GourmetRootBeer

1919 Root Beer

Nov 072018

A frosty mug of 1919 root beer My 400th Root Beer! I wanted it to be special, and 1919 was the most widely distributed, iconic root beer left that I hadn’t tried. They don’t distribute to the West Coast, but it’s found all across the northern Mid West. Once I found myself in Minnesota, not only was it all over, but the Schell’s Brewery that makes it was only an hour and a half away. Schell’s is the 2nd oldest family run brewery in America. It’s in New Ulm, Minnesota, a town founded by German Immigrants. The brewery offers guided tours of their historic operations (pics below). They also have a large garden with peacocks wandering about and a deer pen. It’s a perfect place for a day trip with the family. The 1919 root beer was their response to prohibition, which put many a brewery under. They’ve been making 1919 continuously ever since. The only way to get it on glass is to buy one of their commemorative mugs, which I did after the tour.

This has a rich, full Body with hints of vanilla and caramel and awash with a complex blend of spices. It’s slightly dark, yet perfectly proportioned to be utterly delicious. The Bite is strong and full from all of those spices yet it isn’t overpowering. As I like my Bites to be. The Head is a good height and lingers. The Aftertaste is a faint, spiced wintergreen and vanilla that leaves you begging for more.

Oh dang! Now that is a root beer! I can see why it’s been such a hit, and why the brewery survived prohibition. Not only is it amazing, but it’s also unique, which after trying 400 root beers, is saying a lot. This is hand’s down, one of the top root beers I’ve ever tried. I’m so glad I can find it all over where I live now.

4.5 Kegs

The Schell’s Brewery

The Schell’s Bottling Line

A brewery machine that was patented by one of the Schell’s Brewery presidents

A machine in the historic brewery

Tanks of some sort

The historic copper kettle. Used from the 1800’s till the late 1990’s

The 1919 taps in the tasting room

The Schell’s Brewery Tasting Room at the end of the tour.

Some of the 1919 brew vats.

The bar in the Schell’s tasting room.

Calvin’s 1836 Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers 1 Response »

Oct 312018

Calvin's 1836 Root Beer Bottle There are two things about the name of this brew that need to be mentioned. First is Calvin and the second is 1836. Calvin is the son of a man Marvin Scheidegger who opened a beverage distributorship in 1957. Calvin bought said distributorship from his father in 1973, and still runs it with his children to this very day. This distributorship (I’m gonna be honest, I’ve never written that word before so I’m breaking it in) happens to be in Hermann Missouri, a town founded by German immigrants in, you guessed it 1836. So Calvin always dreamed of making his own root beer, and he also loved his town. And with the help of a local winemaker, he has turned his dream into a reality, with the goal of making a classic barrel-style root beer of yesteryear. So how did he do?

The Body is sweet and rich and creamy with vanilla washing over a classic root beer flavor. Then a spicy Bite hits that’s both strong and complex, yet finishes smooth. The Head is wonderfully tall and frothy and doesn’t ever leave. The Aftertaste is a delicious spiced vanilla with whispers of wintergreen.

Wow! Quite a brew! Calvin, I say this as someone who has tried 399 different gourmet root beers, you have done a magnificent job. I would love to know what root beers you drank growing up, because they must have been amazing for you to strive for this brew. Your dream has become a reality, but it feels like a dream for all who have the pleasure of drinking this root beer. See how it rates against other root beers.

Private Selection Creamy Ginger Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Oct 242018

Private Selection Creamy Ginger Root Beer Bottle Another store brand getting the gourmet fever and bottling their root beer in glass. This one’s from the Kroger stores and not to be content with just bottling their root beers properly, they wanted to add some flair. So, they made it a “Creamy Ginger” root beer. Props to that. I love flavored root beers. Ginger root beers are not as common as some of the others like butterscotch and vanilla, but a lot of root beers have ginger, so I had high hopes for this. Their label is a bit eclectic, with numerous fonts and sizes and serifs and sans and what not. There’s also the curious bit that reads “enhanced with a touch of creamy ginger flavor with a smooth finish” While this seems straight forward, the more I read it the more confused I become. Is it the creamy ginger flavor that has the smooth finish, the whole root beer, or is the smooth finish an additional enhancement? I may never know, though perhaps the drinking of the brew enlightens in that respect.

The Body is sour and a little fruity with a strong ginger flavor and an utter lack of any of the quintessential flavors that characterize a root beer. There is a strong Bite from all of the ginger. The Head is nice. It’s tall and foamy with little tiny bubbles. The Aftertaste is more sour ginger.

Um, this is not a root beer, this is a ginger beer, and not a particularly good one either. Maybe like that curious tagline, there’s some missing punctuation in their title, like maybe they meant to say Creamy Ginger Root, Beer and not Creamy Ginger, Root Beer as we’ve all interpreted it? Or maybe they just made a really bad root beer. I may never know their true intentions, but I know I’m not drinking this again. See how it rates against other root beers.

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