Jul 172013
 

Oogave Esteban's Root Beer BottleI’m not sure who Esteban is, or why Oogave decided to make it his root beer. He even stamped it with Esteban’s Seal of Approval, which would be like me making “Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer” and then stamping it with my Seal of Approval, that is to say redundant. I’d hope that the mere fact that Esteban put his name on the bottle implied he already approved, though they could have just liked Esteban and named the brew after him before he ever tried it. Who knows. The bottle says that they’re the original agave soda, which I can’t argue with since they’re the first wholely-sweetened-by-agave nectar soda I’ve ever seen. For those that don’t know, agave is a succulent plant that grows in the Southwest US and into Central America, the sap of which is used to make tequila. So they clearly figured that a virgin tequila soda was in order. It’s also certified organic, for those of you who care about such things.

The Body is sweet, crisp, and refreshing but hardly tastes like root beer. There is a fruity hint to it which most likely comes from the agave nectar used for sweetener. The Bite is prickly on the tongue but otherwise weak. The Head is decent but fizzes away quickly. It doesn’t go flat though. The Aftertaste is the same sweet, fruity, agave flavor that intensifies as you drink it. The more you drink the less it tastes like root beer and the more it tastes like agave nectar.

Good soda, bad root beer. I like it, but I doubt I’d recognize it as a root beer unless I were told. As for Esteban, I don’t really know what his Seal of Approval is based on, but most definitely NOT, the quality of a root beer. See how it rates against other root beers.

2 out of 5 root beer kegs




Jul 112013
 

Jack's Real Root Beer

Yesterday I had the fortune to discover a Kickstarter Campaign of the Shaktea Kombucha company who also brews their own organic root beer using real roots and spices. They’re trying to raise money for a bottling machine so they can bottle the root beer instead of it being served only on draft. If ever there were a worthy cause, this is one. I promptly made the pledge of $44 to secure a six-pack of the brew for reviewing, but with an $18 dollar pledge ($10 for shipping) you can get a single bottle. I encourage all of you to help improve the gourmet root beer world by supporting this company. For more information see the attached press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Meghan Dowd

info@shakteakombucha.com

IOWA FAMILY LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO PRODUCE HEALTHY SODA ALTERNATIVES

Organic soda and kombucha makers launch a crowd-funding campaign to bring the first organic brewed root beer to the market.

FAIRFIELD, IA (July 8, 2013) – Shaktea Kombucha™, a producer of hand-crafted, raw organic kombucha and Jack’s Real Root Beer™, a brewed organic root beer announced the launch of their Kickstarter campaign to increase production of healthier sodas and soda alternatives.

Kickstarter is an online crowd-funding platform where people can support projects by making pledges for as little as $1 in exchange for fun rewards.  Shaktea Kombucha has until August 4th to reach their $30,000 funding goal for an automatic bottling line. “Hitting this goal will allow us to bring Jack’s Real Root Beer to the market in bottles. We will be the only organic root beer, brewed from whole herbs, roots and spices on the market,” says Dowd.   “Kickstarter is a way for us to share our story and a way for people to actively support bringing products like ours to the market.”

Shaktea Kombucha, founded as a family-run microbrewery by Jack Dowd, Meghan Dowd and Deb Dowd, launched in June 2011 and is now certified USDA organic and available at over 30 retail market locations across Iowa.

For more information, visit:

Shaktea Kombucha Online: www.shakteakombucha.com

Shaktea Kombucha’s Kickstarter Campaign: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1230047189/shaktea-kombucha-and-jacks-real-root-beer

*UPDATE* Sadly the Kickstarter campaign failed but they are looking into other options and still hope to be bottling in larger quantities by late fall.




Jul 102013
 

Brigham's Brew Root Beer BottleSeal of ApprovalThe final brew from my journey to UT and the only one in a bottle. I snagged four bottles of it on my way to the Salt Lake airport making 4 new root beers in a three day trip. I must say this was the most successful trip yet as far as root beer is concerned. Brigham’s Brew is brewed by Wasatch Brewery and to my knowledge is the only root beer to be named after religious leader (unless there’s some Innocent XII brew I’ve heretofore missed), taking the celebrity root beer names to a whole new level. I find it ironic that a root beer named after the second Mormon Prophet, Brigham Young, would be made by non-Mormons (this is, of course, assuming that owning a brewery precludes one from also being in full fellowship with the church) but then again he was also the first Governor of Deseret (Utah before it was a state) so they’re probably just tipping their hats to Utah’s founder. Plus, if their brewery had been around then, the root beer would have been the only one that Brigham Young would have drank. That’s actually a really good marketing strategy. Maybe we’ll see founders’ brews from other major religions that forbid alcohol in their holy cities someday.

The Body is rich and creamy. A delicious honey flavor greats your tongue and then introduces it to luscious vanilla. A little wintergreen surfaces later to accent the rest of the standard root beer flavors making the perfect soiree in your mouth. There’s a solid bite from spice and carbonation, but the maltodextrin ensures that it is a very smooth affair. The Head is excellent. It almost fizzed over the top of my mug with each pouring. It dissipates faster than some of the other greats though, and is probably the only drawback. The Aftertaste is creamy vanilla and wintergreen with honey accents showing up just as the other two flavors exit.

Wow! I was expecting good but not such a superb brew! I wish I had purchased more bottles. This is hands down one of the best root beers I’ve ever had. So nice to have my trip end with the best. Truly, this is the highest compliment a brewer could pay to Brother Brigham. See how it rates against other root beers.

4.5 Kegs