I like it when a root beer brewer makes more than one flavor. Thunder Beast has done two before, and now they’ve got a Texas Edition to add to their lineup. They’ve also added the tagline “Fight Monsters” which is related to the fact that Monster Energy is currently engaged in a trademark bullying campaign against them because Monster is in fact a known and despicable trademark bully. Seriously, I hate trademark bullies. A pox upon them! May all manner of misfortune befall all of the managers and lawyers at Monster for their crimes against root beer. Also Thunderbeast is donating a percentage of their profits to fight human trafficking and bullying, so they’re fighting monsters in another sense as well. Good on them. I don’t know why this particular brew is called Texas Edition. It says that Thunder Beast LLC is from Austin Texas when I was sure they were originally a DC company, so maybe that’s it? Their new recipe now that their HQ is in Texas? It doesn’t really say on their website. Anyhow how does it taste?
The Body has a distinct burned sugar taste, like the top of a crème brulée, which mingles with some honey and sassafras. It’s isn’t very sweet by root beer standards and there’s a fruity tinge. The Bite is harsh from the carbonation yet lacking in spice. The Head is good and tall but fizzes down quickly. The Aftertaste is that burnt sugar that ends on the fruity notes.
I really want to like this more, because I like the concept of Thunder Beast. That burned sugar is good and the root beer is unique, but it still needs a lot more to be better than just Drinkable. Oh well. See how it rates against other root beers.
I love my fans. They find amazing new root beers from different corners of the globe (the US really, but I like saying globe) and then send me some on trade. This was found by the famed root beer enthusiast Tony, in Marion, WI. Pigeon River Brewing Company has been open since 2012, but I think root beer is a much more recent addition or it wouldn’t have slipped under the radar of the diligent root beer hunters for so long. Unless, they had it the whole time, yet refused to advertise it, or sell it outside of Marion. The the residents themselves were sworn to never speak of it to outsiders. But over time whispers of a secret root beer reached the ears of Tony, whose multiyear quest brought him to the first bottles ever to be seen by the world at large… I like that version. It’s cannon now. So another remarkable thing about this root beer is that it has 65g of sugar per bottle, which is over 50% more than the average root beer. I’ve had a brew with 47g before and that was super sweet. So I braced myself for the sugar rush of a lifetime and got to drinking. 
Cappy’s is a chowder house in Camden, Maine that’s been there since 1979. It’s named after Cappy Quinn, who actually never was officially affiliated with their restaurant. Rather he was an old salt who could be found around the Camden waterfront and was an inspiration to all. The root beer itself is actually bottled and supplied by Private Label Specialties which means it’s most likely really made by GinsenUp. However, the Cappy’s folks claim it’s made specially for them with a unique recipe, which is in line with what GinsengUp does, so it appears to be its own root beer. Unless they’re lying in which case they’ll burn in the special fires prepared for those who deceive root beer reviewers and scowl unnecessarily long at baby koalas. It’s another sailing themed root beer, of which the world cannot have too many.
