I love my fans. They find amazing new root beers from different corners of the globe (the US really, but I like saying globe) and then send me some on trade. This was found by the famed root beer enthusiast Tony, in Marion, WI. Pigeon River Brewing Company has been open since 2012, but I think root beer is a much more recent addition or it wouldn’t have slipped under the radar of the diligent root beer hunters for so long. Unless, they had it the whole time, yet refused to advertise it, or sell it outside of Marion. The the residents themselves were sworn to never speak of it to outsiders. But over time whispers of a secret root beer reached the ears of Tony, whose multiyear quest brought him to the first bottles ever to be seen by the world at large… I like that version. It’s cannon now. So another remarkable thing about this root beer is that it has 65g of sugar per bottle, which is over 50% more than the average root beer. I’ve had a brew with 47g before and that was super sweet. So I braced myself for the sugar rush of a lifetime and got to drinking.
The Body is hollow. It’s a little minty, a little creamy, but weak overall. It’s not near as sweet as would be expected with all that sugar. The Bite is dismal. Not spicy, not smooth, but rather harsh and prickly. The Head is medium height and foam, nothing special though not bad. The Aftertaste is a sort of sour acidic flavor with a hint of burned sugar.
I’m not impressed. Not only is the flavor lacking, but where’s my promised super sugar content? Talk about a disappointment. So yeah, I wouldn’t recommend this. I guess it isn’t really bad, but it isn’t good and there’s nothing to really distinguish it to be worth even trying once. See how it rates against other root beers.
Cappy’s is a chowder house in Camden, Maine that’s been there since 1979. It’s named after Cappy Quinn, who actually never was officially affiliated with their restaurant. Rather he was an old salt who could be found around the Camden waterfront and was an inspiration to all. The root beer itself is actually bottled and supplied by Private Label Specialties which means it’s most likely really made by GinsenUp. However, the Cappy’s folks claim it’s made specially for them with a unique recipe, which is in line with what GinsengUp does, so it appears to be its own root beer. Unless they’re lying in which case they’ll burn in the special fires prepared for those who deceive root beer reviewers and scowl unnecessarily long at baby koalas. It’s another sailing themed root beer, of which the world cannot have too many.
