Jan 302015
 

Root Beer Bowl XLIX
It’s that time of year when the Super Bowl comes upon us. The biggest TV event in the US and massive celebrations shall ensue. Being from the Seattle area, this is especially exciting to see the Seahawks return as defending champions. There are many wacky ways that have been used to predict the winner, from rabbits, puppys, porcupines, search engines, and video game simulations. These are of course all rubbish. The most accurate predictor is one that I’ve known for years but only now make public. It is the Root Beer Bowl Predictor. Look at the three best bottled root beers from the respective teams’ larger home zone, Seattle area for the Seahawks, all of Massachusetts for the Patriots, and see the combined ratings. The keg difference in the rating multiplied by touchdowns gives the spread. The best root beer will win. Every time. Without question. Seriously.

So let’s get on to the teams. The team “captain” in this case is the highest rated brew from the city proper. For Seattle this is the Seal of Approval rated Jones Root Beer coming in at the lowest 4 kegs. The rest of the Seahawks’ root beer team comes from a 20 minute drive to the north in Mukilteo, WA, where Orca beverages makes the near peerless Bulldog Root Beer and the solid Brownie Caramel Cream Root Beer. This gives a team rating of 12.5 with nothing but Seal of Approval brews.

For the Patriots the captain is Emack & Bolio’s Rock It Root Beer. Very delicious but a poor Head relegates it to a mere 3.5. The rest Patriots’ Root Beer team line up comes from from Worcester, MA. The first is Polar Classics Root Beer with a respectable 3.5. Their final member is a sleeper, Ginseng UP, but not the Ginseng UP name brand root beer (which I haven’t reviewed yet), but their default private label recipe that they supply to the world’s private labelers. A Seal of Approval brew at 4 kegs. Then the Patriots’ final lineup gives them 11.

Prediction: Though the Patriots have a strong root beer lineup, it isn’t enough to overcome Seattle’s all-star lineup. I see the Seahawks winning this by 10 points. GO SEAHAWKS!!!

Root Beer Bowl Team Lineups:
Seattle: Jones – 4; Bulldog – 4.5; Brownie Caramel Cream – 4 = 12.5
Boston: Rockit – 3.5; Ginseng UP – 4, Polar – 3.5 = 11




Jan 112012
 

What a name! What a picture! I love a good pun and this takes it to a whole new level. A guitar rocket ship blasting through the “Rock It” title banner. This is on the level of a picture of a sword guitar with the caption “one does not simply ROCK into Mordor” Such awesomeness could only come from the people at Emack & Bolio’s, makers of fine gourmet ice cream that is both rocket and rock and roll themed. They say that they microbrew their sodas to both compliment their ice cream or taste great on their own. The only other Rock themed root beer I’ve tried so far is So Duh! Rockin’ Root Beer which is amazing so I had high hope for this one.

This is a very unique brew. The Body is rich and full but not dark. It’s sweet and crisp from the cane sugar and there are hints of vanilla coming through. It tastes great! The Bite is strong from a combination of spices and the carbonation. The carbonation releases suddenly from the liquid and gives a slight acidic flavor and burn as it bites you. The Head is very strange. It is very dark colored and bubbles up quickly to a medium height. Then, rather than fizzing away, the bubbles coalesce into larger and larger bubbles before the one large bubble pops. This all happens in about 10 seconds and I’ve never seen anything like it before. It seems that their carbonation process is different than the normal method (water and CO2 are separate ingredients rather than carbonated water) and that may have something to do with it. The Aftertaste is sort of spicy caramel with some vanilla. It is really good.

So, this brew does taste great and it would make a wonderful root beer float. In fact, the way it is carbonated would probably work great to build an epic frothy float. The flavors are all in place for this brew but the Bite and the Head are just a little too off for the Seal of Approval. It will go great with food though, and would be a fun change up from the normal root beer routine so it’s definitely worth getting now and again. See how it rates against other root beers.