as I took my first sip

No false promises on this bottle, it is definitely a smooth root beer. Not over carbonated. It has a nice, bold, but not too bold root beer flavor. It’s not overpowered by vanilla or any other flavoring. It’s pure root beer. It’s as close to getting it right out of the tap as you probably can get. So I will be giving their other flavors a try.

Where to Buy
You can find it in the new Made in Michigan section at your local Meijer store. You can also purchase it directly from the company, through their website.

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Today is Michigan’s 175th birthday! It was January 26, 1837 when Michigan officially entered the Union after receiving the Upper Peninsula in concession for losing Toledo. In honor of Michigan’s b-day, I wanted to do a Michigan related post. So I decided to provide a list of the pop (it’s not soda in Michigan) that is made in the Great Lakes State. There is a lot of great stuff being made here, some which you may know, some you may want to know.

Vernors
Without question, the most popular drink to come out of Michigan is Vernors Ginger Ale. The drink was invented by James Vernor. He was looking to make a ginger ale like the one made in Dublin, Ireland at the time. As he was working on his drink he was called into serving in the Civil War. When he got back, his ingredients has been aging in a oak barrel. What resulted lead to the Vernors we have today. Today, the drink is under the Dr. Pepper/Snapple brand, I don’t even know it it’s produced in Michigan still, but it’s still a Michigan original.

Faygo
I have found time and time again when someone has left Michigan, and comes back, they head to the nearest store for some Faygo! This brand is found all over Michigan and into some other states as well. Faygo began in Monroe, Michigan in 1907. The company was bought by National Beverage Corp in 1987. However Faygo is still made right here in Michigan. In recent years, they have brought back the glass bottle version using pure cane sugar. These bottles have popped up in gourmet stores and soda shops all across the country. Some of my personal favorite flavors are Grape, Rock ‘n’ Rye, and Peach.

Towne Club
Towne Club started up in the 1960s. It was unique in that you would go right to the company to buy the pop. You would take a wood case and walk around picking out different flavors. Each case fit 24 bottles. In the 1980s this practice came to an end. Towne Club was suffering on hard times for quite a while. People thought they disappeared. However in recent years they have been making a comeback in a major way. They have a newly designed glass bottle that holds 16 oz and sells for 99 cents. They have introduced 2 new flavors in the last year: Honolulu Blue Cream Soda (referring the blue in the Detroit Lions uniform) and Michigan Cherry, which contains real Michigan cherry juice. Here are the flavors I have reviewed:
Michigan Cherry
City Rush
Strawberry

Frostie’s
While not being an Michigan original, the brand was sold in 2009, to the Michigan based Intrastate Distributors Inc of Detroit (they also have the rights to Towne Club). So this brand has increased it’s presence throughout Michigan in the last couple years, especially around Christmas time where many stores (including Busch’s) carry their 4 packs of glass bottle pop. Here are the flavors I have reviewed:
Vanilla Root Beer
Blue Cream Soda
Cherry Limeade
Orange

Cherry Republic
The Straight from the Cherry Capital of the World, Cherry Republic is a company that sells nothing but cherry products from jam to jelly to of course pop. Their Boom Chugga Lugga brand has several flavors, all using real Michigan cherry juice. Those flavors include: Black Cherry Cream Soda, True Cherry Cola, Cherry Ginger Ale, Cherry, and Cherry Root Bear. Every one of these flavors is 5 star worthy. Their pop can be found at their stores in Ann Arbor, Traverse City, Glen Arbor, and Charlevoix. You cam also find them in the Michigan product section at Westborn Market in Berkeley.

Frankie’s Root Beer
Frankie’s Root Beer is a bold brew made up in one of Michigan’s top tourist locations – Frankenmuth. This root beer is made at the Frankenmuth Brewery.

Powers Root Beer
I discovered this root beer at Westborn Market in Berkeley. It was made by the Michigan Brewing Company out of Webberville. Michigander and musician Kid Rock developed a beer at this brewery. They also produce a nice, quality root beer under the name “Powers”.

