May 072014
 

R & B Produce Root Beer BottleWhen I first relaunched the site and started actively started trading for new root beers with other reviewers, anthony asked if I wanted some nasty Amish home brew. I told him that as long as it was bottled with a label on the bottle I’d love it. He sent some but it was lost in the mail for two weeks due to an erroneous zip code. I had just moved and messed up my address. Since it was yeast carbonated, the bottles had leaked over half of their contents out due to over carbonation, though luckily they were in plastic bags and it didn’t ruin the rest of the root beer bottles in that trade. I had to wait another two years before he tried sending it again. This time we made sure the address was right, and he insulated the package and put ice packs in it. Three days later it came all wet and soggy. The postal workers never stamped fragile on the package so it was tossed around and one of the three bottles was smashed, which tore the plastic bag, leaking root beer everywhere. I thought the others leaked too, but after washing them, drying them, and inspecting, I was relieved to find they were intact. I was even able to mostly save the label on one for my collection. I’m not sure what R & B stand for, so I’m guessing it’s Root and Beer. I’m sure it’s a good little produce market that sells carrots, turnips, beets, sweet potatoes, and this brew.

The Body is yeasty, sour, fruity, and weak in the normal root beer flavor department. There’s a sour acidic type of carbonation Bite that isn’t very pleasant. The Head is medium tall but fizzes away very quickly. The Aftertaste is sour yeastiness.

So, light on root beer, high on sour yeast. You can guess how I feel about that. This isn’t the nastiest Amish home brew I’ve tried (I’m looking at you Olde Heritage) but it’s definitely not what you want when you need a good root beer. See how it rates against other root beers.

1.5 out of 5 kegs




Apr 162014
 

Triple XXX Root Beer Bottle After reading my XXX Root Beer review and my Triple AAA Root Beer review I knew you were wondering what things I had to say about Triple XXX, the root beer that started all of this mess. It was awhile ago that I came across a six pack of this. The first thing that got me hung up about this brew was the name. Did they mean Triple X, but wanted to make sure you really got it so they called it Triple XXX? It seemed redundant but yes, it really was called Triple XXX and not Triple X. So does Triple XXX = 9X, X^9, or 3X^3? Does it mean this root beer has some connection to the adult entertainment industry (as an aside I’ve really thought about registering www.gourmetrootbeer.xxx and having it redirect to this post)? According to their website, XXX used to mean good, so the owners thought that Triple XXX is three times as good, or something. Who knows. The label makes me happy, simple, metallic, and retro. Though they changed it since I drank this.

I drank more bottles of this root beer than normal and every time I got something different. The Body was sometimes sweet and full, sometimes watery and lacking. The Bite was sometimes harsh, sometimes smooth. The Head was never very frothy but ranged between nonexistent and not bad. It always fizzed away quickly though. The Aftertaste was sometimes (see a pattern here?) very nice and of vanilla, and sometimes very weak.

Ok, what’s up with that? Whatever happened to quality control and process consistency? I have strict standards and try to recreate the exact same drinking situation with each review but this one was all over the place throughout the whole six pack. The inconsistency of it all was appalling. “Tastes like root beer used to taste”? Really, it seems like they can’t remember and tried several things. Though sometimes the root beer was really good, I just can’t in good faith call the brew drinkable when I’m not sure what it’ll be. So sorry Triple XXX, you get a two and a half. See how it rates against other root beers.

2.5/5 Root Beer Kegs




Apr 092014
 

Dublin Texas Root Beer Bottle I first heard about the Dublin Bottling Works when news of the lawsuit and the end of Dublin Dr Pepper broke. While I was sympathetic towards the plight of those who loved the drink, would miss the drink, or whose livelihoods depended on the drink, I didn’t like the drink. Or rather, I don’t like Dr Pepper or any of the imitations and never had, so I really couldn’t lament much even though I’ve never tried that particular version of it. But Dublin Bottling Works, being from Texas, won’t let The Man keep them down, and have replaced their Dublin Dr Pepper with Dublin Texas Root Beer. Now this is a very positive thing in my opinion. Replacing I flavor I don’t like with one I do. It’s not like they’re strangers to root beer either, they used to bottle Triple XXX. I’m not sure if they still do, but now they have their own original root beer. Since it was a new product launch, they were kind enough to send me a six pack for review.

The Body is sweet and a little creamy and full of the standard root beer flavors, so much so that it borders being generic tasting. It’s a little on the dark side as well. The Bite is prickly from carbonation but lacking in spice. The Head is tall but fizzes down at an average speed, faster than I feel it should. The Aftertaste is a sort of sticky caramel almost vanilla flavor.

Pretty good, but it doesn’t really have anything extra to really make me swoon. It is a solid brew for a barbeque or a float, but not quite sipping variety. But a good all around root beer like this is sure to be successful enough, even if it’s not my favorite. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three and a half kegs