Dec 072022
 

The final brew of Reverence Brewing Company. As I said before he made so many root beers because he had so many taps, because the brewery before him had those taps. Reverence has actually only been open for a little over a year, and the place has had several breweries before, such that one of the people there that day mentioned that he thought the spot was cursed for breweries, but, after he tasted their brews, he really hoped they make it. I second that, for the root beer’s sake. This root beer he went malty, lots of malt extract, because he really likes malt. I somewhat like malt beverages so I was truly intrigued.

The Body is sweet and malty. Like, there is really a lot of malt flavor. It largely masks the other root beer flavors initially but you can find the hints of sarsaparilla, vanilla and others if you pay attention. That said, the flavors work as long as you don’t hate the malt flavor. The Bite is very smooth and rich. There’s great mouthfeel but not really any discernable spice. The Head is beautiful, as tall as you want it, frothy with staying power. That’s the malt extract for you. The Aftertaste is more malt. Like those malt drinks. It’s sticky and lingers, so it will build if you drink it fast.

So, if you’ve ever had a Maltex, it’s a lot like that. But there is still root beer in there, making it richer, smoother, sweeter. Still, that malt is pretty overpowering, and Nate even admits, he may have overdone it. That said, it gave it a very nice head and smooth texture. If you like malt, you’ll probably enjoy this, if not, you’ll probably hate it. Me, I’d say there’s probably too much malt, but still “drinkable”, barely, as I don’t mind Maltex and the like occasionally. This brewery is a must if you want to get some quality variety root beer. They do flights of four ounces, so if you can only go once, get yourself a flight and support a business as like minded as all who read these posts.

Three kegs

I asked what to take a picture of and he said the dragon faucet in the bathroom. It does look cool
I also thought I should show part of the tap room because it’s quite cozy

Sep 212022
 
Seal of Approval

Round three with Reverence Brewing Company. Nate, the brewer, was originally from Minnesota, which means he grew up around fine craft root beer which inspired him as he made his different flavors. He also had too many taps. The location of their brewery was originally another, different brewery, that failed, so when he moved in, the equipment was there and they had too many taps to fill with just their beer, so he figured he needed to make a bunch of different root beers. Once again, capital thinking on his part. He makes his root beers a lot like I do, he has a base extract provided by a supplier, but then he adds different sugars and other extracts and spices to make the final products. He mixes them all in the same mixing tanks as the beer (picture below) and then kegs them and taps them up. Now this was the brew I was looking forward to the most, because you know how much I love honey in my root beer. They use wild Colorado honey.

The Body is sweet with a classic flavor profile accented by sarsaparilla and honey with a hint of creamy vanilla. I wish there were a little more vanilla but there’s a complexity to it if you drink slowly. The Bite is mild and smooth, yet present. The Head is decent, tall but fizzes down a little quicker than I’d like. The Aftertaste is a nice honey flavor that builds the more you drink so the honey flavor becomes more and more prominent, which is amazing.

Yum! I knew it would be good. It’s basically their EH + DUBS with honey added in place of some of the sugar, which is just what I love. This is my favorite one yet, and I’m pleased to give this brew my Seal of Approval.

4 kegs

Reverence Brewing Company mixing tanks for the root beer (and regular beer)

Aug 172022
 

The second of four root beers from Reverence Brewing Company. I couldn’t wait to try more (plus I didn’t have a lot of time) so I went back that night after my welcome reception. So this was also the second root beer for the day. The head brewer, Nate, chose to make many different types of root beer because he realized that root beer has several distinct flavor profiles and he wanted to make sure that there would be variety for those different, discerning root beer lovers. Though he said he’d never really had any hard core root beer people before me come in save one father and son (I wonder if they read my blog). This root beer is their darker, herbal brew, the old fashioned time if you will. Thus the dated (pun intended) name. And if you’re wondering why 1840 when root beer didn’t hit the scene till 1876, is that this is styled after the sarsaparillas of old, that were drunk (drank? drunken? drinked?) before Europeans arrived. I am always weary of licorice brews as if done poorly they can be quite overpowering.

The Body is dark with sarsaparilla and licorice flavors. The licorice is on the lighter side so it doesn’t bother me much and it mixes well with the other flavors. The Bite is nice and strong with cinnamon and other spices. The Head is medium but is gone very quickly, sadly. The Aftertaste is spiced wintergreen and licorice that doesn’t linger and ends clean.

Nice! He didn’t overdo it with the licorice and the spices give a nice Bite. It is quite a different flavor profile from his classic, but it’s still good. Not the best and the Head is worse. I like the other better but this is still pretty good.

Three and a half kegs

The Reverence Brewery at Night