Dec 062017
 

Crooked Oak Root Beer Bottle This root beer is made by the same people who make Penny Frosted root beer. I learned this fact when I was trying unsuccessfully to get the Penny Frosted Root Beer direct from the company. According to some guy named Ryan who works there, Crooked Oak is “a similar root beer flavór with a lot more love and time going into the process and ingredients.” So it’s their premium brand offering, the Lexus to Penny Frosted’s Toyota. That’s a new one in the craft soda world. The label itself tries really hard to drive this point home, saying things like “of the finest quality” and “Handcrafted” and “Limited production” and whatnot. There’s even signatures by people who approved this particular batch of root beer. And there’s also a large number 10 in red, but there is no explanation as to what it means. Maybe 10 ingredients? 10 painstaking days making this? 10 steps for the approval process? We may never know. Whatever it is, all of this really clutters up the label and makes me think of official forms and stuff. I guess the most important question is, how does it compare to Penny Frosted.

This has a sweet crisp body with a standard creamy root beer flavor and a hint of what seems sarsaparilla in there. The Bite is sour and sharp and spicy. But the sourness stays in the Bite and goes away later so it doesn’t really ruin anything. The Head is tall but fizzes down quickly. The Aftertaste is very light vanilla and some sarsaparilla. I think.

This is a pretty good root beer, AND it’s better then Penny Frosted in basically everything. Good job guys. I don’t like it enough to give it a Seal of Approval, but I’ll acknowledge their effort to make a better root beer than their entry brand. You know, after you’re more established in life, get some raises and a nice bonus, you can move up from the Penny Frosted and impress your friends and neighbors with Crooked Oak in your fridge. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three and a half kegs




Nov 232016
 

Penny Frosted Root Beer Bottle Another root beer I didn’t think I’d ever try. That was because when I learned about it and emailed the company inquiring, they said that they weren’t producing it in glass anymore. But then I guess the powers that be persuaded them otherwise (being shunned by me is very convincing I’d imagine) and they brought it back. Another reviewer, Root Beer Trackers got some and we worked out a nice trade. This is made by the Penny Cola Company, whose entire existence is the shunning of corn syrup sodas. They make several vintage flavors, though why they call this “Kick It Root Beer” is not explained. They have interesting quotes about Pennies and seem to love the little coins a lot. While I used to love Pennies, they’ve long outlived their usefulness and should be done away with, as they cost more to make then they are worth and they aren’t accepted anywhere. You can learn more about why we should get rid of our One Cent coins here. You can learn more about the flavor of this root beer by continuing to read.

The Body is very generic and a little fruity. The cane sugar is a nice touch though. The Bite is very mild; no real spice to speak of, but sufficient carbonation. The Head is medium but fizzes away very quickly. The Aftertaste is mostly fruity, not a super strong sour fruity, but fruity nonetheless. There’s even the slightest bit of vanilla in there.

This is pretty ‘meh’. I was on the fence as what to give it, but I guess, I would, probably, drink it again. It isn’t bad, it isn’t good, it just is. I will say that it justifies its existence far better than the coin with which it is frosted, so there’s that. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three kegs