Bawls Geek Beer Review

The first time I had Geek Beer was a year ago. I stopped at the only gas station/convenience store on a long stretch of county highway, at least 100 km away from the nearest city, and I was surprised to find the store stocked with various energy drinks. That was the last time I saw and had this beverage, until last week. I found a well stocked energy drinks display at a near-by convenience store, which also had Geek Beer for $2.59 CAD per bottle.

I like the color of the bottle - brown - very similar to real beer bottles. The drink is very carbonated and a bit creamy. Unlike other root beers, this one doesn't have many taste ingredients to give it a rich character. It tastes a lot like mass market root beers, such as Barq's and A&W's. The taste is sweet with hints of caramel and the finish is sweet at first, but clean in the long run. More importantly, it is not tainted by the energy ingredients, which makes this an enjoyable drink. I like the taste, and I think this is easier to drink than the original Bawls, but I cannot see myself drinking this on a regular basis.

The bottle does not bear an indication of the amount of caffeine in the bottle, but after a quick look on the ThinkGeek website, I found that the bottle contains 80 mg of caffeine. I wouldn't call this a "high caffeine" guarana root beer, just caffeinated guarana root beer. That's the same amount of caffeine a small can of Red Bull contains, which can give some people a rush, but not me, or any caffeine addicts. If I need a small boost, I go for 80 mg drinks, but if I need to wake up, I need at least double that. I started to feel the effects of the caffeine within 20 minutes of taking the first sip, but the energy boost lasted for just over an hour. On the plus side I did not experience a crash.

Scores:
Cost - $2.59 CAD for a 296 mL bottle
Taste - 7.9/10
Energy - 6/10

Overall - 13.9/20...I think this is more of a niche drink than a mass market one. It tastes good, but it does not have enough caffeine to satisfy the cravings of a caffeine junkie