Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Root Beer
Ingredients: Filtered carbonated water, cane sugar, natural root beer flavor, citric acid, caramel color (from cane sugar).
Eco-claim: None on the packaging, but Whole Foods has a notoriously green agenda.
Price: $2.49 / six-pack of cans
“A good, solid root beer,” said one taster, and another approved of its “caramel nose.” Another said, with obvious relief, “No funny aftertaste!” I found it to be smooth and straightforward and neither too sweet nor too weird. The kids deemed it spicy, sweet, and root-beery. Our panels (adults and kids) separately ranked it No. 1, with no dissent.
The bottom line: Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Brand root beer tastes great and doesn’t contain HFCS. It may not be earnestly green, handcrafted, exotic, or zero-cal, but its low price means that you might be able to afford to top if off with a big dollop of really yummy organic vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Watch the Junior Tasters at work:
