Apple Beer. That’s what this is. The brand? Apple Beer. Their website? Applebeer.com. These folks are serious about their soft drink. It’s “The Soft Drink With A Head”, according to the bottle. One could ask tough questions such as “if it’s called Apple Beer, is it really a soda?”, but I would politely ask that person to leave and re-consider their life choices. It should go without saying, and is said in the main photo, but this is alcohol-free.
I only really started appreciating apples in the last 5 years. A good part of that comes from buying them for yourself, right? Gaining a taste for certain types, figuring out which are best to eat, which are best to bake with, which are best to shoot off of your friend’s head with an arrow, etc. While this soda doesn’t clarify what type of apples are used to make it, I’m sure it’s still a very enjoyable drink. Let’s find out!
Place of Acquirement: Jungle Jim’s, Fairfield, OH
Drinking Vessel/Portion: 12oz glass bottle, dark
AROMATICS: 7.5/10
Not super fragrant, but pleasant. Pretty obvious apple smell (shocker!!)
FIRST SIP: 7.5/10
Hmmmmm. I like it so far, just not quite sure. Definitely taste the apples! (shocker!!)
TASTE: 8.5/10
After the first sip, the flavor revealed itself unto my pious tongue. It kind of nails everything? It mixes the tang and sweetness pretty perfectly. Packs a lot of flavor into each sip.
AFTERTASTE: 6.5/10
This is the only downside of the soda. There’s the tiniest, baby-sized smidge of an unpleasant aftertaste. Nothing off-putting, but vaguely noticeable.
MOUTHFEEL: 7.5/10
Pretty standard. No extra acidity, etc, etc.
DEPTH OF FLAVOR: 7/10
So, this isn’t a soda that’s supposed to have a huge amount of depth. Taking that into account, there’s still a bit of nuance.
SWEETNESS: 6.5/10
Honestly, this could’ve been super sweet. I’ve had apple drinks that are sweeter than me on a first date. But this soda boldly goes below average sweetness, which I am totally into.
FLAVOR(S) TASTED: Apples (shocker!!)
LAST SIP: 8/10
Lost a tiny bit of flavor, but carbonation was still perfect.
OVERALL RATING: 8.5/10
This was a heck of a soda. I greatly appreciate sodas that are able to perfectly balance the sweetness. With this, they’ve also had to balance the tang of apples with the sugary-ness of soda, and done it very well. Apple Beer is a clear winner in my eyes.
I get why the company has been around for 50 years. I get why they’re bold enough to literally be a company based around, and called, Apple Beer. The church of Apple Beer has a new convert, and his name is Me.
