It’s that time again when we invite 16 yr old, craft soda enthusiast, Joey Godinez to share a review of his latest craft soda experience. As you know, Craft Beverage Jobs is NOT a beverage review site, but once a month we make an exception for Joey!
Joey’s Craft Soda Review
I’m Joey. I like craft soda, a lot. In my opinion, I feel that craft sodas have a lot more to offer than a mass produced soda not only in taste, but in the variety and quality of ingredients used in their production. This is a big reason why I generally enjoy craft sodas, and I also think that drinking them and reviewing them is a great way to support the generally smaller companies that produce these beverages.
Fentiman’s Full Bodied Shandy
Sometimes I run into a style of soda that I’ve flat out never heard of or considered before, and today’s acquisition is one of those. Non-alcoholic shandy. I didn’t even know what shandy was so I had to look it up, beer and in this case lemonade… huh. Well, I’m certainly curious now, so on with the review.
The Bottle
A lot of the bottles I’ve seen recently have been kinda boring to me, but Fentimans’ labels always seem to grab my attention in a way that most can’t. I don’t get it. They’re definitely cool, but not the coolest I’ve ever seen, or possibly even ever reviewed, but something about them just appeals to me. Sorta like an old movie poster or advertisement, but not in the same way as my last review pick, Caruso’s Legacy Juicy Orange Cream Soda. I really don’t get it, I just like these labels.
The Smell
So I don’t know what kinda magic Fentimans’ is using to do this, but according to the ingredient label the first ingredient is de-alcoholized beer, and it certainly presents itself aroma-wise. It smells almost exactly like a light beer, with maybe a bit of citrus thrown in. Not good, not bad, but… interesting.
The Fizz
Fentimans’ generally does a lot of things right, but it could not conquer the area in which I always seem to be wanting more… the bubbles. It’s not the flattest soda I’ve reviewed, not the fizziest ever, maybe on the lower end of average for bubbles. Oh well, as much as I enjoy most Fentiman’s products, I certainly didn’t expect my love of bubbles to be satiated by a shandy.
The Taste
And now for the most puzzling aspect of this soda, the taste. It really does taste a bit like beer (or so I’ve been told), with an Arnold Palmer thing going for it. Unfortunately, I am not a big fan of Arnold Palmer’s or iced tea in general. It’s certainly not cringeworthy, and it’s actually pretty refreshing, but unless there were no other options, I probably wouldn’t get another. I’m sure plenty of people would enjoy it, but it’s just not for me.
Overall: Fentimans’ labels never seem to disappoint, but the rest of the soda kinda did. Not enough fizz, and a flavor I just can’t enjoy. 5/10
Meet Joey Godinez
Joey Godinez is the 16-year-old son of a blogger Mom; big brother to two sisters; and lover of all things “Craft Soda”!
To keep up with all of Joey’s guest posts, just search the category Joey’s Craft Soda Review right here on the Craft Beverage Jobs Blog.