News, News, and More News

It looks like in the middle of April, Pepsi will be releasing Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback that will contain real sugar cane instead of high fructose corn syrup.  Now, HFCS is supposed to, according to the corn guys, enhance a drink's flavor and, oh yeah, it's cheaper.  However, according to most people, sugar is just better.  When the drink comes out, you know I'll pick up some and compare and we'll see if it's just that the grass is always greener on the other side or else we've been gyped out on flavor.

Maybe next, they'll bring back Crystal Pepsi.  And no, I won't shut up about it.

Oh, and in other news, Coca Cola has created a bad ass machine that is so far called the Soda Robot.  It's a vending machine that can dispense up to 120 flavors!  You select your drink and then the Robot mixes your drink right there and shoots it into a cup like a coffee machine.  They're going to use concentrated ingredients in cartridges to conserve space and give you the variety that all soda jerks demand.  Coca Cola is testing them in Georgia and parts of California before releasing them nationwide in 2010.

The future looks so god damn bright right now!  Santa got my letter!

Oh yeah, and Satan is trying to get an 18% soda tax passed in the state of New York.  Replace Satan with Governor David Patterson.  He believes that it won't pass, so of course, it was worth the taxpayers money to even bring it up, right?  All these people get paid to handle the creation of new laws and bills- and they don't come cheap.  So, the amount of taxes he wanted to bring in from it was basically blown on the salaries of everyone who wasted time dealing with this, instead of dealing with more pressing issues, like trying to brainwash everyone into thinking they're one day away from being super rich.  I mean, Satan even said he doesn't expect it to pass.  So then what the frig is the point?

I mean, is this how we reward soda?  All the great things they've given us (minus diabetes, heartburn, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and countless others) like a great drink that can go with friggin' anything?!  And as delicious as Kool Aid is, soda just makes it its bitch.

Doesn't Governor Patterson sound like Vacini from The Princess Bride and Professor Frink from the Simpsons had a baby?

Are You Fucking Serious?

A new soda is being developed in India that is made out of cow piss.  Now, I could have used the word “urine” instead of piss, but are you fucking serious?  This drink is a product of the Hindu caste system that keeps India from becoming as great as it could be.  It’s so that the people at the bottom can be more spiritually enlightened.

 The caste system works like this: if you’re born at the bottom, you’re destined to be poor, ugly, and you’re going to hell.  At the top, you have your rich and beautiful that get a first class seat on the flight into heaven.  You’re born into it.  Ya can’t help it.  And ya can’t rise above your level- so why even try?  So, this will “help” the people on the bottom be looked upon better in time for the afterlife or reincarnation or whatever.  So, if you’re at the bottom, you’re poor.  So, this is simply the rich caste stealing what little the poor caste has.  Oh, by the way, if you’re somewhere in the middle, your goal in life is to serve the guys at the top.

 If you’re trying to sell crazy here, sorry- we’re all stocked up.

 If any level so much as touches someone on the bottom, then you’re now filthy and just like ‘em and shunned.  Yeah, they’re working really hard to help out their poor in India.

 Cow piss.

 India is now rapidly racing toward becoming the big dog in the yard, so just like a political candidate, all their dirty laundry is starting to come out.

 I can’t wait to visit there and see the Taj Mahal.  Even though I’m the Soda Jerk, I’ll be damned if I’m going to drink cow piss.  I’ll leave that to Andrew Zimmern.

Caffeine = Delicious!

Caffeine Content Of Popular Soft Drinks:

12-ounce beverage	milligrams
Red Bull (8.2 oz)	80.0
Jolt	71.2
Pepsi One	55.5
Mountain Dew	55.0
Diet Mountain Dew	55.0
Mellow Yellow	52.8
Diet Coke	45.6
RC Cola	43.0
Diet RC	43.0
Dr. Pepper	41.0
Diet Dr. Pepper	41.0
Mr. Pibb	40.0
Sunkist Orange	40.0
Pepsi-Cola	37.5
Diet Pepsi	36.0
Wild Cherry Pepsi	38.0
Coca-Cola Classic	34.0
Cherry Coke	34.0
Vanilla Coke	34.0
Barq's Root Beer	23.0
Sprite	0
7-Up	0
Mug Root Beer	0
A&W Root Beer	0
Slice	0
Sierra Mist	0

Other Beverages

8-ounce Beverage	milligrams
Coffee, Drip	115-175
Coffee, Brewed	80-135
Coffee, Espresso (2 ounces)	100
Coffee, Instant	65-100
Tea, iced	47
Tea, brewed, imported brands (avg.)	60
Tea, brewed, U.S. brands (avg.)	40
Tea, instant	30
Tea, green	15
Hot cocoa	14
Coffee, Decaf, brewed	3-4
Coffee, Decaf, instant	2-3

SOURCES: National Soft Drink Association, US Food and Drug Administration, Bunker and McWilliams, Pepsi, Slim-Fast.

