Root Beer Reviews – Page 6 – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Firehouse Brewing Company Root Beer

Feb 012023

Back in late July and early August, the family and I took a 3000 mile road trip to Idaho and back, going through South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota. We saw many things. On the way through South Dakota, heading towards Rapid City, we saw tons of signs for the Firehouse Brewing Company among the other attractions out there. Most of them had actual, old fire trucks, which really makes me wonder just how much thy spend on their advertising. Especially because most of the fire trucks looked really clean, so someone is going out and scrubbing them? I don’t know, but I had checked the previous day and knew they had root beer on tap, so fancy billboards or not, that’s where I was eating dinner that night. When we ordered they originally brought my root beer in a plastic cup, which enraged me to no end because I ordered a pint, not a plastic cup, of root beer. Though the waiter said it was impossible to get it in an actual glass, they do gave free refills so I went to the bar and asked if I could get my root beer in a glass and they gave me one no problem.

The Body is sweet and dark and licorice. Really strong licorice. Like black jelly bean. There’s a little wintergreen in there but not much else other than, Bite! Which is spicy as all get out. I do like those spices, but it’s not really smooth and pretty mild on carbonation which negatively impacts, Head! Or lack there of. I watched them pour it (the second pint at least) and really nothing at all which is the complete opposite of, Aftertaste! Which is bitter, and licorice, and strong, and lingers.

Um, do you like drinking liquified black jelly beans? Then you’ll love this root beer. I, of myself, feel that root beer should have a more complex flavor than just spiced black jelly bean. Also the Head is terrible. So yeah, I’m not a fan of this root beer one bit. Their food was quite good. They had many types of burgers and you could get any burger with a standard patty, an Impossible patty, a bison patty, or a cricket patty. I chose bison, it was good but a little dry, because bison is pretty lean. They also have an amazing fish and chips. It’s a pretty decent place all in all, but skip their root beer.

**My bacon cheese bison burger with fries. It was quite good**

Cam’s Root Beer

Draft and Keg Root Beers 2 Responses »

Jan 042023

Fresh off my IEEE PES GM DERMS root beer extravaganza, and I mean fresh off, like I didn’t even go home, I flew straight there, I was in Phoenix, Arizona. Do you know why? Can you guess? It starts with a D… Anyhow, I was meeting with customers and when they asked for dietary restrictions I said I required gourmet root beer (jokingly) only to be met with a variety pack of Orca beverages in the meeting room that morning. Can you say Bull Dog? Oh yeah. Now that’s what I call a customer. Juan, you rock! What does that have to do with Cam’s? Not much, other than when I left I was in the airport and looking for dinner. I saw the SanTan Brewing Company airport location and thought, why not. So I says to the guy “Hey SanTan Man, you guys got any root beer?” Yes, yes they did. They make it themselves. It’s called Cam’s, after the brewer’s son Cameron (I think it’s his kid). Well, the only way to make a week where you get four draft root beers better, is to get five draft root beers.

The Body is dark and complex with mint and spices and licorice and birch flavors all coming through. It isn’t as sweet as other root beers either, more of an adult, old fashioned flavor. The Bite is quite spiced with good carbonation. It finishes neither harsh nor smooth. The Head is short and gone, kind of sad. The Aftertaste is slightly bitter, minty birch which fades to a very faint caramel.

This is okay. It’s spicy and complex, which is good, but no Head and not very sweet nor creamy. Not bad, and unique as well. It’d go well with their food. Their chipotle bacon burger was amazing and so were the fries. They pair well giving this a solid drinkable. It’s not worth a pilgrimage by any means, but if you’re flying out from there, it’s as convenient as it gets.

**SanTan Brewery Chipotle bacon cheeseburger. So amazingly yummy.**

Reverence Brewing Company MALTY Root Beer

Draft and Keg Root Beers No Responses »

Dec 072022

The final brew of Reverence Brewing Company. As I said before he made so many root beers because he had so many taps, because the brewery before him had those taps. Reverence has actually only been open for a little over a year, and the place has had several breweries before, such that one of the people there that day mentioned that he thought the spot was cursed for breweries, but, after he tasted their brews, he really hoped they make it. I second that, for the root beer’s sake. This root beer he went malty, lots of malt extract, because he really likes malt. I somewhat like malt beverages so I was truly intrigued.

The Body is sweet and malty. Like, there is really a lot of malt flavor. It largely masks the other root beer flavors initially but you can find the hints of sarsaparilla, vanilla and others if you pay attention. That said, the flavors work as long as you don’t hate the malt flavor. The Bite is very smooth and rich. There’s great mouthfeel but not really any discernable spice. The Head is beautiful, as tall as you want it, frothy with staying power. That’s the malt extract for you. The Aftertaste is more malt. Like those malt drinks. It’s sticky and lingers, so it will build if you drink it fast.

So, if you’ve ever had a Maltex, it’s a lot like that. But there is still root beer in there, making it richer, smoother, sweeter. Still, that malt is pretty overpowering, and Nate even admits, he may have overdone it. That said, it gave it a very nice head and smooth texture. If you like malt, you’ll probably enjoy this, if not, you’ll probably hate it. Me, I’d say there’s probably too much malt, but still “drinkable”, barely, as I don’t mind Maltex and the like occasionally. This brewery is a must if you want to get some quality variety root beer. They do flights of four ounces, so if you can only go once, get yourself a flight and support a business as like minded as all who read these posts.

**I asked what to take a picture of and he said the dragon faucet in the bathroom. It does look cool**

**I also thought I should show part of the tap room because it’s quite cozy**

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