A note on procedures Four panels of tasters were each composed of seven to nine testers. There was some overlap among the panels, though membership varied. Logistics precluded testing fountain root beers. Diet flavors and homemade efforts were excluded to keep the sample size manageable. Root beers were obtained in bottles when possible. In tests one, two and four they were poured in another room, then tasters were served each round in paper cups, with oyster crackers to clear the palate between servings. Hygienic considerations required that samples be swallowed. In panel three, the Tribune test kitchen tasting, containers were covered in plain paper bags and then poured by the testers themselves, which avoided the problem of diminishing fizz. The Tribune test applied a rating of 1 to 10 to each root beer. Partly for that reason, results are not presented cumulatively. In the other panels, the scale went to five. Several samples were retasted after the first round but before identifications were made. Back to commentary screen Results screen

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