Draft and Keg Root Beers – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Oasis Diner Butterscotch Root Beer

May 062026

When I was at Oasis Diner, and I asked for my refill, they asked if I wanted more of the regular or if I wanted to try the Butterscotch Root Beer. What? That was an option? They have two house root beers? I am not a fan of doing back to back reviews, but I knew I was coming back in December, so I vowed that would be the first place I ate at on my return. Then, in December, I did return, with my youngest brother as well, for he was also works at the company and had business with my customer. I told him of the epic diner and away we went for dinner.

The Body is sweet and full of butterscotch but light on other flavors. You can taste the root beer in there, but barely. The Bite is mild yet not overly smooth. The Head is very tall and foamy. They really excel with that. The Aftertaste is sweet butterscotch.

This is some good butterscotch, but it needs some more root beer. This happens a lot with flavored root beers. They put a lot of that flavor in to overpowering the root beer flavors. It’s still very pleasant to drink and it goes well with their food. Now do I like this better than their original? They are about the same, one’s a decent, albeit rather generic, root beer and the other is a tasty butterscotch yet weak root beer. So what are you in the mood for? Both go well with their delicious cuisine. I had the patty melt this time. It was amazing.

**A patty melt with onion rings and butterscotch root beer. True bliss.**

Oasis Diner Root Beer

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Apr 012026

The very next day after visiting the Mug and Bun, I was searching casually just to see if there was any other Indianapolis brews to be had because why not, I had another day. I found Oasis diner, in Plainfield, very close to the airport. The perfect place to go for lunch before I flew out. The original diner was made in New Jersey in 1954 and shipped via rail to Plainfield where it operated continuously until 2008. The iconic landmark was moved 4 miles in in 2010 and reopened in 2014. It definitely has that 1950s diner vibe with an impressive menu of what you’d expect and cakes and pies under cloches. I ordered their signature Oasis Burger and a frosty mug of root beer.

The Body is mild and isn’t overly sweet. There’s licorice notes and some vanilla over a sassafras core that is pleasant enough. The Bite is rather mild as well with no notable spices and a below average fizziness. The Head builds to a medium height and medium foaminess, coalescing into big bubbles as it dissipates. The Aftertaste is light, sweet vanilla that is gone quickly.

This stuff is okay. Nothing special but very drinkable. The food is next level, however. That Oasis burger has 2 beef patties, bacon, pulled pork, and coleslaw. That’s quite the burger. I also had a slice of German chocolate cake because I know no restraint when the company picks up the tab. Great place, okay root beer. Worth a visit for vibes and food. They also bottle their root beer so I intend to review that to see if there’s any difference.

***The Oasis Burger and fries with root beer.***

***Just look at this cake, could you blame me?***

Brew Lab 101 Root Beer

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Feb 042026

This past fall I had a crazy travel schedule of 6 different trips in 5 weeks. It was intense and most weeks I went two different places. I was always flying out on a Sunday or even staying over the weekend. The life of DERMS amirite? So expect a few more reviews from different places. The Delaware trip was part of this. In fact, the very next week I was in Albuquerque for the first time in a few years. I only had 2 days, but I called around and found Brew Lab 101 at the recommendation of one of my customers. Brew Lab 101 has actually been there since 2019, so not sure how I missed it last time I was in Albuquerque. They are dedicated to the science of good beer and cider. So they have probably got some good math formulas and molecular equations and stuff like that. Probably. The decor is science themed. Anyways, they have a root beer so I brought my coworkers after a long day so we could relax and have a nice brew.

The Body is weak and watered down. There’s some quintessential creamy root beer flavors in there, but their hard to fully pick out. The Bite is also light and mild. Hardly any spice and or even fizz. The Head is decently tall but fizzes away quickly. The Aftertaste is weak herbal flavor that vanishes.

Huh, that, is not good. I’ll note their webpage mentions nothing about being dedicated to the science of good root beer, and it shows. This was disappointing to say the least. Nothing really unique, just weak flavors. I’d avoid this one if I were you.

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