Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog – The blog of the gourmet root beer site.

Mug-n-Bun Root Beer

Root Beer Stand Root Beers No Responses »

Mar 042026

My crazy fall travel continued and I found myself back in Indianapolis. Less than a week after returning from the Netherlands. This was only the second week of November and I’d been there on my birthday late September. My searching this time led me to Mug-n-Bun, the oldest drive-in in Indy, supposedly. I really can’t say, honestly, so I believe them. They have 3 different ways to eat there, in the car, a picnic area, and even an indoor seating area across the parking lot. I love that they’re accommodating. Despite it being November, it was in the 50s so I opted for picnic area and ordered some mugs and way too much food (my sense of self restraint is greatly lacking when I can expense the meal).

The Body is sweet and rich and smooth and creamy. It’s got that classic root beer stand flavor with lots of vanilla and caramely sassafras. The Bite is quite prickly from the carbonation with a fair amount of spice. There’s a smoothness to its finish but the prickly texture endures in a good way. The Head is medium short with an okay staying power. You have to ask for it but they’ll bring out the heady root beer if you want. The Aftertaste is sweet, smooth vanilla with a bit of spice and caramel notes.

Oh yum! This is a delicious, fine brew. Just what you’d expect from a drive-in like this. The vibe of the place is great and so is the food, they had a special on hot dogs so I got 2, and a “small” order of onion rings, and a pork tenderloin sandwich … yeah, I really overdid it. But it was so good. I do hope to return there. This place is definitely a must visit if you can.

***My dinner. Yes, I ate it all, also yes, I probably shouldn’t have.***

Brew Lab 101 Root Beer

Draft and Keg Root Beers No Responses »

Feb 042026

This past fall I had a crazy travel schedule of 6 different trips in 5 weeks. It was intense and most weeks I went two different places. I was always flying out on a Sunday or even staying over the weekend. The life of DERMS amirite? So expect a few more reviews from different places. The Delaware trip was part of this. In fact, the very next week I was in Albuquerque for the first time in a few years. I only had 2 days, but I called around and found Brew Lab 101 at the recommendation of one of my customers. Brew Lab 101 has actually been there since 2019, so not sure how I missed it last time I was in Albuquerque. They are dedicated to the science of good beer and cider. So they have probably got some good math formulas and molecular equations and stuff like that. Probably. The decor is science themed. Anyways, they have a root beer so I brought my coworkers after a long day so we could relax and have a nice brew.

The Body is weak and watered down. There’s some quintessential creamy root beer flavors in there, but their hard to fully pick out. The Bite is also light and mild. Hardly any spice and or even fizz. The Head is decently tall but fizzes away quickly. The Aftertaste is weak herbal flavor that vanishes.

Huh, that, is not good. I’ll note their webpage mentions nothing about being dedicated to the science of good root beer, and it shows. This was disappointing to say the least. Nothing really unique, just weak flavors. I’d avoid this one if I were you.

The Franklin Fountain Root Beer

Old Fashioned Fountain Root Beers No Responses »

Jan 072026

Back in October I went to Delaware, before which all I could think of when I heard of Delaware was that bit from Wayne’s World “Hi, I’m in Delaware”. After visiting, I kind of agree with them. Thankfully, I flew in and out of Philadelphia, which, unlike Delaware, has loads of things for people to get excited about, like the Liberty Bell, Independence All, and other national historic sites and monuments all of which were closed, because the government was shut down. Remember that? Wasn’t it fun? Anyways, I don’t politic here I root beer and before I tried to visit any of those places I tried to find root beer. Philadelphia is the birthplace of root beer and you’d think there’d be some historic Hire’s Drug Store selling Hires or something. Well, my 10 minutes of googling didn’t happen to reveal anything about that but it did find The Franklin Fountain, designed to be exactly like a 1915 vintage ice cream parlor and soda fountain. They also make all of their in-house soda syrups so the expedition was saved and root beer could be had! They really nailed the recreation, even down to the old fashioned telephone which they rigged up to receive calls but can’t dial out.

The Body is dark and complex with an old fashioned flavor profile that’s very similar to those root beer barrel candies. There’s a bit of vanilla and a bitter wintergreen like a birch beer as well but thankfully light on the licorice. It’s very unique. The Bite is incredibly sharp and spicy with cinnamon and clove and other spices that mix well with the Body giving a very nice experience. The Head is tall but lacks any staying power, sadly. The Aftertaste is sweet spice that builds over time.

This is quite a unique soda that’s definitely a sipping root beer. I can’t say I give it a Seal of Approval but it’s definitely worth trying, especially because the fountain is so cool. They really nailed the recreation, even down to the old fashioned telephone which they rigged up to receive calls but can’t dial out. The soda jerks were very friendly as well, so if you find yourself in Franklin Square, try this unique root beer.

*The Franklin Fountain. Look at that amazing soda fountain.*

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