Alright- now let's get to the debate due to this data.  Now, we all know that caffeine is addictive. So, Pepsi One has a shitload of caffeine and is a relatively new DIET drink.  The #3 best selling soda on the market is Diet Coke.  So, did Pepsi do this solely to compete against Coca Cola within the diet market by addicting as many suckers as possible?  Diet Coke is highly addictive, and let's face it, Diet Pepsi ain't cuttin' it.  This info also helped me to better understand the deal with Mountain Dew being Redneck Wine, since it's also so high in caffeine.

What do you guys think?

I got this from Massoni, who directed me to: http://wilstar.com/caffeine.htm and I edited down the vast amount of drinks to mostly the ones we're covering here.  Plus, the list was long enough as it is.  Thanks for all the participation, guys!

Root Beer Heaven

And now back to being a soda critic:

Root beer could have its own blog, there are so many different varieties. The first one, by the way, was Hires Root Beer. Invented a few decades later was Barq’s. These two are gods among drinks, let alone root beers. I’m not trying to take away from A&W or IBC, of course. I’m going to try to work my way around this one and give you guys some good advice for your root beer drinking. First things first, I think that root beer is a cold weather drink. It is very filling and warms you up. The only true warm weather root beers would be Barq’s and IBC.

Hires is a good smooth drink with a great head on it like a Guinness. I would recommend this one with a good comfort food. Its flavor isn’t overwhelming and reminds you how a good root beer is supposed to taste. It’s a very filling drink that should be savored. I wish I had more to say about this one, but I honestly barely drink it.

Barq’s is not good with spicy foods! Their claim that “Barq’s Has Bite” is absolutely true! Eat some curry, buffalo wings, or anything with peppers or onions and your mouth will understand what the devil has in store for you in the afterlife! Don’t fret, there is a root beer that goes well with these foods- just keep reading. The flavor of this root beer can be overpowering and takes on its own life when you try to wash food down with it. I suggest just drinking this as sodas were originally intended: as a treat in itself.

A&W is best with hot dogs or burgers- much like the pairing at its restaurant chain. I recommend only getting the minimum amount of food and savoring every drop of this one. If you have a local A&W restaurant, their food stinks. But if you want to truly enjoy a fresh root beer, go in there and sit down with a glass mug filled straight from the tap. It’s the only reason I go to this place.

And the cheese curds.

IBC should have its own religion, it’s so good. Plus, it’s ONLY in glass bottles! They recognize rule #1 of sodas! This goes brilliantly with so many things, but especially warm foods- which is truly my generalization for most root beers. If you go to Potbelly Sandwich Works (I love that place, in case you couldn’t tell by now), pick one up from the freezer. It’s so damn perfect for a warm sandwich. Barq’s is at Firehouse Subs and just doesn’t go well with their sandwiches as the flavor can be overpowering.

MUG is still good, but it doesn’t have anything to make it unique. Nothing to really make it feel like there’s a party in your mouth and everyone’s invited. I still highly recommend this as it is still a great root beer.

Living in the DC Metro area, I’ve come to enjoy a local brew from the Old Dominion Brewing Company, which specializes in actual beer. Their root beer, however, has a taste of honey to it that I’ve never encountered before. It’s so smooth and is anti-bite! So, if you want to have those buffalo wings or something spicy, this drink is the absolute best! It’s sold in many bars around here and the ever amazing Wegman’s grocery store. I checked out their website and couldn’t find anything for ordering some online- so, I apologize if I got your hopes up.

However, something that I’ve found all over the east coast, not sure about you guys in California, is a great generic root beer named Main Street! It’ll be in the soda section with your Dr. Perky’s and Mountain Thunders. Pick it up, and you may find your new fave. Main Street is very similar to MUG root beer. This one is almost just right when it comes to flavor.