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Root 66 Root Beer

Jul 012015

Root 66 Root Beer Bottle The first Route 66 themed root beer I ever encountered. It was one of the three from that Seattle Mariners game when I was in high school and one of the first probably 20 root beers I ever had. Interestingly, this was made in Charlottesville, Virginia, which is most decidedly not on Route 66. They say that they created it as a tribute to that road, but still, Virginia just seems out of place to have such a thing. That’d be like me making a Jamestown Root Beer up here in Washington as a tribute to the original American colony. Sure I could do it, but it wouldn’t make a lot of sense. Anyway I think they really just made it because the pun was too irresistible. Some people just love their puns, myself included, and will go to great lengths to create the appropriate context to use one that they find especially clever, despite the fact that the vast majority of the population does not share the sentiment. We pun-ishers are such an under appreciated lot. So someone at Roadside Beverage Company (the company that makes this) loved the Root 66 root beer so much that even though he was in Virginia, he figured it was his only shot to send his pun to the world. I thank him for his determination.

This has a complex Body with too much Bite. Head is ok. The Aftertaste could use vanilla.

A lot of the complexity came from the chicory root, sweet birch, and sarsaparilla root they added in addition to the other natural and artificial flavors. It had too strong an anise flavor though, which was not appreciated. This was the only root beer with a stong anise flavor in it that I could at all stand at the time of reviewing, there have been some others since then though this was the first. It’s not a bad brew, but not anything outstanding. See how it rates against other root beers.

Old Town Root Beer 66

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Nov 162011

Yet another Route 66 themed root beer. What is it with Route 66 that makes people want to name a root beer after it? And why do they insist on naming their root beers after it knowing full well that there are other root beers named after Route 66? I suppose it is an iconic American road, not to mention very long, and root beer is an iconic American food so I see the connection. It’s also plausible that before the days of the internet multiple places on the route could decided to name their root beer after it with no knowledge of the other. Plus, who doesn’t like a good pun? And this bottle is full of the puns. “Get to the ROOT of Route 66” and “Get Your SUGAR Fix On Route 66.” I think I would have enjoyed them better if I hadn’t already heard these puns before or thought of them before. And what is up with their choice capitalizations? The bottle does make the claim of being “The Finest Root Beer on The Route” and since I’ve had several other Route 66 root beers I can definitely put that to the test.

It has a nice full Body that is dark and rooty with wintergreen and a tiny hint of honey coming through. The Body is also pretty creamy from the vanilla. The Bite comes in with cinnamon and a little prickly bit of carbonation but still has a smooth finish. The Head, however, is pathetic. It is very short, less than a centimeter, and fizzes away in seconds. It’s what I like to call the “Two Second Head.” Such a Head actually plagues a lot of root beers but that’s no excuse. The Aftertaste is a bit sticky and creamy with traces of wintergreen and honey.

So wow, delicious, delicious. They sure figured out what great root beer should taste like. I also think they are right, it is the finest root beer of the Route 66 root beers (at least that I’ve had so far). But, I just can’t give a Seal of Approval to a brew with a Two Second Head. Sorry, I can’t. I mean, give it the same height but very frothy and it’d be a 4. Give it a Henry’s Head, and we’re talking 4.5 or 5 out of this. But the Two Second Head, nope sorry. See how it rates against other root beers.

Round Barn Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Dec 162015

Round Barn Root Beer Bottle In the tiny town of Arcadia, OK, on Route 66, there exists a place called Pops. There, on the iconic route, they’ve got it all; a restaurant, a landmark, a soda ranch, and a website that actually works. Their soda ranch boasts over 600 flavors, a good 1/6 of that coming from various root beers, birch beers, sarsaparillas, and associated diets. Very impressive. Not wanting to stop there, they decided to get their own flavor of root beer and contracted with the Huebert Brewing Company to make it for them. They decided to buck the whole Route 66 trend and instead named their root beer after some round barn. The picture is on the bottle and everything. In a town of less than 300 people, I can accept that a big ol’ round barn may just be defining feature of the place. The Wikipedia article on Arcadia confirms this as it has exactly one photo in it which is nearly identical to the label picture, same angle and everything. Curiously, the article doesn’t mention anything about said round barn, so maybe it’s just for looks or something.

The Body is rather bland. It’s really REALLY sweet and syrupy but only a medium flavor profile. It’s a tad creamy with the slightest shadow of wintergreen, but you really have to look hard. There’s also a fruity hint. There is the slightest spice Bite but not much in the carbonation department. That all fizzes up to build a very nice Head that’s tall and lingers awhile, though it’s not a high froth Head. The Aftertaste is sticky corn syrup that turns bitter.

So about a week before I tried this I got an email from someone claiming my review of Henry Weinhard’s was wrong because it uses HFCS and that tastes inferior to sugar and as the primary ingredient it would have the most pronounced flavor. I responded that the sugar doesn’t make the brew and other ingredients can have much stronger flavors. This brew, however, fits exactly what he was getting at. It has a very high 47g of HFCS and that is by far the dominant flavor. Really this tastes like moderately flavored corn syrup drink, like if you watered down some Aunt Jemima. I’m not a big fan. See how it rates against other root beers.

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