Jun 122013
 

Millstream Old Time Root Beer BottleFirst of all, I don’t know why they put a ‘-‘ in between ‘root’ and ‘beer’ on their label. They don’t hyphenate it on their website so I’m going to guess that they’re trolling grammar Nazis with the label. Also, it is interesting to find an old time root beer since most often people say their brew is old fashioned. I wonder if anyone will ever make a new time or a new fashioned (latest fashion?) root beer. Their website is thick with the standard old fashioned rhetoric even throwing in mention to grandpa. Since every old fashioned root beer seems to be very different, I’m going to venture that each brew is talking about a different grandpa. They also claim that “Millstream Old Time Root Beer is brewed to satisfy the most discriminating root beer connoisseur” which I am so let’s see.

The Body is very light with the standard root beer flavors. It’s a little creamy as well; sort of your standard creamy root beer type. The Bite is spicy and sharp. It’s very nice but a little too sharp for my tastes but that spicy is very nice. The Head is nice. It is frothy, medium height, and lasts awhile. The Aftertaste is a letdown. There’s the tiniest waft of vanilla that disappears without a trace followed by a hint of citric acid sour and then that’s it.

Huh. That doesn’t seem to have “lots of aroma and plenty of good, old-fashioned taste.” Maybe they’re talking about their other root beer, the non-hyphenated one. Who knows. Overall it’s an ok brew but there’s really nothing special about it and it is lacking in several areas. The most discriminating root beer connoisseur has sadly been left unsatisfied. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three kegs




Nov 052011
 

Wow! That’s quite a name and an assertion they’ve got going. I mean, you’ll get old time root beers, and draft root beers, and even the occasional quality root beer, but more than one of those three on the same title? And not only that but all three no less. Well, it has been in continuous business for almost 90 years. If they haven’t changed the recipe at all then it would be old time. It must be of some quality in order to stay around for that long. Draft, well, I’ll see about that.

This is a very sweet medium Bodied brew that tastes like a root beer barrel candy. There is a hint of something kind of icky and out of place though. There are also some spices which add to the Bite but it is very smooth. The Head is very nice. It has an excellent height and is pretty frothy. So it is draft a style head in my opinion (though I wouldn’t go so far as to call it draught), but I’ve seen better. The Aftertaste is a letdown. It isn’t really anything. There are the faintest traces of sugar and vanilla but it is nowhere near enough.

Overall it’s pretty good. They seem to come through with all that they claimed the root beer would be. The Aftertaste though is where they take the biggest hit. It makes sense though because they boast of how their root beer has been served at certain restaurants for over 50 years, and pairing this with food would cover up the deficiencies. See how it rates against other root beers.