GourmetRootBeer

Support a New Gourmet Root Beer Company’s Quest to Bring Organic, Brewed Root Beer to the Masses

Jul 112013

Jack's Real Root Beer

Yesterday I had the fortune to discover a Kickstarter Campaign of the Shaktea Kombucha company who also brews their own organic root beer using real roots and spices. They’re trying to raise money for a bottling machine so they can bottle the root beer instead of it being served only on draft. If ever there were a worthy cause, this is one. I promptly made the pledge of $44 to secure a six-pack of the brew for reviewing, but with an $18 dollar pledge ($10 for shipping) you can get a single bottle. I encourage all of you to help improve the gourmet root beer world by supporting this company. For more information see the attached press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Meghan Dowd

info@shakteakombucha.com

IOWA FAMILY LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO PRODUCE HEALTHY SODA ALTERNATIVES

Organic soda and kombucha makers launch a crowd-funding campaign to bring the first organic brewed root beer to the market.

FAIRFIELD, IA (July 8, 2013) – Shaktea Kombucha™, a producer of hand-crafted, raw organic kombucha and Jack’s Real Root Beer™, a brewed organic root beer announced the launch of their Kickstarter campaign to increase production of healthier sodas and soda alternatives.

Kickstarter is an online crowd-funding platform where people can support projects by making pledges for as little as $1 in exchange for fun rewards. Shaktea Kombucha has until August 4^th to reach their $30,000 funding goal for an automatic bottling line. “Hitting this goal will allow us to bring Jack’s Real Root Beer to the market in bottles. We will be the only organic root beer, brewed from whole herbs, roots and spices on the market,” says Dowd. “Kickstarter is a way for us to share our story and a way for people to actively support bringing products like ours to the market.”

Shaktea Kombucha, founded as a family-run microbrewery by Jack Dowd, Meghan Dowd and Deb Dowd, launched in June 2011 and is now certified USDA organic and available at over 30 retail market locations across Iowa.

For more information, visit:

Shaktea Kombucha Online: www.shakteakombucha.com

Shaktea Kombucha’s Kickstarter Campaign: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1230047189/shaktea-kombucha-and-jacks-real-root-beer

*UPDATE* Sadly the Kickstarter campaign failed but they are looking into other options and still hope to be bottling in larger quantities by late fall.

Brigham’s Brew Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers 15 Responses »

Jul 102013

Brigham's Brew Root Beer Bottle The final brew from my journey to UT and the only one in a bottle. I snagged four bottles of it on my way to the Salt Lake airport making 4 new root beers in a three day trip. I must say this was the most successful trip yet as far as root beer is concerned. Brigham’s Brew is brewed by Wasatch Brewery and to my knowledge is the only root beer to be named after religious leader (unless there’s some Innocent XII brew I’ve heretofore missed), taking the celebrity root beer names to a whole new level. I find it ironic that a root beer named after the second Mormon Prophet, Brigham Young, would be made by non-Mormons (this is, of course, assuming that owning a brewery precludes one from also being in full fellowship with the church) but then again he was also the first Governor of Deseret (Utah before it was a state) so they’re probably just tipping their hats to Utah’s founder. Plus, if their brewery had been around then, the root beer would have been the only one that Brigham Young would have drank. That’s actually a really good marketing strategy. Maybe we’ll see founders’ brews from other major religions that forbid alcohol in their holy cities someday.

The Body is rich and creamy. A delicious honey flavor greats your tongue and then introduces it to luscious vanilla. A little wintergreen surfaces later to accent the rest of the standard root beer flavors making the perfect soiree in your mouth. There’s a solid bite from spice and carbonation, but the maltodextrin ensures that it is a very smooth affair. The Head is excellent. It almost fizzed over the top of my mug with each pouring. It dissipates faster than some of the other greats though, and is probably the only drawback. The Aftertaste is creamy vanilla and wintergreen with honey accents showing up just as the other two flavors exit.

Wow! I was expecting good but not such a superb brew! I wish I had purchased more bottles. This is hands down one of the best root beers I’ve ever had. So nice to have my trip end with the best. Truly, this is the highest compliment a brewer could pay to Brother Brigham. See how it rates against other root beers.

Squatters Brewhouse Root Beer

Draft and Keg Root Beers No Responses »

Jul 032013

A pint of Squatters Brewhouse Root Beer Another serendipitous discovery on my trip to Utah. I had just landed and was heading towards baggage claim when I saw Squatters Pub Brewery. I’ve normally not had good luck with airport breweries having root beer (Old Dominion in DC being the only exception) but figured that since it was Utah, where the majority of the population would rather have a root beer than a beer, I might as well try. I asked the waitress and she proudly told me that they served their own root beer, tapped from a keg, and then insisted that I try some, even though I was en route to the Hires Big H for dinner. She brought back about a quarter pint with ice, and I respectfully declined, citing the ice and said I had to be on my way. But, she was more insistent then ever at this point and returned with another quarter pint sans ice. Not wanting to be rude I gave it a quick gulp and was very impressed by sweet creamy goodness. I told her I’d return in two days for a proper review and then headed off. Two days (and root beers) later, true to my word, I returned to finish the final root beer quest of my trip. I barely made it due to the tight schedule of meetings I had before.

The Body is nice and full. It’s very sweet and it tastes like there’s some honey in it but I can’t be 100% sure. There’s a creamy vanilla hint to it as well. There’s a small Bite too it, though it is more on the smooth side. The Head is medium height and frothy, though it doesn’t last as long as I prefer. The Aftertaste is sweet vanilla with a honey or caramely tilt. It’s really good.

A very delicious brew. The best I’d had so far on the trip. This is definitely one I’m going back for every time I connect through SLC. The food is amazing as well. I grabbed a Pub Reuben to eat on the flight and it was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. This place is so worth the visit if you’re ever in Salt Lake International Airport. Head to terminal C, gate 2. You won’t regret it.

4 kegs

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