Continue reading »]]> Make no mistake about it, I love Sprecher. Everything I have had from this company has been amazing. Some how I keep missing their ginger ale. I finally set out to try it. On a recent trip to Plum Market in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I picked out a bottle of Sprecher Ginger Ale and headed home eager to try it. I have grown up with Vernors Ginger Ale, a Michigan original. So every ginger ale I have had I naturally compare to Vernors. I knew going in this would be a different type of ale, just by reading the words on the neck of the bottle:

“Our ginger ale is a sophisticated soda, pale in color and reminiscent of a light, sparkling chardonnay. Its complex flavor is very dry on the palate, combining the bite of ginger ale with a surprising hint of oak. A truly unique taste experience. Nothing like the ginger ale you are used to!”

Never have a seen a drink that says to have a “surprising hint of oak”. I admit I never thought about wanting a drink that tastes like oak, but I am willing to give it a try.

If you are use to Vernors, this is going to be a shock to your system. It’s a more powerful, more earthy drink. It’s a bold ginger taste but not overbearing. I have had ginger ales and ginger beers that were just too much to handle. This approaches that but managed not to step over the line. The carbonation is perfect just what I like in a good soda pop. Overall I was pleased. It’s not something I would want everyday, but I might grab a bottle again somewhere down the road.

Continue reading »]]> When you think about cola, you are use to it being spelled with a “C”. However the “K” is really the appropriate later as the tree the extract used to make colas comes from begins with a “K”. Sprecher spells their cola with a K. They make their Puma Kola in a gas-fried kettle, which they say imparts a distinctive flavor. The drink is flavored using kola extract, real vanilla, a little bit of cinnamon, and raw Wisconsin honey. The drink comes in a 16 oz glass bottle than can be purchased individually or in a 4 pack.

I got a 4-pack of this stuff for Christmas. I have had most of the Sprecher family, just somehow keep missing out on the Puma Kola.

The best Kola (or Cola) I have had. This is everything that a Kola should be. It tastes better than Coke, it’s carbonated better than Coke, it’s just better than the most popular soft drink on earth. The cola flavor is just outstanding. It’s complex. And the best part is you don’t feel like bubbles are burning your tongue like with Coke. I am sure some avid Coke or Pepsi fans would either love this or hate it. It’s different enough to produce one of those two emotions.

Continue reading »]]> In the wake of the announcement that fungicides have been discovered in orange juice imported from Brazil, I thought this would be a good time to make a list of those orange juices that use strictly Florida or U.S. sources for their oranges.

1) Florida’s Natural
Florida’s Natural Growers have been around for over 75 years. Their website has information about their growers, so you can learn a little bit about who is growing the oranges in your juice. Florida’s Natural can be found in most supermarkets across the country.

2) Uncle Matt’s Orangic
Uncle Matt’s is a 4th generation family of citrus growers. All of their juice meets the standard of the USDA for organic juice. Fungicides, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are not allowed, so no worries here. Their orange juice contains a mix of Hamlin and Valencia oranges. It’s available at Kroger stores as well as Whole Foods Market. I bought some once from Whole Foods, it’s delicious stuff!

3) 365 Brand Orange Juice
The store brand of Whole Foods Market uses 100% Florida orange juice in their products.

4) Indian River Orange Juice
This 100% Florida orange juice is never from concentrate and doesn’t use flavor packs. It is available in the south at these stores: Publix, Sweet Bay, Albertsons, Ingles, Walmart, the Fresh Market, Winn-Dixie, and Kroger.

As I do more search I hope to add more brands to this list. If you have a brand that you know of, please tell us in the comment section below.

Another way to assure you are drinking juice from only American grown oranges is to buy the orange yourself and make your own juice. You can purchase an electric juicer for that, or if you have a KitchenAid mixer, they have a juicer attachment that works well and is inexpensive. But be careful to confirm the oranges you are juicing are indeed from this country.

