One of the first root beers that I had after I moved to Redmond and discovered The Root Beer Store, it was reviewed shortly before I had finished my big website overhaul so it didn’t get a post about it until now. This is made by the Kutztown Soda Works in … wait for it … Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It’s been around since the 1850’s, which is cool that they’ve been making sodas so long. They’re more famous for their birch beers, of which they have three different types, than their root beer. Since it’s from Pennsylvania and is old fashioned-ish, it has some German written on it in a font that is difficult to read. I think it says “Nix Besser” which means “None Better” so it makes sense. I actually like the label a lot, with that blue background, the circle, and the frosty mug. It also says “Original Premium Recipe” at the top.
The Body is very dark and rooty with a hint of vanilla and wintergreen. The cane sugar is noticeable, but it isn’t overly sweet. Though it is a strong flavor initially, it seems watered down afterwards. The Bite is ok, but not really good. The Head is moderate height but fizzes away quickly. Not too quickly, but doesn’t linger long like it should. The Aftertaste is sort of a sticky, licorice, herbal flavor that thankfully vanishes quickly.
I don’t really like the really dark licorice type brews, and that herbal note at the end isn’t good. It’s kind of sad that they didn’t make this more birchy. It was a tough call, it’s not really that bad, but I didn’t really like it that much, and if I didn’t like it much, it isn’t really that good, and since my standards are high, it needs to be good to be drinkable. See how it rates against other root beers.
