GourmetRootBeer

Roslyn Brewing Company No. 9 Root Beer

Nov 222014

Roslyn Brewing Company No. 9 Root Beer One day I decided to expand my Google Maps brewery searches of the region to a larger radius to see just what I could find. I went to the home page of Roslyn Brewing Company and saw that they have a root beer, No. 9 Root Beer to be exact. I was both elated and shocked. Roslyn is five minutes off of the freeway on the way to my parents’ house. I’ve driven past there dozens of times in the past few years and never knew there was gourmet root beer just waiting for me to try. And of course it would be another five months or so before I went to visit my parents again so I couldn’t try it right away. Roslyn itself is a tiny little town that used to be a coal mining town, a rarity in Washington State. It’s all old fashioned looking and their brewery’s taproom only has six stools. Since no minors (only miners?) are permitted, I had to leave the kids outside with a promise that I’d bring the root beer out to them after my review. Sadly this has nothing to do with the Beatles, but rather is named after coal mine No. 9 which supplied coal to the trains going over Snoqualmie Pass.

The Body is dark and minty yet not full. There’s licorice and it’s slightly sour. There’s not really any Bite, which is odd for this old fashioned variety. There wasn’t really any Head on it either. The Aftertaste is weak with a little bit of wintergreen.

So this isn’t really good. It’s not my favorite variety of root beer, and is poor in its genre. There really isn’t anything to see in the town other than a tiny museum and some old fashioned buildings, so unless your route takes you past there, I wouldn’t recommend a trip just to try it.

2 out of 5 root beer kegs

The Roslyn Brewing Company and Tap Room

The No. 9 Root Beer tap.

The fine city of Roslyn. Not really anything there.

Frostie Vanilla Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Nov 192014

Frostie Vanilla Root Beer Bottle About a year or so after I found Frostie Root Beer I encountered Frostie Vanilla at a grocery store in Provo where I was studying. They’re still going for the whole Christmas theme though now the snowy field has been replaced with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and the frosty mug o’ brew is now a tall root beer float, or something with a scoop of ice cream. It’s like they wanted it to be a root beer float soda, but wanted me to review it so they’re calling it a vanilla root beer instead. I can only say that that is a wise choice, because everyone knows that a soda that I won’t review based on the semantics of its name is clearly not worth drinking.

This has a sweet, creamy Body with lots of luscious vanilla. The Bite is on the weak side but not too bad. The Head is adequate, though it could be frothier. The Aftertaste is a wonderful vanilla flavor that lasts a long time.

Wow, delicious. This is really got a nice vanilla flavor while still being a root beer. It basically tastes like a normal Frostie root beer with the strange unnatural flavor replaced with vanilla. A wise and excellent improvement I say. Clearly, some great sage was present at the birth of this brew, guiding them so they’d make me happy. See how it rates against other root beers.

Thunder Beast Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Nov 122014

Thunder Beast Root Beer Bottle Prepare yourself for the most Metal root beer I’ve ever encountered. With a name that you’d expect to see for the opening band at a Slayer concert, Thunder Beast is hard core. The label is chalk full of lightning bolts, with one infernal crimson bolt breathing life into the demonic red-eyed bison though an explosion of electric fire. The fiery beast is charging towards the U.S. Capitol, unleashing his fury upon the denizens of the land. All while Abraham Lincoln approving watches from his shattered memorial with shades and a frosty mug of brew, pleased that the current incompetent law makers of this fine land are receiving their comeuppance. You want more Metal, then “Drink Thunder!” Need more, this is fire-brewed, no doubt in the very flames of Muspelheim, at a brewery that fanatically specializes in the arts of root beer.

The Body sports a maple butterscotch flavor on the initial contact which then reveals a rather light traditional root beer flavor. There’s also something else in there that’s a bit out of place. The Bite has kind of a sour acid burn but not much else. It’s not smooth either. The Head is medium-short but very foamy and it lasts as it should. The Aftertaste is light maple and butterscotch.

That is one of the most original tasting brews I’ve ever had. I really like butterscotch and maple and this the first time that I’ve ever had them paired. It could use a bit more depth in the Body and Bite department though. I like what these guys are doing over there in DC. They claim there’ll be other flavors down the line and I can’t wait. See how it rates against other root beers.

Older Entries Newer Entries