Continue reading »]]> If you needed another reason to buy American, here is one for you. Coca Cola who owns the Minute Maid brand is reporting that trace amounts of a fungicide is showing up in their orange juice supply. The orange juice is coming from Brazil. Minute Maid uses a combination of Florida and Brazil grown oranges, and so does a lot of companies. The fungicide is used in Brazil to treat trees that have black spot, a type of mold. This fungicide has not been approved for us in the United States. Yet it still has ended up in our orange juice. As a result of this situation, the U.S. has put a temporary halt to importing orange juice from any country, until more testing can be done.

Here is another reason why I highly recommend buying only U.S. grown fruit and juice made from U.S. grown fruit. I talk about the same thing when Dr. Oz made the big fuss over arsenic in apple juice. You need to be reading everything that is written on a carton of juice. If it’s not made from just U.S. oranges than you might want to think twice before you buy it. It may turn out that the fungicides that ended up in the juice are nothing serious and that seems to be what the FDA is saying so far. But I am pretty sure they are doing you any good either, so why not error on the side of caution and buy American (good for our economy too).

What Orange Juice Brands Use Oranges from Brazil?
The two big name orange juice brands both use oranges from Brazil. That would be Minute Maid and Tropicana. However, Tropicana is in the process of switching to only using Florida grown oranges in their juice. But stores shelves will probably still have Brazilian OJ in them. The Simply Orange is also owned by Coke, so there juice could too contain Brazilian orange juice. If you are at all concerned, I would avoid these brands for the time being, and just buy ones that say they contain 100% Florida (or U.S.) orange juice.

Here is a list of the orange juices that may contain juices from other countries. I also have another list that contains juices that use only 100% Florida oranges.

1) Minute Maid
2) Tropicana
3) Simply Orange
4) Old Orchard (100% Frozen Orange Juice says contains juice from USA, Brazil, Mexico, Belize, and Costa Rica)
5) Prairie Farms
6) Full Circle Organic
7) Nantucket Nectars
Meijer Brand

If you carefully read the carton or container you should be able to find the source of their oranges either near the bar code or nutrition facts. Also a lot of companies print the countries the juice came from on the neck of their container.

Continue reading »]]> One of the reasons people drink so much soda pop is for the caffeine, they are addicted to it. They “need” that caffeine to get through their day. So they drink too much of it or the resort to drinking versions containing artificial sweeteners which may not be so good for you either. I enjoy my soft drinks, that’s for sure, but something that you won’t see me drinking is soda with caffeine in it. I also try to choose the best tasting options available to me. I find if I had one good bottle of a carbonated treat a day that it satisfies me. So my advice for people who want to cut their soda intake is to find chooses that are good as well as being caffeine free. I am here to guide you to some of the best choices out there. You will often find that these options will run you more money than the traditional Coke and Pepsi offerings, however if you find yourself drinking less as a result, then it’s not gong to hurt your pocketbook. If you like this list, feel free to check out the beverage reviews on my site. Nearly everything is a caffeine free option.

The Best Non Caffeinated Sodas (in my opinion)

1. Sprecher Puma Kola
This caffeine free cola option was created by Sprecher Brewery out of Wisconsin. They call their soft drinks fire brewed. They use rawe Wisconsin honey in each drink. Their Puma Kola is right the top of the list of the best colas money can by. The flavor and level of carbonation is way better than Coke or Pepsi.

2. Americana Honey Lime Ginger Ale
Americana is a brand of classic American bottle sodas. I first discovered them at my local Cost Plus World Market. All of their options are caffeine free. The best of the bunch is their Honey Lime Ginger Ale. The honey, lime, and ginger flavors all perfect compliment one another. It’s an amazing drink.

3. HOTLIPS Cherry Soda
Straight out of Portland, Oregon comes HOTLIPS Cherry Soda. It uses real cherry grown in Northwest Oregon. No fake cherry taste here. They add a touch of vanilla for that little something extra.

4. Gale’s Root Beer
One of the most unique root beers out there. It’s only root beer I know containing cinnamon and ginger, both I think really work to give this caffeine free option a complex, tasty flavor.

