Dorothy Molter, The Root Beer Lady, lived in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area on the international border of the United States and Ontario, Canada. She was a nurse by training and operated the Isle of Pines Resort. She brewed her own root beer for the travelers. She was wild and rugged. Now, her resort has been moved from that pristine wilderness to Ely, MN, where it is a museum. This root beer is brewed by the museum. An interesting history. Though, when I think of commemorative root beers, things like Crater Lake and Red Jammer come to mind.
The Body is sweet and creamy but watered down. There is also a hint of something else in there but I’m not sure what. It is too brief to really catch. There also isn’t much Bite at all, not from spices nor carbonation. I do like it smooth but it’s got to at least be there. The Head is medium height but is gone fast. Make sure not to blink or you might miss it. The brew is nearly flat after that as well. The Aftertaste is fleeting vanilla. It goes far too soon.
This is like the ghost of an excellent root beer. It reminds me of all that is good about a quality brew but isn’t that itself. And like a ghost, it is transparent and quickly fades away. I find it appropriate though, since all that remains of a once amazing and rugged woman is a displaced museum in her honor, that her root beer would be a shadow of a lost former glory. See how this rates against other root beers.
