Review

        Stewart's tied for first over-all root beer experience in our 2001 Taste-off, and was first in over-all average.  "Well balanced with spice to sugar finish," reported one taster; "very syrupy," noted another.  Its mouthfeel clearly propelled Stewart's into the top spot, as it scored first in every category of this criteria.

        As one of the top three root beers, we brought Stewart's back for the 2002 Taste-off.  Stewart's was again a strong contender but also drew comments like "indistinct," and "mild, without character."  Despite these remarks, Stewart's was in the top 3 finishers in every category except over-all flavor and over-all root beer experience.  This strong showing allowed Stewart to remain the Cole Family's 2nd highest rated root beer over-all in our cumulative ranking, although it was not among the top three in 2002.

Luke's Numbers (12/24/03)

2001 Cole Family Taste-off 

2002 Cole Family Taste-off 

Links

        A history of Stewart's root beer drive-ins

        Photo of a Stewart's Drive-in Restaurant in New Jersey (scroll down through the other root beer stands...)

        A disconcerting 2001 recall of Stewart's Root Beer announced by the Food and Drug Administration because the bottler thought they might be contaminated with ammonia.  Yow!

        A shrine to Stewart's root beer

Luke's Root Beer Homepage  +  Root Beer Rankings

2001 Root Beer Taste-off  +  2002 Root Beer Taste-off

Luke Cole's Homepage