Ted's Polish-Mexican Page

I'm not a drinker, but I still need to be able to raise a glass bottle and go "Duuuuude," as is my right as an American male. I took to buying various non-alchoholic root beers, ginger beers and birch beers.

Of course, they are more expensive than, say A&W. Also, some of them can be hard to track down.

Virgil's is the best I've had. Smooth with that tiny yeasty after taste that says that it is a real root beer and not some sugar water with some carbonation. It can be found at Trader Joe's, Wild Oats and Food Conspiracy.

Boylan's Birch Beer is excellent. It comes in two flavors, Original and Creamy Red. Creamy Red is much better. The Creamy Red tastes creamier, and redder. I used to find it at Sunflower Market at Swan and Speedway. For some reason, they no longer stock it. I snatched up the last three four-packs two weeks ago.

You can't really go wrong with any of the Reed's Ginger Brew flavors. For some strange reason, the most popular of these seems to be the Jamaican Extra Ginger Brew, which has the harshest aftertaste. I mean, I like it, but I'm a little weird. I've been told that any "Ginger Brew" is really good for upset stomachs. Okay, I'll go with that one. I've found these at Trader Joe's, Wild Oats and Food Conspiracy.

As far as the ginger brews go, Cock N' Bull is my favorite. It has the same "punch" as Reed's Jamaican does, but lacks the harsh aftertaste. You still definitely know you've drunk it afterward though. If you are faint hearted, Reed's Original or the Reed's Rasberry flavored brew.

They used to sell this stuff over at Ted's Country Store, but they stopped getting it. You can get it at the 17th Street Farmer's Market (along with Virgil's and Reed's). Apparently, it is no longer made. They still had stuff at 17th Street this afternoon when I went down there.

By the way, I could not find a nice big picture of the bottle. You try Googling "Cock n' Bull" sometime...just not at work.


Luke's Root Beer Page rated Gale's as the best root beer. I have seen it on sale only at Time Market. It had an odd cinnamon aftertaste, and I couldn't finish the whole bottle because of it. I'm sure if I was more "refined," I'd have appreciated it.


Hasta la proxima. Do zobaczenia.