Bottled Root Beers – Page 70 – Eric's Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Americana Cream Style Root Beer

May 062015

Americana Cream Stlye Root Beer Bottle I found this in Seattle shortly after I began my eternal quest to review every gourmet root beer in the world. It was the first spring actually. I’d gone with some friends to a Mariners game and across the street from Safeco Field I found three different varieties in a mini-mart. Since the security was much less stringent, I actually took them into the game with me since I didn’t want to go back to the car. This brew is microcrafted, which I’ve never seen before. I’ve seen plenty of hand crafted and microbrewed, but never microcrafted. The label on this has got a lot going on, but it’s all very patriotic. It is Americana after all, so there’s got to be a bald eagle and The Liberty Bell. Then add some old fashioned squiggly lines that I’m sure have some sort of formal name but I don’t care to check and voilá, a truly American label, nay, an Americana label.

At first this was ok but the licorice in the Aftertaste became overpowering so I could barely choke it down. If you are someone who likes licorice in your root beer I am sure you will love this. I, however, despise it. The Body isn’t that good and the Head is lacking. Bite is too much with the licorice.

As you can tell, I don’t really like a strong licorice flavor in my root beer, and this is the antithesis of that. With a very strong licorice Aftertaste building, it soon masked everything else until it was just a black licorice stick, liquified and attacking me. Quite a shame, if it were better I’d drink it on President’s Day or Constitution Day or something like that but since it’s nasty, I’ll just drink something else. See how it rates against other root beers.

Stone Cellar Root Beer

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Apr 292015

Stone Cellar Root Beer Bottle This stuff comes from the Stone Cellar Brewpub in Appleton, Wisconsin. Stone Cellar is the state’s oldest brewpub and is housed in a building built over 150 years ago as a brewery. There’s been some change in names over the years and fires and closures, but they are currently stronger than ever before and expanding as well. Their philosophy is on local sustainable and organic offerings to improve the community and the world or something like that. Their root beer bottle is pretty sweet, what with the stone arch and painted letters and whatnot. I always prefer a painted bottle over a label since the former will last longer in my root beer bottle collection.

The Body is extremely light. The only flavors other than sugar are the subtlest hints of ginger and maybe some sarsaparilla. There is also the faintest trace of fruity in the nearly flavorless drink. The Bite has some sharp carbonation burn but nothing else. The Head is tall and frothy and is most excellent. It’s a shining beacon in the otherwise dismal brew. The Aftertaste is merely a shadow of sugar and fruity that’s gone before you even realize it was there.

Huh. It’s not even like those herb tea root beers that are good but not root beer. This stuff is the color of sparkling apple cider and not only does it not taste like root beer; it doesn’t really taste like anything. I wonder who, as a child, grew up drinking something like this and thinking it was root beer. They say on the back of the bottle “Lighter Than The Rest But Still The Best!” They got the first part right for sure. See how it rates against other root beers.

Sprecher Root Beer Soda

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Apr 222015

Sprecher Root Beer Bottle Another brew that I found in Sacramento on the trip there after my mission. My grandmother mentioned that there was a really nice root beer at a cafe down a few blocks away from her house which prompted me to drop everything and take off to see if there was any truth to the rumor. I found that the stories were true and I bought three bottles. Since it was already cold, I was able to start reviewing it as soon as I got back to the house. I for many years mispronounced the name of this. I always though it was a ‘ch’ sound and not a ‘k’ sound so it’s like the German word to talk. Also, I’m not sure what the crow daemon thing is supposed to be but at least it’s not a dog…

The Body is sweet and smooth with a nice honey flavor to it. One of the best root beer bodies that I have ever tasted. The Bite is there, but not too much, more on the smooth side, like I like it. The Head is good and frothy, but, unfortunately was a little too short to rank higher. The Aftertaste is also very nice with the honey.

Wow! This stuff is great. The only thing that could be improved would to have more vanilla flavor to it and a taller Head. All in all, this is a top notch brew. The fact that they sell this in pints means you always get an extra four ounces of goodness and trust me, you’ll always be wanting it. Since I originally reviewed it the label has changed to add that it was voted #1 by the New York Times. Well, I’m awarding my Seal of Approval, which is far more prestigious than anything in the Times. See how it rates against other root beers.

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