Bottled Root Beers – Page 34 – Eric's Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Hummingbird Hill Birch Rootbeer

Oct 182017

Bottle of Hummingbird Hill Birch Rootbeer Another flavored brew. This time it’s a birch root beer. Not a birch beer. Technically this says “Birch Rootbeer”, which, if you are getting deep into the semantics of things you’d try and say isn’t really a root beer, but luckily the proper semantic definition has been established by the Standards Committee of the International Association of Gourmet Root Beer (IAGRB). It is in Standard NC 023.2-2007. I’ll only summarize it, because it costs a lot of money to buy those standards. Basically a root beer is defined as combinations of ‘root’ and ‘beer’, such as root beer, rootbeer, root bear, root beir, as well as translations such as cerveja de rais, cerveza de raiz, bière de racine, racinette, etc. Additionally, other flavors that proceed the term root beer do not disqualify it from being a root beer while flavors afterwards may do so, such as root beer and chocolate or root beer float. Got it? Good. Now on to Hummingbird Hill. I didn’t like their regular root beer so I didn’t have high expectations for this.

The Body is very birchy, but not full at all. There’s a good amount of wintergreen and it has some sour hints to it. The Bite is unimpressive. There’s some carbonation burn but not much else. The Head is inconsistent in height but lacks staying power so it is gone quickly. The Aftertaste is empty. There’s some wintergreen and a tad of vanilla but it doesn’t last at all.

This brew is unfulfilling. It it’s not gag level or anything, but it just isn’t good. Nope. I think it’s worse than their first attempt, which was also pretty bad. See how it rates against other root beers.

Henri Sodas Root Beer

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Oct 042017

Henri Sodas Root Beer Bottle One week into my new job and I was already flying on business into the Mystic Land of the North. Talk about hitting the ground running. This particular time I was off to Montreal. I didn’t have a lot of spare time, and there weren’t any breweries that had any racinette. I stumbled across some hard root beer in a convenience store which was just simply infuriating. Then I found Henri Sodas on Facebook. Henri makes several flavors of all natural, artisan sodas, brewed in small batches in the Montreal area. I reached out them on Facebook and told them where I was staying and asked if there was a store nearby that sold their brew. I was in luck, and they quickly replied that Mandy’s Salads, a quick walk from my hotel, carried their brew. I was able to get some that very next night after dinner. There were only 6 bottles in stock and I bought them all. Thankfully I got free checked bags so I could transport it home for free. The taped seal on the bottle is a nice unique touch. Makes the bottles feel slightly more premium.

The Body is complex and herbal with a prominent sarsaparilla flavor accented by licorice, spice, and a bit of vanilla. It’s more of a sharp sarsaparilla than a fruity which is good. There is a solid Bite from the spices, though it isn’t smooth and creamy. The Head is tall, very tall. Pour with caution. The Aftertaste is an herbal sarsaparilla that finishes in a faint fennel seed, like those things you eat at the end of your meal at Indian restaurants.

Wow, this is unique and yummy, and not too far outside of the typical root beer spectrum to get a Seal. I’m quite impressed with those Quebecers. Hopefully I’ll travel back their on business soon so I can get some more. See how it rates against other root beers.

Ginseng UP American Classics Root Beer

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Sep 272017

Ginseng UP American Classics Root Beer Bottle I am going to take some credit for the existence of this root beer. I know it sounds presumptuous, but that could be said for most of this website. You see, after I reviewed the Ginseng Up Private Label, I sent them an email congratulating them on the Seal of Approval. I also mentioned that it was strange that their Ginseng UP brand line didn’t have a root beer, especially since their tagline is “The Root of All Power” which could be a double entendre with root beer, and hoped that they’d make something equally good with ginseng. As you can see, they make one now, but it’s different from the Private Label in more than just added ginseng. This is all natural with cane sugar and no preservatives, which makes people like my lovely wife very happy.

The Body is sweet and full and creamy with a pronounced ginseng flavor and notes of caramel and a hint of wintergreen. The Bite is nice with clove the dominant spice though it finishes smooth. The Head is tall with decent staying power, not the best by any means, but nice. The Aftertaste is vanilla with a little ginseng.

Yum. They’ve made a nice creamy root beer with some additional complexity from the wintergreen and cloves. They make the ginseng work perfectly with it too, adding a nifty little twist without detracting in the least. I expected nothing less from the shadowy root beer overlords of the private label industry. Predictably, this is also sold in different bottles with different labels with the American Classics more prevalent. But it’s the same recipe. See how it rates against other root beers.

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