Seal of Approval – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Parlor Pumpkin Root Beer

Mar 062024

I do love a seasonal root beer. I love root beer in general and then that variation that is flavored root beers, but seasonal flavored root beers are much more rare so they make me happy in a way that few things can. Parlor I’ve reviewed before. They do a fine job with their original and butterscotch root beer. Every fall they also release their pumpkin root beer, which is done in partnership with Blackcraft Clothing. They specialize in goth, cult, witch type clothing stuff, which fits the theme of Halloween. I got this in a trade with anthony, which is good because I didn’t want to mail order a whole case and they don’t sell it local at all. While I’ve had good experiences with Parlor, the only other pumpkin spice root beer I had didn’t turn out too well, so I was cautious coming in.

The Body is sweet and rich with a strong pumpkin spice complimenting a solid classic root beer core. It’s really delicious. The Bite is amazing with that aforementioned spice, clove being the prominent but others backing it up. The carbonation is good and it finishes smooth. The Head is great, tall and frothy. The Aftertaste is vanilla and clove and really quite pleasant.

Wow! This is a fine brew. I really love that pumpkin spice they’ve got. Parlor has done it again, took their classic, solid root beer flavor and amped it up to a work of art. The subtle pumpkin and the strong spice really make for my now most recommended Halloween brew and my favorite Parlor offering yet. Shame I can’t get it year round. See how it rates against other root beers.

Red Hare Root Beer

Draft and Keg Root Beers No Responses »

Jan 032024

Last month I was in Atlanta for my final work trip of the year. It’s been a rather busy one with over 100,000 miles of air travel and probably two full months in hotels. But anyhow, I was finally done but had one last DERMS hurrah to be made in a new city so once again ended up dragging my coworkers out for a brew. The Red Hare Brewing and Distilling have a brewery and a still in Atlanta, and one was rather close to my hotel. They don’t really have an “about” section that I could find on their website so I couldn’t tell you much about them other than that. But they also make a root beer and a grapefruit soda and serve them on tap. Their food was all Cuban themed, which is not what I expected from a brewery/still in Georgia, but that’s what it was.

The Body is sweet and rich with a classic, yet complex flavor. There’s a bit of licorice but not much, a bit of vanilla too, but not quite as much as I’d prefer. It is well balanced and quite delicious. The Bite is spicy and fizzy and really delivers. The Head is short and fizzes down too fast but doesn’t completely fizz away, so that you still get foam throughout the whole drinking experience, which is just barely enough Head. The Aftertaste is sweet and mild and pleasant. Not really much of one thing nor another but farewell to the draught you’ve just had, making you want another.

Nice! It’s been awhile since I had a draft brew that made me want seconds, so this was quite welcome. I wish it had a big more Head, but all considered, this is a solid brew I’d recommend to anyone. Their Cuban food was really good too, and the portion size is enormous. So check this place out if you’re in Atlanta.

**My Cuban Salmon Bowl with our appetizers and the Root Beer. It was a good meal**

**The Red Hare Taps, Root Beer on the far right**

Reverence Brewing Company HONEY PIE Root beer

Draft and Keg Root Beers No Responses »

Sep 212022

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.

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

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