As Jeff and I continue our vast quest to locate every energy drink being mass-produced, we run into various different flavors. Mentioned in my most recent review, fruits make up most of the energy drink flavors, though you do occasionally run into a flavor that stands out from the rest, more interesting, and overall better. Another quick stop into BevMo revealed some usual drinks, nothing to be ecstatic over, until I searched down below the rest, of course. Along with a few dusty bottles of Bawls original, I was more than excited to find a few bottles of Bawls G33k B33r. Most have not heard of Bawls, nor tried it, mainly because Bawls doesn't advertise as much as say, Monster or Rockstar. Yet if you've ever tried Bawls, you know it's really the stuff. In case you've forgotten to check out the Bawls review, I'll rundown what you may have missed. Bawls is particularly light, mostly carbonated water with a nice tinge of lemon-lime, and an added grainy flavor. It's much easier to drink than a Monster, thus explaining why each 12 ounce bottle drains swiftly. If you take a glance at the G33k B33r, you see the bottle is much darker than both the Bawls, and the Bawls Sugar Free, being dark brown, with a silver cap finish. The term 'G33k B33r' confuses me a bit, though I may be out of the loop for why they would substitute the e's for 3's. Anyways, I'll assume that since the bottle is brown, and I see there's the term beer, to expect a flavor of root beer; let's check it out.
Twisting open the easy cap of the Bawls, I'm not surprised to find a strong, aromatic blend of sarsaparilla, the root in which flavors root beer. The scent is real powerful, as if Bawls overloaded it with tasty flavoring, rather than lame high fructose corn syrup. Pouring it into a cup, Bawls G33k B33r takes the color of any other root beer soda, dark brown, not surprise there. If you've ever tried root beer, in the form of a soda, you may notice it's a bit dull from the amount of sugar they load into each can, such as A&W, or Mug. To compare Bawls to those major label companies, Bawls is much, much better, mainly because there is not nearly as much sugar as a can of soda, thus bringing out the true flavor of root beer. Swigging a few ounces into the mouth, Bawls surely impresses me, as my prediction is accurate. This G33k B33r is sweet, but definitely not as sweet as what you'd find in any other can of pop. It's hefty dosage of sarsaparilla flows into the mouth, with an equal balance of sugar, allowing more actual root beer flavor, and less dullness of the high fructose corn syrup. Of course there's high fructose corn syrup in here, but it's noticeable to be on the low side, as there's hardly any dullness. Unlike most of my reviews, I can't really describe the flavor into much more detail; Bawls G33k B33r is simply a less sweetened root beer, nothing more. Bawls brings little aftertaste to the party, perhaps just a bit of pure root and excess sugar. It wouldn't hurt to state the fact of low gumminess, as well as carbonation. Overall, I enjoy to see a change in the energy drink production, in terms of flavor, and honestly, Bawls did a great job of remaking my favorite soda into an energy drink.
Bawls isn't too big on energy drinks, unlike most energy drink companies, yet there isn't much disappointment from what you find. Taking a look at ingredients, I find a rather small list, as apposed to my most recent review, No Fear Bloodshot. Here's the complete list: carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, sodium benzoate, caffeine, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, and guarana extract. Caramel color is found in almost all dark-colored sodas and energy drinks, not for the taste, but obviously to give it that brownish tinge, like caramel. Bawls brags about their "Highly caffeinated beverage," though with past experiences with Bawls, I can't really find that energy you get from caffeine. Since I can't seem to locate the caffeine amount on the bottle, I'll assume they are exaggerating, and say it's no more than average. technically, their name is Bawls Guarana, so again, perhaps their energy is mainly coming from a different source, guarana, yet I'm not too sure that's enough to fully energize one who drinks a bottle. Per 12 ounce bottle, you get only 130 calories, as well as only 36 grams of sugar. Being that one serving is a whole bottle, that's pretty darn good. Comparing Bawls to select energy drinks, the serving size is larger, yet it has fewer sugar and fewer calories than, say, Jeff Gordon's energy drink. All in all, if you do happen to come across a bottle or two of these, feel free to pick one up, rather than a can of Mug or A&W. For more taste, and less sugar, Bawls is definitely approved on Canned Reviews.
Taste: 9 - Remarkable, robust sarsaparilla/root beer flavor, with very little dullness from high fructose corn syrup
Kick: 7 - Unfortunately, Bawls doesn't have the ingredients to deliver a good enough kick
Overall: 8.5 - I wouldn't count on Bawls for much energy, though root beer was accomplished almost perfectly
Reviewed by: Chan
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