This is made by Matt Brewing Company which just happens to be the second oldest family brewing company in the United States. The family, who suffer the affliction of having a first name for their last name, have been making beer there since 1853. Though in 1888 they changed their name or something and so that’s the date that features prominently on the bottle. They’re most popular line is Saranac Beer and their root beer is part of that line. Why it’s called Saranac is beyond me. The closest landmark called Saranac I could find is a lake about 140 miles away from the brewery. I like the label. It’s classy and not overly busy with a picture of their historic brewery to boot. The frosty mug on the neck of the bottle also sets high expectations and the brew doesn’t disappoint.
The Body is excellent. It is rich, sweet, and creamy with all the right flavors. It has a nice spicy Bite that isn’t too much. It is nice and smooth drinking. The Head is a good size and very frothy. The Aftertaste a sweet vanilla that doesn’t linger too long.
This is a very good brew, though I found it hard to nail down a specific feature that made it so. It’s just good, yummy, smooth, frothy, delicious. It doesn’t really have any standout feature other than they all work so perfectly together that I can’t help but love it, a lot. They really hit the nail on the head with this root beer. See how it rates against other root beers.
Another pirate themed energy drink root beer. But this adds the twist of orange flavor and vitamin C to fight scurvy. Their website tells the tale of a one Astrea Valentine who through ruthless cunning and good looks, was able to seize control of a pirate vessel. She kept her crew scurvy free by giving them RootJack because root beer was evidently something that existed in the 17th century Caribbean. Maybe Columbus brought it there from Milligan’s Island. The bottle is pretty sick, sporting a pirate queen with cannon and sword and jagged letters. I must say I’ve not had very good experiences with energy drink root beers, nor pirate root beers for that matter (though Jack Black’s is the noted exception to both), and only once had orange peel in a brew so my expectations were not high. Perhaps it would surprise me like Cherry Root Bear…
The second of the Route 66 themed root beers I’ve tried. Not to be confused with Root 66 Root Beer, which I did for awhile and thus ignored this one when I saw it at the store. I guess the pun is a little too irresistible. Luckily the store was close to home so when I realized the error I was able to quickly correct it. I’m not entirely sure what their name should be since they haven’t followed the IAGRB Standards of naming convention. Is it Route 66 Beer (as their website 
