Jun 122013
 

Millstream Old Time Root Beer BottleFirst of all, I don’t know why they put a ‘-‘ in between ‘root’ and ‘beer’ on their label. They don’t hyphenate it on their website so I’m going to guess that they’re trolling grammar Nazis with the label. Also, it is interesting to find an old time root beer since most often people say their brew is old fashioned. I wonder if anyone will ever make a new time or a new fashioned (latest fashion?) root beer. Their website is thick with the standard old fashioned rhetoric even throwing in mention to grandpa. Since every old fashioned root beer seems to be very different, I’m going to venture that each brew is talking about a different grandpa. They also claim that “Millstream Old Time Root Beer is brewed to satisfy the most discriminating root beer connoisseur” which I am so let’s see.

The Body is very light with the standard root beer flavors. It’s a little creamy as well; sort of your standard creamy root beer type. The Bite is spicy and sharp. It’s very nice but a little too sharp for my tastes but that spicy is very nice. The Head is nice. It is frothy, medium height, and lasts awhile. The Aftertaste is a letdown. There’s the tiniest waft of vanilla that disappears without a trace followed by a hint of citric acid sour and then that’s it.

Huh. That doesn’t seem to have “lots of aroma and plenty of good, old-fashioned taste.” Maybe they’re talking about their other root beer, the non-hyphenated one. Who knows. Overall it’s an ok brew but there’s really nothing special about it and it is lacking in several areas. The most discriminating root beer connoisseur has sadly been left unsatisfied. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three kegs




Jun 052013
 

A growler of Rogue Root Beer I know everyone’s been dying for me to do another growler root beer review. It’s been over a year and I always am just picking them up off the tap instead of taking them home for later, but finally your wait is over. I’ve known about Rogue for awhile and was even all set to go to a brewhouse that served it but I ended up winning those tickets to the Silver Tips so I went to Scuttlebutt instead. Then The Root Beer Store told me that they had just had a keg of Rogue returned that was 3/4 full and they’d fill me a growler if I wanted, so it’s a little hard to pass that up. Sadly most of the carbonation foamed out during the filling and the foam lasted an exceedingly long time, but I don’t rate the Head for growler brews. According the the Rogue website, this root beer is a paradox. It says “12 Ingredients: Brewed using 6 Ingredients” Perhaps they’ve just fallen into the physics trap of losing a factor of two somewhere but the contradictions don’t stop there. It also says “No Chemicals, Additives, or Preservatives” but then two of those six (12?) ingredients are “Sodium Benzoate & Citric Acid” So either the brown sugar they use is rich is sodium benzoate or something (two things actually) don’t add up (pun intended).

The Body is full but not creamy. There’s a fruity molasses flavor in there as well mixed with spices. The Bite is solid from said spices and I’m sure if it had a full carbonation it would give a good kick there as well. The Aftertaste is a complex molasses and spice with a subtle fruity flavor. The molasses flavor isn’t overbearing but still not my favorite.

So it’s really disappointing. I want to like this but I don’t really. It’s ok, but doesn’t really live up to its possibilities given the ingredient list. I may try it again on tap if I encounter it just to see if maybe it was sitting around for too long or the loss of carbonation somehow sabotaged the flavor, but for now, it’s just a drinkable.

Three kegs




May 292013
 

Olde Rhode Island Molasses Root Beer Bottle It’s nice to see that even the tiny state of Rhode Island can get their own brand of root beer, and an Olde one at that, even if it is made by Empire Bottling Works. In fact they’re so olde they don’t even have a website. They’re so olde that their New England recipe is just old in comparison. They’re so olde that their label looks as though it’s as olde as the company, or that they spilled some root beer on it. And they’re so olde that they don’t even care. They don’t have to, because once you become so old that you’re olde, you’ve moved beyond such things.

The Body of this root beer is dark and rich, I like it. It was even a bit sticky from the molasses. I wish it had a bit more vanilla in it though. The Bite was very harsh from carbonation but not much from spices which was disappointing. The Head was absolutely pathetic, especially considering the amount of carbonation in the brew. The Aftertaste was mild and creamy wintergreen which is very nice.

Over all it has solid flavor without any bad tastes, but it’s so olde that it is lacking in a few flavors that those old root beers will have. The poor Head (too olde for that) and harsh Bite were also major downsides. But what do they care, they’re olde in Rhode Island … Molasses! See how it rates against other root beers.

Three kegs