Hank’s – Page 2 – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Milligan’s Island Awesome Root Beer

May 042016

Bottle of Milligan's Island Awesome Root Beer This was the 10th root beer that I ever reviewed. After I had had my wonderful Hank’s experience I still had that $15 in my pocket earmarked for exotic root beers. So I hit the 1998 internet again in hopes to find a root beer that I could mail order with such limited funds. Since this was in the days before Google, I’m not sure how exactly I stumbled upon this, but it looked awesome and they’d sell me a 4-pack that was only about $15 with shipping (all the way from Connecticut). I’m glad I chose it since it’s now discontinued. This has a rather confusing label. The whole tropical island seems rather out of place for Connecticut and the whole “Fooling the Public since 1492” also befuddles me. The only thing I know of that happened in 1492 was Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas and I fail to see any connection to him in this root beer. Oh well, I’m fooled I suppose.

This was good. It had a wonderful Body. The Bite was good. The Aftertaste was pleasurable but the Head was awful. It would was not only small, but it would go flat in about a minute.

What a shame about the Head. That alone was enough to stop it from getting the Seal of Approval. It was the first root beer of many to suffer that fate. I even got an email from the company several years later apologizing for the poor Head and saying that normally it isn’t like that. I told them that I’d be glad to review it again if they sent me some more, but the root beer never came. And now the company is gone. I feel somewhat responsible for their demise. It’s a shame because it was pretty good. See how it rates against other root beers.

Jumpin Johnny’s Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Apr 272016

Jumpin Johnny's Root Beer Bottle This was the first root beer I reviewed after returning from my mission in Madagascar and South Africa. I was gone for two years and the only root beer I had was my mission recipe from some extract my parents sent me. When I returned home there was a case of this, a case of Henry’s, a case of Hank’s, and a case of Iron Horse waiting for me. I waited about two weeks before trying this, drinking the others to make sure I fully remembered what good root beer tasted like. The name of this annoys me. It should be Jumpin’ or Jumping. I don’t know who Johnny is, but he clearly has some mad skills. He’s jumping over a root beer keg on speed skates while holding a foamy mug of root beer. I know I couldn’t even jump over the barrel with a mug of brew if it were on grass, let alone speed skates. The reward for this feat was of course getting his own root beer named after him.

This root beer has an exceptionally sweet and delicious Body but although it is delicious at first, it proves rather hollow. There is not much Bite and it has very little Head on it. The Aftertaste is nothing special and even turns slightly fruity after awhile which counters the sweet flavor at the beginning.

They put real sugar and clover honey making this one of the sweetest brews I’ve ever encountered. Because of the sweet delicious flavor, it does go very well with food and therefore is drinkable and actually very desirable in that a food like pizza is greatly complimented by the sweet flavor, and the pizza flavor will fill the hollowness and mask the unpleasantness of the Aftertaste. See how it rates against other root beers.

The Grizzly Paw Soda Company Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Mar 162016

The Grizzly Paw Soda Company Root Beer Bottle About the time I was emailed about the Brewski another Canadian, dare I say my very favorite Canadian, informed me that he had found this and wanted to know if I needed to try it. I say my favorite Canadian because he was my longest and last mission companion in Madagascar so many years ago. Our root beer relationship went back to then, with me sending him some A&W as soon as I got back home (I got home first) to help end the root beer dearth that country suffers from. I even visited him in Alberta and found the FLM and Red Jammer along the way. Anyhow, I traded him some Steelhead and Hank’s for this. It comes in the standard Canadian 341 ml bottle which still makes no sense at all. The label makes me think of some nature park warning sign which is appropriate for the region. The coolest part about it is the whole “Racinette” because, Canada.

The Body is rich and sort of creamy with a rather generic root beer flavor. There’s nothing that really jumps out at you. The Bite has got a lot of carbonation fizz but not really much in the spice department. The Head is short and doesn’t last very long. The Aftertaste is a light caramel licorice with a bit of vanilla that doesn’t last long enough.

This is pretty meh but not unpleasant in any way. It’s just one of those generic, decent root beers that might as well have a white label with the words “Root Beer” in black text. I’d drink it again if I needed a brew to go with dinner, but only if it just happened to be laying around. See how it rates against other root beers.

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