Root Beer in Portugal – Victory and Defeat

 Random Root Beer-ness  4 Responses »
Apr 152012
 

So the last two weeks as I traversed the land of the Lusitans, visiting in-laws and showing off the new baby, I personally quested to see if root beer could be found in the rather ‘dry’ continental Europe. I know that there are British and Australian root beers but I’ve never heard of it in any other country outside North America. While a Portuguese brand seemed far too unattainable, I wondered if I could at least find an American or British brand imported. That way, thirsty American expats could at least enjoy the most wonderful of drinks.

After a week and a half of fruitless searching, I was in Cascais, a tourist beach town west of Lisbon. We had just seen a really cool coastal landmark called Boca do Inferno and finished a nice lunch in the center square. As we walked across the square I noticed on the opposite side the restaurant “Happy Days” an “Ital American 50’s Diner and Bar” If anywhere should have root beer, such a place should. I went in and looked at the drinks behind the bar to see, and there it was, like a grail shaped beacon to a questing knight, root beer! A&W in cans.

So root beer found, victory! Well, I won’t drink it, I don’t drink root beer in cans after all, so defeat. But, for any American, or anyone who loves a decent root beer and doesn’t mind it in a can, staying Portugal, here is where you can get it:
Happy Days Diner and Bar
Edifício S. José, Loja 3, Jardim Visconde da Luz
Cascais · 2750-416

A close up on their sign.

There it is, next to the Old Jamaica Ginger Beer and the Compal




Grown-up Soda Dry Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  No Responses »
Apr 112012
 

I first heard of this when I was ordering some of the last Thomas Kemper Purely Natural Root Beer in existence. I wanted to see if I could get a few more varieties in the 12 pack to lessen the price per review on that one. I was told by the distributor that this one is brand new and wasn’t even on their website yet. Hooray! I may be one of the first root beer reviewers to try it. The idea seems cool. Less sugar so the other delicious root beer flavors can come through. That way I can drink more root beer and not get diabetes (which is a myth by the way).

It has a most amazing Head, like a Henry’s, tall and frothy and lingers for ages. However, that is all this has going for it. The Body is gross. It is weak and really sour. There’s only the tiniest hint of vanilla and other root beer flavor but they’re diluted to the point of being gross and drowned out by sour. Dry indeed! The Bite is horrendous. There are no spices but plenty of acid burn. The Head, for all it’s height and frothiness, tastes worse than the liquid so I actually wish it were much shorter. The Aftertaste is more sourness that lingers way too long.

This is like drinking straight carbonated water, but worse actually because those tiny hints of sugar and flavors make the whole thing just taste like a big gross mistake. What have they done? Where are all of the good root beer flavors? I can accept them cutting the sugar for a more refined taste or whatever, but it seems for every part sugar they cut, they cut two parts everything else. So, so terrible! If this is what grown-up sodas are meant to taste like, I’m moving to Neverland, or Toys-R-Us, or Chuck E. Cheese’s, or anywhere else to escape such an age induced fate. It does have a pretty bottle though and that amazing Head is worth another half keg to be sure. See how it rates against other root beers.




Tower Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  No Responses »
Apr 042012
 

Wow! A picture of a tower with the caption “Ye olde fashioned root beer”? It just makes me think of old text based RPGs and spoofs of such games. I think, I’ll write the rest of this as if it were a Dungeon Man game, but it’s not, it’s Tower Man!
Thou behold a tower. Thou enter the tower. In the room there is a window, an exit to the north, and a table with a flask and a bottle of old fashioned root beer.
What wouldst thou deau?
>Get ye flask
You cannot get ye flask. You are left wondering why you cannot get ye flask.
What wouldst thou deau?
>Get ye olde fashioned root beer
You pour the root beer into ye flask, for some reason you can now get ye flask of ye old fashioned root beer.

The Head of ye olde fashioned root beer is medium height but gone in mere seconds. The Body is extremely dark and rooty. The dominant flavors are sassafras, licorice, and mint. It’s sort of creamy. There is a strong Bite, both from spices and prickly carbonation on the tongue. The Aftertaste is sticky minty licorice with the faintest traces of vanilla.

You continue to drink ye olde fashioned Tower Root Beer. It definitely tastes ye olde fashioned. It isn’t bad, but not extremely good because you like creamy root beers that have significantly less licorice and much nicer Heads. You decide that if presented with more of this root beer, you’d rather pass and get something else. Hence, you exit the tower in search of better brews. At least you were able to get ye flask. See how it rates against other root beers.




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