GourmetRootBeer

Indeed Brewing Company Ideal Root Beer

Feb 132019

A pint of Ideal Root Beer From Indeed Brewery Last Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to meet one of the world’s leading collector’s of root beer paraphernalia, Vince. He was up in Minneapolis for some reason and I had empty bottles to get to him for his collection. I told him to meet me at Indeed Brewing Company, cause I knew they had a brew that I needed to try. To be honest I don’t know much about this brewery, other than one of my coworkers told me they have root beer. It’s a rather larger brewery by some railroad tracks about half an hour from my house. They don’t have any food in their taproom, owing to those pesky Minnesota laws, but not even the popcorn or peanuts that are quite common in others. I met Vince and his friends and got down to business.

The Body isn’t overly sweet and it’s a little dark. There’re distinct honey and wintergreen flavors as well but the proportions aren’t quite right. The Bite is a little spicy but still on the mild side. The Head is very nice, it pours out tall and stays foamy for awhile. The Aftertaste is of honey and a little wintergreen with some bitter notes.

This isn’t my favorite root beer by any means. It’s got the right flavors but not in the right ratios. I don’t know why this is called Ideal Root Beer, maybe it’s their ideal but it surely isn’t mine. It’s still drinkable and was worth the trip to meet another root beer lover. He was able to get one of their root beer taps to add to his collection, so a success all around.

Three kegs

The Indeed Brewing Company.

Mill Street Brewery Distillery Root Beer

Draft and Keg Root Beers No Responses »

Feb 062019

A pint of Mill Street Brewing Distillery Root Beer Last week I was in Toronto for work, doing the things I do when I go off to travel for work. I’d been there in the summer, for less than a day, and had been frustrated that the Mill Street Brewery pub in the airport was in a different terminal than the one I flew out of, so I couldn’t get any root beer. This time I had many a evening free, but I was determined to get it my first night, just in case. Though Mill Street Brewery has expanded to several locations, their original, in the Distillery District, is where I went. The whole district is in a 19th century whiskey distillery, and it all arts and crafty now, the sort of place you’d hope to find a craft brewery with their own root beer.

The Body is nice and sweet and rich and creamy. Definitely my favorite flavor profile. The Bite is rather mild, however, and the Head is pretty dismal, though it is there, it’s short and gone by the time the glass reaches the table. The Aftertaste is a nice vanilla with hints of caramelized sugar.

Yum, it’s tasty for sure, but doe lack some depth in the Bite and Head department. I think it’s the best root beer I’ve gotten in Canada. The best draft root beer I’ve gotten in Canada at least, though, now that I think about it, maybe the only draft root beer I’ve gotten in Canada so far. The food there was amazing. I didn’t get a picture of my burger, but I did for my double smoked poutine, with bacon and a root beer reduction, it was divine. This place is definitely worth a visit.

Three and a half kegs

My heavenly Double Smoked Poutine

Some of the brewery vats. I always try to get a picture of these.

Ice Chips Candy Root Beer Float

Root Beer Candy No Responses »

Jan 302019

Ice Chips Candy Root Beer Float

I don’t know where I found these. I think someone gave them to me. Part of the reason I decided to start writing about all of these root beer products after all is because people give them to me regardless (the other part being I have to write about something…) So yeah, xylitol? It’s a naturally occurring sugar alcohol. You find it a lot in gum because it still tastes sweet, it still has calories and is metabolized, but sugar alcohols don’t promote tooth decay. I don’t know why, I’m neither a dentist nor a chemist so I’m just gonna believe my five minutes of googling on the matter and call it good. Yes, I know it’s a root beer float candy and not a root beer candy, but these posts are already setting their own rules so I say it’s well within the realms of “root beer products”. I’m not near as picky about these things as I am about actual root beer.

It has an interesting root beer type taste with some creamy vanilla undertones to make it root beer floaty, it isn’t very strong but it isn’t bad. It has a kind of off texture, the kind you get when you make crystallized candy that isn’t from sugar. It seems best to not chew them for that reason. There is only the slightest hint of off flavor from only xylitol being a sweetener.

All in all they’re surprisingly good, considering what they are and what they’re made of. I honestly expected much worse. Now, if you’re looking for a root beer candy, do I recommend them, err, no. While it isn’t bad for a sugar alcohol sweetened candy, and while those end up much better than diet sodas cause, calories still, it still doesn’t taste like what you’d be looking for in a hard root beer candy or root beer float candy. But it isn’t bad so I eating it isn’t a punishment, just not much of a pleasure.

Some of the ice chips. They are chips.

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