5. Saranac Shirley Temple
You might not except to see a kiddie cocktail on this list, but this was definitely deserves to be. It has a strong cherry/lemon-lime flavor. I still can’t believe how much I liked some. I found it just across the border in Ohio, I need to get back to get some more!

6. Boylan’s Creamy Red Birch Beer
Birch beer offers a more wintergreen type taste than root beer. Boylan’s Creamy Red one is the best that I have found. Creamy is definitely the way to describe it. I had a local grocery store that unfortunately decided to stop carrying it. However I was able to get a ton of them on clearance. That was a fun time.

7. Boom Chugga Lugga Cherry Root Bear
Cherry cola is a popular combo, but you don’t see adding cherry to root beer. After drinking this, I think cherry has a new best friend in root beer. The cherry used here is real Michigan cherries!

8. Jackson Hole Soda Co. Snake River Sarsaparilla
Sarsparilla is the cousin of root beer, and while there isn’t a clear definition of the difference (read what I wrote in my review of Kutztown soda), this is my fav sarsparilla out there. Sadly I have only had it the one time, but if I see it again, I will be busting out my wallet.

9. Fitz’s Strawberry Pop
For a long time I had trouble locating a good strawberry soda pop. It took a trip to St. Louis, Missouri for me to find the best strawberry pop out there, created by Fitz’s. I visited their restaurant where you can drink fresh out of the tap soft drinks and watch the bottling process go on as you eat.

10. Frostop Vanilla Caramel Creme Soda
Last on the list is certainly not least. This cream soda made by Frostop has a wonderful caramel flavor that brings a whole new life to cream sodas. It can be hard to find sometimes, appearing it some store for a while, than disappearing. I need to search some out again.

Continue reading »]]> Last week, I read through a list of brands that were expected to disappear sometime in 2012. This list included things like A&W Restaurants, MySpace, and Kellogg’s Corn Pops. In today’s world these kinds of list are quite common. That is why it is even more amazing to see a brand that is making a comeback. Towne Club is a brand of soda pop that was created in Detroit, Michigan. I am seeing them pop up more and more at my local grocery stores. They have even came out with some brand news flavors that have Michigan ties to them. One of them is their Michigan Cherry. This cherry pop contains a percentage of real Michigan cherry juice. I am glad to see another company turning to natural ingredients when it comes to flavoring their soft drinks. Artificial cherry flavor cannot compare to the real deal.

This is a great cherry pop, good flavor and nicely carbonated. A cherry soda pop tasting like cherries, who would have thought. The best test is if my wife likes it or not. She can’t stand anything with fake cherry flavoring in it. She thought this was a good one. This is probably the best product I have had from Towne Club. Not only is the brand stay alive, it’s getting better!

Where to Buy
I have seen it at several stores in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area including Plum Market, Vince & Joe’s, and Hiller’s. Feel free to leave the name of a place that you have found it in.

Continue reading »]]> It is hard to beat orange juice that you freshly squeeze yourself. That is my preferred method of drinking OJ. However, I don’t want to pay the price for out of season oranges, so I will settle for buying orange juice already squeezed. One of the popular nation brands, I have always felt that Minute Maid was the worst. They recently came out with their new Pure Squeezed line. Besides the pacakage change from cardboard carton to a see through carafe, they are now using juice that was never from concentrate. I am not sure if they have completely gotten rid of the old cardboard carton type, but at least my grocery store had replaced it with the new Pure Squeezed edition.

I decided to give them the brand another try. I think they definitively have improved their juice. It does taste closer to fresh squeezed. I don’t think it’s as good as Florida’s Natural orange juice, which is the best national brand in my opinion.

I did some searching around on Minute Maid’s website and found that they say the juice is gently pasteurized.
I do not know if this phrase is defined by the FDA, my best guess is that they are saying that they slowly heat up the juice to kill anything nasty that could be in it. A lot of places will ultra pasterized their juice and dairy products, and this is heating the product up to at least 161 degrees. The downside is that the heat ruins the flavor.

Have you tried Minute Maid’s new OJ? I leave a comment below, I would love to hear your thoughts.