Hannaford Bros Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  No Responses »
Jul 102024
 

Back in February I found myself in Vermont for the first time in my life. If you want to know why, it was DERMS, DERMS of course it was DERMS. We actually flew into Albany and then drove to Rutland. I searched feverishly along the way to find some brewery making some maple syrup root beer to no avail. The second night there, I went to a grocery store to buy some snacks and found this local store brand. Hannaford is a grocery store chain up in those parts which I had never encountered before. They’re headquartered in Massachusetts so I think they’re a New England thing. They make a root beer using natural extracts and spices in small batches, if their marketing is to be believed. They also don’t use any preservatives. They also offer a double money back gaurantee so if I hate this I can make money. I do like the sound of that. More brands should pay me if I’m dissatisfied with their brews.

The Body is sweet and a little creamy. It’s also a bit weak. There’s a nice spicy Bite, with clove featuring prominently. The Head is decent. It’s medium tall and fizzes down slowly so there’s always some foam. The Aftertaste is slightly spicy clove with the smallest hint of wintergreen.

This is decidedly mid. I mean, that’s to be expected from a store brand. I’ll give that it isn’t generic, but it’s still mid. Better mid than none I say, when I comes to gourmet root beer, however. And I think as Drinkable, I don’t need my money back, so there’s that. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three kegs

Henry Weinhard’s Gourmet Soda Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  No Responses »
Jun 052024
 
Seal of Approval

Henry Weinhard’s was for ages my root beer standard while I was living on the West Coast. They had tweaked their recipe several times over the decades but it always still tasted the same. The name had never changed so it always left me with a bit of a conundrum as to whether or not I should rereview it. In the years since I’ve moved to Minnesota, they finally added a “Gourmet Soda” tag to their name so I can safely differentiate it from the Henry’s that’s gone before. While I wish they had never changed their recipe, it does give me more things to review and more bottles to add to the collection. My biggest fear was they somehow ruined the brew that for ages was the gold standard of root beer for me.

The Body is sweet and creamy with rich vanilla and a hint of honey flavor. It is nearly perfectly balanced, tasting just like you expect a creamy root beer to taste. The Bite is smoooth, and yet there is a bit of spice and carbonation tingle. The Head is amazing, a standard to which all other root beers must be held. Tall, foamy, lasts forever, pour carefully lest you overflow your mug. The Aftertaste is a nice caramely vanilla that lasts the perfect amount of time.

It’s nice to see that a slightly new name and ingredients mess this up. I’m quite pleased that it is basically indistinguishable from its predicessors where I can still give it my Seal and place it in the highest echellon of fine brews. See how it rates against other root beers.

4.5 Kegs

Shank’s Root Beer Extract

 Homemade Root Beers  No Responses »
May 222024
 
Seal of Approval

2020 brought many horrible catastrophes such that the world will never be the same. In the midst of these apocalytpic conditions and daily blights, one smaller travesty occurred that went unnoticed by most, the discontinuation of McCormick’s Root Beer extract. This was a very personal blow for me, as for over a decade, McCormick was the root beer extract for my home brew adventures (save dedicated kits). Alas I was doomed wander the deserts of life, devoid of my celebrated homebrew. That is until I went to a family reunion in 2023 and my mom asked me to make a batch of brew for the fam and pulled out a sealed bottle of McCormick. Just what I needed to make things easier for me to find the replacement. After one farewell batch, I returned home, armed with half a bottle of my home brew standard to start some taste comparisons. I got several brands and mathed their recipes to make a single liter to match my soda water recipe. After testing the various batches with the family we aggreed that Shank’s Root Beer Extract provided the closest flavor profile to my standard with a ratio of 2-tsps of Shank’s for each tsp of McCormick in the recipe. Subsequent full batches using my uKeg tasted as good as I remembered them so I can give Shank’s my Seal of Approval as the root beer extract of choice. Now my root beer soirees are back with a vengeance! I’ll update my recipes soon to avoid confusion.

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