Jun 012022
 
Rocket Fizz Boosted Root Beer Bottle

Another one I got back last summer at Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store. It was my caffeinated root beer run, and is always a pain to review these. Rocket Fizz decided regular caffeinated root beers were too weak evidently so they amped this up to having nearly twice as much as the Sprecher with 4 ounces less soda (pop/coke). They also put guarana and ginseng and b vitamins in it. So an energy drink basically. Usually Rocket Fizz just copies some other soda with their root beer flavors, but I can’t think of another one that’s a pure energy drink root beer, so maybe they’ve found some originality? It’s got a sleek metallic label too, like they wanted to do that energy drink in a can but realized that I wouldn’t drink it if they did and since my review is more important than anything else they put it in glass. Thank you for that. Now on to the review.

The Body is sweet and creamy with a soapy medicinal flavor underneath a rather generic creamy root beer core. Faint flavors of ginseng and guarana accent this. The Body is spicy and complex and it finishes pretty smooth. The Head is very nice, tall and foamy. The Aftertaste is a little strange, a little soapy, a little medicinal and a little vanilla.

Overall it’s good, which is surprising considering all they put in it, but still tastes a little off, which is entirely expected for an energy drink, vitamin fortified brew. I would rather drink the Sprecher if I need a caffeine boost, but if I needed a full energy drink (which is basically never), I wouldn’t pass this up. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three and a half kegs

May 042022
 
Seal of Approval

I found this last summer at Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store. I’d known about it for awhile and had tried to find it. Everyone told me to just get it from Menard’s, but every time I went to one they didn’t have it. I’m convinced Sprecher purposely makes new root beers hard for me and me only to find. Anyways. Caffeinated root beer. Can’t say I’m a fan in general as I don’t really drink much caffeine so it affects me a lot. Especially since I usually drink my root beers in the evening, I had to make sure to review these in the middle of day. Any ways. It seems like it is just original Sprecher with caffeine added to it, so it should be good.

It has a rich full body that’s sweet and smooth with vanilla and honey flavors. There’s some slight soapy notes and feel from the caffeine, but this isn’t too much to pull it down much. The Bite is good and spicy, on the milder side yet present enough. It has a smooth, yet slightly soapy finish. The Head is very tall and foamy, better than regular Sprecher. The Aftertaste is a vanilla and honey with that hint of soapy.

I was right, it is just regular ol’ Sprecher with that slightly alkaline caffeine flavor and feel, which is 100% expected and still quite delicious though not quite as good as the original. If I ever need to stay up late, this is what I’ll be drinking. See how it rates against other root beers.

4 kegs
Apr 062022
 
Seal of Approval

The second root beer of my birthday present of Parlor. This one is a butterscotch which is nice because while that type of brew used to be quite popular to add to a soda maker’s lineup, I haven’t seen a lot of new ones in the past few years. I guess 2020 was kind of a big stoppage in new flavor creation amongst all of the other problems. Anyways this brew. Now there is a parlor guy on the bottle and I don’t know his name. Couldn’t find anything about him on the website, but I think he looks a lot like a Brian, Brian Butterscotch? Maybe Bill. Yeah, Bill Butterscotch, better pay your Bills if you know what I mean.

The Body has a rich butterscotch flavor accented by vanilla and a root beer core. The flavors mingle beautifully so that neither overpowers the other. The Bite is mild for a root beer, as butterscotch, not spice takes the main stage. The Head is nice height and frothy. The Aftertaste is of vanilla and butterscotch.

Wow, good job. They nailed it and butterscotch root beer is hard to nail. This takes the simple plain root beer flavor of their original and expertly adds butterscotch to make it a thing of excellence. If their original brew had been more complex, maybe with more wintergreen and other spices, it may not have worked, but dang! (on purpose) It sure did this time. See how it rates against other root beers.

4 kegs