Sprecher is at it again. I don’t think there’s been another brand that’s given me as many posts, except for maybe Tommyknocker, but while they do it in all the wrong ways (changing a recipe over and over and over making it progressively worse), Sprecher is just making new and innovative products and flavors, building off of the success of their flagship brew. I seriously want to drive to their brewery one of these days and personally thank them for their positive contributions to the root beer world. Maybe after Covid is done. It’s only one state away. So this time they’re making a maple root beer, which is probably may favorite type of “flavor” root beer. This is made with pure Wisconsin maple syrup, much like their flagship brew is made with raw Wisconsin honey. If it’s anything like their flagship, it will be amazing.
The Body is dark and minty and really sweet. Maple syrup is noticeable after the initial sassafras and wintergreen start to fade. It’s smooth but not creamy, and there’s a distinct lack of vanilla which I feel would accent the maple far better than wintergreen. The Bite is very smooth, but lacking in spices. The Head is very tall with nice staying power. The Aftertaste is wintergreen and maple, an unexpected combo which works better than I would expect.
So that was rather unexpected. They made it a dark and minty type with the added flavor of maple syrup. I’ve never had anything like that before, and after nearly 450 root beers, that’s pretty impressive. Yet, I just don’t think it works quite right. Those flavors of maple and wintergreen kind of clash and it makes for a brew that’s interesting, but not quite top notch. Sorry Sprecher, you didn’t quite pull it off this time. See how it rates against other root beers.