Aug 212013
 

Root Jack Orange Flavored Root Beer Bottle Another pirate themed energy drink root beer. But this adds the twist of orange flavor and vitamin C to fight scurvy. Their website tells the tale of a one Astrea Valentine who through ruthless cunning and good looks, was able to seize control of a pirate vessel. She kept her crew scurvy free by giving them RootJack because root beer was evidently something that existed in the 17th century Caribbean. Maybe Columbus brought it there from Milligan’s Island. The bottle is pretty sick, sporting a pirate queen with cannon and sword and jagged letters. I must say I’ve not had very good experiences with energy drink root beers, nor pirate root beers for that matter (though Jack Black’s is the noted exception to both), and only once had orange peel in a brew so my expectations were not high. Perhaps it would surprise me like Cherry Root Bear…

First thing to noticed is that the Head is impressive, most impressive. Dare I say, perfect! It’s super tall, frothy, and lasts about forever. It rivals the best root beer Heads I’ve ever seen. So far so good. The Body has a strong and sour orange flavor that quickly masks out all others. As that fades, guarana and more standard root beer flavors begin to surface, mixed with some gross herbal notes. The Bite is solid but wrong. It burns with acid and herbs and isn’t pleasant. The Aftertaste is a super sour orange with a nasty medicinal herb flavor. Gross.

And then they lost it, big time. This root beer is just so wrong. Way too much sour orange, the gross herbal mix, the acid burn, the weak root beer flavors. Sadly it exceeded my gross expectations, which were not high to start with. But the bottle is really cool and that impressive Head earns it another half a keg to be sure. See how it rates against other root beers.

keg1n5




Aug 072013
 

Boom Chugga Lugga Cherry Root Bear BottleThis is a root beer with more questions than answers I’m afraid. It’s made by Cherry Republic, yet for some reason they call their soda line Boom Chugga Lugga. Another problem with their name is the whole root bear. I imagine that up in Michigan they pronounce the word ‘bear’ similar to ‘beer’ and they’re trying some word play like that whole Route Beer 66 nonsense, Though that’s not the case on the West Coast so it just seems strange. And why bears anyways? I don’t see the connection between cherries and black bears. They boast that it’s a cherry flavored root beer and include cherry juice concentrate in the ingredients. I don’t really like fruity brews so I didn’t really have high expectations for this.

The Body is generic root beer that is quickly eclipsed by a rich black cherry flavor. There’s almost a bubble gum taste to it for just a moment as the root beer fades away leaving only the cherry. It actually works and is quite delicious. The Bite is rather unimpressive. There’s a sharp carbonation sting but really no spices. It ends smooth. The Head is short and fizzes away quickly. It’s better than a two second Head but not much. The Aftertaste is a rich black cherry flavor with some creamy hints that seem like vanilla.

Hmm, I like it. I didn’t expect to at all, but the cherry really works with it. They were wise to use the black cherry flavor instead of a red or maraschino flavor. The latter two I think would have really detracted, but the black blends nicely and doesn’t seem the least bit out of place, rather it’s a nice twist on a root beer. The poor Head and Bite however pull it down. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three and a half kegs