GourmetRootBeer

Anchor Ginger Root Beer

Feb 272013

Anchor Root Beer Bottle Arr matey, another sailing themed root beer. But this is beyond the standard pirate root beers, of which there are many, this is a “tribute to all the Sea Dogs and Scallywags looking for adventure on the seas.” I doubt there are many cooler flavor texts on root beer bottles. The label is one of the best mixes of classy and awesome imaginable. It’s not too busy. A large anchor with a schooner watermark in the background with everything centered around the anchor. It’s also nice to find a ginger root beer as I like to see some innovation in the root beer world. All in all this has the makings of greatness, and it doesn’t disappoint.

The Body starts out with a full ginger flavor like a good ginger ale. This masks out all other flavors initially. The ginger slowly gives way to a nice creamy root beer flavor that is very nice. The Bite is strong from the ginger and an average carbonation fizz, but doesn’t burn by any means and actually goes down rather smooth in the end. The Head is terrible, sadly. It’s barely better than the Two Second Head, probably more like a five second Head. Tragic. The Aftertaste is a caramely vanilla flavor with ginger hints that lasts the right amount of time.

This is an excellent tasting brew. I like a good ginger ale and love the fact that they managed to successfully incorporate that strong ginger flavor without losing any of the good root beer-ness, which is often a problem with the ‘flavored’ root beer varieties. Sadly, the Head is terrible. It’s bad enough to keep it from getting a Seal of Approval, which is really a shame. But it will be a good brew to take on your next nautical voyage to wash down the catch of the day. See how it rates against other root beers.

Bulldog Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers 2 Responses »

Feb 202013

Bulldog Root Beer Bottle This isn’t your regular gourmet root beer. It’s one of those few that are actually brewed using the highest quality ingredients (according to their site) such as cane sugar, real vanilla, and honey. The label itself is rather classy but falls victim to far too many root beer cliches. First is the dogs. So many root beers with dogs on the label. This one takes it a bit further since the entire brewery is named after a dog. The two dogs do have names, Barley and Hops, but so do most of the other dog root beers. Also, Bulldog sports “The Original”, a tag line whose disappearance from labels would bring nothing but immense joy, along with “Handcrafted” which isn’t nearly as overused but still too prevalent. Their bold “Unleash the Taste” (pun I’m sure is intended), though, is a nice and very appropriate slogan.

The Body is wonderful! Lots of honey, vanilla, and the other essential flavors. Sweet and creamy, the kind of flavor you could just snuggle up to if that were possible. The Bite is not much but sufficient. The whole thing has a very rich and smooth mouth feel from the maltodextrin. The Head is frothy but not much, not flat by any means just less than is desirable. The Aftertaste is of vanilla and honey and very pleasing though a little sticky.

When I took the first drink I exclaimed “Oh wow!” This is one of the best tasting root beers that I have ever had the pleasure to drink. “Unleash the Taste” indeed! I don’t care what their label is like, I’ll drink this stuff whenever I can get it. It’s really a shame about that Head, if it were tall and extra frothy this may have made it into the highest echelon of root beer rankings. However, I am still very proud to award it my Seal of Approval. See how it rates against other root beers.

Chicago Draft Style Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Feb 132013

Chicago Draft Style Root Beer First of all, I know it doesn’t say “Draft Style” on the bottle. However, their website, as well as several other websites that sell it, do call it “Draft Style” so I’ll go with that name. The label itself is pretty cool. I really like the whole skyline and the search lights. You can’t see it from the picture, but it’s also shiny and reflects light at certain angles. I had resisted getting this one for awhile because it shares a recipe with Cool Mountian Root Beer (which as of this posting I haven’t written a blog post on). However, after a (rather profitable) correspondence with Bill, the owner of both Chicago and Cool Mountain brands, I learned of the slight differences. It comes from the fact that they are not bottled at the same facility and thus the water and sugar used will have slightly different flavors. It’s still pushing the limits of a new root beer, I know, but I felt I had to give it a side by side comparison at least. Since didn’t want to buy a full case I snagged three bottles in a variety pack from Beverages Direct and then got a bottle of Cool Mountain. First I’d review Chicago on it’s own merits.

The Body is nice and full. It’s almost creamy but not really. I want to say there’s vanilla in there somewhere. There’s also the slightest hint of cola in a Barq’s-y sort of way. Bite is prickly from carbonation but not really spicy, neither is it smooth. The Head is very tall but fizzes down quickly. The Aftertaste is some vanilla and that very tiny cola-ish-ness that doesn’t really last long.

Not a bad root beer. Nothing overly special special, though not bad in any way. Then I did my side to side comparison with Cool Mountain. After half a bottle of each I swore there was a slight difference. I had my wife administer a blind taste test and 2/2 times I correctly identified the right root beer. It wasn’t up in the air either, as soon as I had tried the Chicago I definitively pronounced it so. From that I’d say that there is a >75% chance that they are different brews and so I’ll stick to it. The Cool Mountain also seemed a bit better than I remembered, but I don’t like to go back and change reviews. Plus, the differences weren’t that big so the Chicago gets the same keg rating even though it rates slightly higher. Anyways, not a bad root beer to get a keg of for your party if you live in Chicago. See how it rates against other root beers.

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