Draft and Keg Root Beers – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Brew Lab 101 Root Beer

Feb 042026

This past fall I had a crazy travel schedule of 6 different trips in 5 weeks. It was intense and most weeks I went two different places. I was always flying out on a Sunday or even staying over the weekend. The life of DERMS amirite? So expect a few more reviews from different places. The Delaware trip was part of this. In fact, the very next week I was in Albuquerque for the first time in a few years. I only had 2 days, but I called around and found Brew Lab 101 at the recommendation of one of my customers. Brew Lab 101 has actually been there since 2019, so not sure how I missed it last time I was in Albuquerque. They are dedicated to the science of good beer and cider. So they have probably got some good math formulas and molecular equations and stuff like that. Probably. The decor is science themed. Anyways, they have a root beer so I brought my coworkers after a long day so we could relax and have a nice brew.

The Body is weak and watered down. There’s some quintessential creamy root beer flavors in there, but their hard to fully pick out. The Bite is also light and mild. Hardly any spice and or even fizz. The Head is decently tall but fizzes away quickly. The Aftertaste is weak herbal flavor that vanishes.

Huh, that, is not good. I’ll note their webpage mentions nothing about being dedicated to the science of good root beer, and it shows. This was disappointing to say the least. Nothing really unique, just weak flavors. I’d avoid this one if I were you.

49th State Brewing Frontier Root Beer

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Feb 052025

The third (and last) brewery from my Anchorage trip. I was amazed that there was so many house root beers. The residents said it had to do with them all wanting to have something family friendly. I don’t know if every brewery up there makes root beer, but three out of three that I investigated did, so either I’m very lucky or it’s a pretty high percentage. Either way, this last place also makes several other soda flavors including Spruce Tips, which seemed really unique but I don’t review all sodas, just root beers. They brought it out in frosty mugs which is bonus, not for any review scoring, but just for the experience in general.

The Body hits you with a fruity sarsaparilla flavor that really isn’t my favorite at all. The more you drink, the more it matures to an aged flavor from fruity, so it does grow on you. The Bite is spicy and complex, prickly and fizzy, but still finishes smooth. There is no Head. None at all. It is sad. The Aftertaste is creamy, soothing vanilla, which is quite a nice touch to end on.

This is the worst of the three this week. It starts bad but does get drinkable as you go on. Barely drinkable, aged sarsparilla is decent, but the fruity is a no go. It’s good enough, over the course of the mug, to squeeze in a drinkable rating, but barely. The food is delicous so definitely worth a visit.

**A crab meat grilled cheese sandwich with chowder for dipping. Super delicious.**

Moose’s Tooth Draft Root Beer

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Jan 012025

So I was in Anchorage back in November for the Northwest Public Power Association Conference in Anchorage, Alaska. I was quite surprised how many breweries that made their own root beer there were. I saw from Google Maps that there were two within walking distance from my hotel. The first, Glacier Brewhouse, I realized, after I drank some, that I’d reviewed before when a tap room in Seattle had it. But that’s not this, in fact, this wasn’t even on that list of two, but people in the conference told me about Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria, supposedly the best pizza in Anchorage which also makes their own root beer. They also had a pizza that has reindeer sausage on it which made me even more want to go, so we made that our dinner the first night of the conference. The place was absolutely packed but thankfully we only had to wait for 15 minutes or so to get seated.

The Body is sweet and rich with a classic flavor profile that’s just a little darker and more herbal. The herbal bit detracts a little. There’s a bit of a spicy Bite but it is all in all, nice and smooth. The Head is medium and foamy when you ask for it that way. The Aftertaste is a delicious sweet creamy vanilla that washes away any thoughts but how wonderful it is.

I’ll say, the first glass they brought did not have a good head and I had to ask them again if they could not make sure it was very tall and foamy and they brought back what was pictured. This brew isn’t perfect, but it’s really good and that wonderful Aftertaste really brings it home for the Seal. The pizza was amazing as well. My coworkers and I ordered 3 mediums and ate all but two slices, it was that good. If you are in Anchorage, Moose’s Tooth is a must!

**My coworkers and I with our Thai Chicken, Call of the Wild, and Santa’s Little Helper Pizzas.**

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