Minnesota State Fair – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Schneider’s German Root Beer

Sep 052018

A glass of Schneider's German Root Beer Still at the Minnesota State Fair, after I’d visited The Root Beer Hut I figured it was time to hit up all of the fair essentials, like roasted corn, big fat bacon on a stick, Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar, etc. After I’d gotten my corn and was waiting in line for my bacon (which I dual wielded for awhile), I saw another root beer stand. Schneider’s German Root Beer. Mind blown, two root beers for me to review when I only expected one! This was going to be an epic fair. I decided that I should walk the whole grounds (since I’d just recently had a 32 oz Challenge Root Beer) and catalog all of the root beer stands at the fair. After about 4 hours of wandering, I was ready for review Round 2. Schneider’s German Root Beer was established in 1947 using a family recipe. Like the Challenge Root Beer, it’s only available at the State Fair from one of two stands. I assume the one I visited was the first such stand.

The Body is very spicy and reminds me of a root beer barrel candy. There’s some vanilla with a slight fruity tinge as well. The Bite is spicy with good carbonation and a relatively smooth finish. The Head is a medium height but lacks staying power. The Aftertaste is a spiced vanilla.

This is pretty good. I better than the Challenge Root Beer, though more expensive. You get what you pay for I suppose. There still was a fruity tinge, and that keeps it from a Seal for me. But it’s yummy all the same and is sure to go well with all of that salty stick food you’ll be buying at the fair.

Three and a half kegs

Schneider’s German Root Beer stand. A bonus root beer at the fair for me.

The other German Root Beer stand.

Root Beer at The Minnesota State Fair

Random Root Beer-ness 1 Response »

Sep 012018

Minnesota State Fair Root Beer Barrel

So as you know, I was at the Minnesota State Fair this past weekend on a quest for a root beer stand review. Over the course of five hours of walking basically every part, I came to a happy realization. In addition to the food-on-a-stick, animals, rides, cookies (oh those fresh cookies), and exhibits, there was another overarching theme. And that is root beer. I made this discovery as I first trekked to The Root Beer Hut I saw a root beer barrel stand. I was very amazed and curious. I went to see if they had their own root beer. They said no, but had IBC in their fountains along with other sodas. Someone told me it was actually A&W, the dispenser itself said Mug, but it doesn’t matter. They weren’t advertising soda, they were advertising root beer. There was more than one of these barrels that I found (3 maybe) just out there selling root beer. There was The Root Beer Hut and The Red Barn Root Beer by the same family. I also found a surprise root beer stand, the German Root Beer stands (review coming Wednesday). There was a 1919 root beer stand, and a shaved ice stand with a big barrel advertising some craft brewed root beer that I’d never heard of. It’s clear, that root beer is just as much a feature of the Great Minnesota Get-Together as anything. Minnesota truly is the right place for a root beer gourmet like me. So if you’re in the area and love root beer, get on down to the State Fair!

The Root Beer Hut

The Red Barn Root Beer stand

The shaved ice root beer. I don’t know the brand. I’ll investigate more next year.

It’s a shaved ice stand, not a root beer stand, so no review … yet.

The Minnesota State Fair 1919 Root Beer Stand

The 1919 Root Beer stand, the most grandiose by far. (Review of 1919 coming in the future)

Schneider’s German Root Beer stand. The surprise root beer at the fair for me.

The other German Root Beer stand. Same owners, same unique family recipe since the 1940s.

The Root Beer Hut Challenge Root Beer

Root Beer Stand Root Beers 1 Response »

Aug 292018

Cup of Challenge Root Beer from The Root Beer Hut This past Saturday was the first weekend of the Minnesota State Fair! The Great Minnesota Get-Together! Since it’s my first time being a Minnesotan during the state fair … wait, can I be a Minnesotan? Like, I guess I’ll always be a Washingtonian, despite where my residency currently is … er … My first time living in Minnesota during the State Fair (that sounds more accurate), I had to go. Also, because I knew there was a root beer stand called The Root Beer Hut that makes their very own Challenge Root Beer, only available during the Fair. So I made a beeline to the Hut, through record crowds with root beer first and foremost on my mind, all other fair fun secondary. They serve their brew out of wonderful wooded barrel taps which is very cool. I lament the lack of frosty mugs, but for root beer stands such things can be forgiven.

The Body is very sweet with a fruity tinge that makes me think of brown sugar. It’s got that classic root beer stand flavor with less vanilla than normal. The Bite is pretty mild though spices are present and it has decent carbonation, yet, it isn’t very smooth. The Head is short and doesn’t last. The Aftertaste is a light vanilla with a fruity tinge.

It’s decent, but nothing special. It’s a fine fair drink, and is reasonably priced unlike many things you’ll find at fairs. After my review I found out that the same family runs another root beer stand at the fair, the Red Barn Root Beer which also serves their Challenge Root Beer. Root beer is actually quite a prominent feature of the fair, but I’ll get more into that in the next post.

Three kegs

The Root Beer Hut

The three root beer taps on the keg dispenser.

The Challenge Root Beer Keg

My root beer being poured out.