Welcome to Brews Of Root Extraction Online. This post reviews Shasta brand root beer, the Zero Sugar version. This was purchased in a 12-pack of 12-ounce cans for $5 at a local store. Shasta is owned by National Beverage Co., which also owns the La Croix brand of seltzer water.
I use five criteria I score from 1-5 to evaluate brews.
A. Sweetness: 4. I like that it’s not overly sweet (it’s sweetened with sucralose), but in this case it would benefit from just a tiny bit more sweetness.
B. Lightbody spices: 3. This brew is dominated by the heavybody malts and roots, but you can pick up a hint of spearmint and anise in the front end.
C. Heavybody spices: 4. Not much vanilla, but a heavy barley malt flavor and what tastes like natural roots are the strongest notes of this root beer.
D. Uniqueness: 4. This is different…it’s what I imagine you would taste if you ordered “root beer” at an establishment 100 years ago, before they made everything so damn sweet.
E. Mouthfeel: 3. It has a nice, fine, foamy, old-school carbonation, but it could be a little thicker given the heavy malt flavor.
Total score 18/25. Not the best, but far from the worst, and it’s sugar free.
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