Review: Seagrams Cherry Cola Hard Soda
Seagrams Cherry Cola Hard Soda is one of four hard soda’s Seagram’s launched their line with in March of this year. The other flavors include Lemon N Lime, Grape, and Orange Cream. This is the industries second cherry cola hard soda. The other, Best Damn Cherry Cola was also released in March. Seagrams Hard Soda is brewed at the Genessee Brewery in Rochester New York. Natural flavors and artificial color are added. This is the same brewery that has been brewing beer since 1878 including their flagship Genesee, and Genesee Cream Ale. They also product the Seagrams Escapes line of flavored malt beverages. Seagrams Cherry Cola is available in their 12 pack variety packs, with three bottles or cans of each flavor included. Read more 
Review: Over The Barrel Hard Cream Soda
Over The Barrel Hard Cream Soda is one of five hard soda flavors recently released by the Rhinelander Brewing Company. The other flavors include Root Beer, Grape, Black Cherry, and Blueberry. The history of cream soda started with a recipe by EM Sheldon published in the Michigan Farmer in 1852. While this recipe and several other early cream soda recipes contained egg whites and they bare little resemblance to the cream soda of today, keep in mind this was 34 years before Coca Cola was first produced. Over The Barrel Hard Cream Soda is batch brewed with the finest 2 row malted barley and real cane sugar. Artificial flavor and caramel color are added before bottling in 11.16 oz. bottles. Read more
Review: Seagrams Lemon N Lime Hard Soda
Seagrams Lemon N Lime Hard Soda is one of their four recently launched hard soda’s. The other flavors include Cherry Cola, Orange Cream, and Grape. While there are a dozen hard Root Beers and scores of other hard soda flavors, this is the industries first Lemon and Lime flavored hard soda. Like the Seagrams Escapes line of flavored malt beverages, Seagrams Hard Soda’s are brewed at the Genessee Brewery in Rochester New York. Natural flavors and certified color are added. Seagrams Lemon N Lime is available in 6 packs, 23.5 Oz.cans, and it is included in their 12 pack variety packs which include three bottles or cans of each flavor. Read more
Review: Over The Barrel Hard Grape Soda
Over The Barrel Hard Grape Soda is one of 5 hard sodas recently released by the Rhinelander Brewing Company. The other flavors include Root Beer, Blueberry, Cream Soda, and Black Cherry. The Rhinelander Brewery opened in 1845 and remained open during prohibition making non-alcoholic root beer. While the brewery closed in 1967 their beer continued to be contract brewed in Monroe Wisconsin. Over The Barrel Hard Grape Soda is batch brewed with the finest 2 row malted barley and the finest real cane sugar. Natural flavors and certified colors are added before bottling in 11.16 oz. bottles. Read more
Review: Seagrams Orange Cream Hard Soda
Seagrams Orange Cream Hard Soda is one of four hard soda’s Seagrams launched their line with in March of this year. The other flavors include Lemon N Lime, Cherry Cola, and Grape. Their hard soda’s are brewed at the old Genessee Brewery in Rochester New York with natural flavors and artificial color added. This is the same brewery that makes the Seagrams Escapes line of flavored malt beverages. Seagrams Orange Cream is available in six packs, 23.5 Oz. cans, and it is included in their 12 pack variety packs, which include three bottles or cans of each flavor. This is the third hard orange cream soda I’ve sampled. Coney Island, and Jed’s are the other two brands. Prior to my experience with these three hard soda’s, the only cream soda I had tasted was colored red, brown, or clear and flavored vanilla cream. For the record Stewarts, Jones, Fitz, and Henry Weinhard’s make a non alcoholic orange cream soda. Read more
Review: Best Damn Cherry Cola
Best Damn Cherry Cola will be launched March 7 by the Best Damn Brewing Company. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a six pack a little early. This division of Anheuser Busch has already released Best Damn Root Beer and Best Damn Apple Ale. Cherry appears to be the industries fourth hard soda flavor, following root beer, ginger ale, and orange. Their Cherry Cola is the second hard cherry flavor. Jeds Hard Black Cherry was introduced in 2015. Best Damn Cherry Cola is an ale aged on whole cherries after brewing. Natural and artificial flavors and caramel color are added before bottling at 5.5% alcohol. Read more
Review: Jeds Hard Black Cherry Cream
Jeds Hard Black Cherry Cream soda was introduced in October 2015. It is one of three hard sodas currently crafted by the Matt Brewing Company in Utica New York. The others include the previously reviewed Hard Root Beer, and Hard Orange Cream. They also brew 4 Year Round, 4 Seasonal, and 7 High Peaks beers under the Saranac label. Like many breweries they survived Prohibition by producing soda. Today Matt still produces 6 soda’s under the Saranac label, including a Black Cherry Cream Soda. This soda is the main flavor ingredient in Jeds Hard Black Cherry Cream soda. Read more
Review: Jeds Hard Orange Cream
Jeds Hard Orange Cream was introduced in October 2015. It is one of three hard sodas they currently craft at the Matt Brewing Company in Utica New York. The others include Hard Root Beer, and Hard Black Cherry. The Matt Brewing Company had previously released the worlds first hard lemonade when they introduced Jed’s Hard Lemonade nearly 20 years ago. They currently also produce six soft drinks under the Saranac label including an orange cream flavor. No one can argue the fact that hard soda sales have exploded over the last twelve months. Most believe this growth will continue for the foreseeable future. With nearly a dozen hard root beers already on the market today, its great to see another flavor option. Read more
Review: Jeds Hard Root Beer
Jeds Hard Root Beer was introduced in October. It is one of three hard soda’s they currently craft at the Matt Brewing Company in Utica New York. The others include Hard Black Cherry and Hard Orange Cream. The Matt Brewing Company is the fourth oldest family operated brewery in the US. The brewery was originally the Charles Bierbauer Brewery where Francis Xavier Matt was the lead salesmen and brew master after immigrating to the US in 1880 from Germany. By 1888 he reorganized and renamed the brewery the West End Brewing Company. Today the third and forth generation of the Matt family run the brewery now named the Matt Brewing Company where they produce the Saranac line of beer. During prohibition the brewery stayed afloat producing soft drinks under the Utica Club label. Today they still produce a line of soft drinks under the Saranac label. The brew masters at Matt created 43 recipes of hard root beer in the lab, before perfecting the current formula. Jeds Hard Root Beer is made with vanilla extract, birch oil, and anise, and is sold in six pack in several states in the Eastern US. Read more
Review: Henrys Hard Ginger Ale
Henrys Hard Ginger Ale was just introduced along with the previously reviewed Henrys Hard Orange Soda. While Ginger Beer originated in the UK in the Mid 1800th century, Hard Ginger Ale is riding the wave created by a tsunami named Not Your Fathers Root Beer. Ginger Beer, led by brands including Goslings, Barritts, Reeds, and Crabbies are typically mixed with dark rum to make a Dark and Stormy or with vodka and lime juice to create a Moscow Mule. Henrys Hard Ginger ale joins the previously released Coney Island Hard Ginger Ale, and Not Your Fathers Ginger Ale. Others will follow. Henrys is made by the Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company, a division of Miller-Coors in Milwaukee Wisconsin with cane sugar and natural ingredients. The Henry’s name comes from Henry Weinhard a German immigrant who purchased a brewery in Portland Oregon in 1864, that was the longest continuous operated brewery in the West, when it was shut down following their acquisition, by the Miller Brewing Company in 1999. The brewery survived Prohibition by producing a line of soft drinks. Henry Weinhards soda is still sold today, although they do not offer a ginger ale flavor. Read more