Grand Teton Brewing Company Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  No Responses »
Dec 122012
 

What better way to celebrate 12/12/12 than with a root beer review! Up and out of the blue one day, I got an email from Cosmo asking if I’d tried Grand Teton Brewing Company Root Beer and if I was willing to trade for it. At the time I was in the midst of acquiring around 10 different brands and though my root beer budget was stretched, I couldn’t resist. Two days after I agreed and he said he’d ship it, my sister who lives in ID calls me up and asks if I’d tried Grand Teton Root Beer because they sell it at the super market near Boise. Some context, when I got the call, I knew I’d see my sister in two weeks time. Oh well, I’d already committed to Cosmo. I really like the label of this, being an outdoors man myself. “Kettle Brewed” conjures up images of a large, sweet looking brass kettle for some reason over a fire in a brewery. I’m not sure why I think of brass, but you have to admit it would look really cool. So up in the Grand Tetons, some brewers are mixing root beer ingredients in large brass kettles, heating them over fires, and pouring in pure spring water that they’ve tapped near their brewery. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. They also relabel this as Old Faithful Root Beer to sell in Yellowstone National Park which is good that Yellowstone has got such a good root beer, but sad that they didn’t add some little extra goodness, like a dash of cinnamon or cloves, so I could have two different root beers to review.

This has a very rich and creamy Body. It has a strong sassafras flavor with hints of vanilla and wintergreen. It has a solid Bite from carbonation and a little spice, but nothing that really jumps out and demands attention. It goes down very smooth on account of the maltodextrin. The Aftertaste is creamy and minty and lasts the right amount of time.

Yum. It’s very rich and strong. Stronger than I usually prefer, but they’ve somehow pulled it off in a way that it comes across as bold without being overbearing. After the first bottle I was really on the fence about where to rate it, but the second bottle reinforced that this is top notch. It’s good when quaffed, but really, it’s more excellent to sip slowly, enjoying every bit of that rich sassafras flavor washing creamily over your tongue. When I’m in the mood for a bolder, darker root beer flavor, I’m comin’ for this. See how it rates against other root beers.




Bluebird Brewing Batch 001 Root Beer

 Draft and Keg Root Beers  No Responses »
Dec 052012
 

Bluebird Batch 001 Root BeerSeal of ApprovalSo Bluebird Microcreamery in Seattle just decided to get into the nano-brewing business and had a grand opening just a few weeks ago, officially becoming Bluebird Microcreamery & Brewery. When I heard they were brewing root beer as well I headed over as quickly as I could to get the scoop (pun intended) on the new brew and the new entrant into the gourmet root beer world. My first impression of the place is that it is truly a nano-brewery. They are on a 2 bbl system that seems to only hold about 100 gallons at most per vat. The whole operation, brewery, creamery, bar, and sitting area occupy about as much space as a corner Starbucks. The decor is very rustic with tables built on old fashioned milk cans and pints of root beer served in frosted mason jars. They try to be all natural local and organic as well. They have three different root beers that they brew but only one at any given time. This one is imaginatively called Batch 001 because it is obviously their 10th try … I had hoped that by announcing myself as the internet root beer guru that I am there would be much excitement but I was kind of overshadowed by Chef Gordon Ramsay who was shooting an episode of Kitchen Nightmares just next store. Oh well.

The Body is very sweet and complex. It is almost dark but not quite. It is mildly creamy with wintergreen, cinnamon, and licorice hints. All of these flavors are perfectly proportioned so that at first sip it tastes just like you’d expect from a root beer but then the subtler flavors surface enhancing it considerably. The slightly caramel flavor of brewed cane sugar shines through as well. The Bite is mild but present from the cinnamon and is just about at my favorite level. It has a very clean mouth feel from the lack of preservatives. The Head is amazingly tall and very frothy. I’ve seen better but they definitely earn full points and then some for it. The Aftertaste is sweet hints of cinnamon and licorice with just a tad of wintergreen coming though.

This is a pleasure to drink. It’s different than my standard favorites to be sure but I really enjoy it. It is great to sip, to chug, and I’m sure would go great in a float with some of their ice cream. Though it’s really good, it didn’t move me like some of the greats, but I would never pass this up if I were in a root beer mood and it was the closest available. I am proud to give it my Seal of Approval and I look forward to trying their other root beers in the future.

Bluebird Brewery Bar and Bartender

The Bluebird Brewery bar and the lovely bartender.

Me on the brewery tour

Me on a tour of the Bluebird Brewery, which consisted of everything you see. That is the entire brewery.




Black Bear Legendary Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  2 Responses »
Nov 282012
 

I was visiting The Root Beer Store and found this. It was a pleasant surprise since I thought I had tried everything they stocked and then some. It is kind of marketed as a lower calorie root beer with the bottle boasting “Only 90 Calories Per Serving.” Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your point of view) that is only because they give you 6.3 ounces instead of the normal 12. So basically you get half of the calories by drinking half of the root beer. I guess if people fall for it then all the more power to them. The label has got a lot of slogans like “It’s a Bear of A Drink”, “Refreshing”, “Quality and Tradition Since 1920” and so forth. Each one is in a different font for some reason. It’s almost as busy as Spring Grove Root Beer label but not quite as bad. The bottle itself is really heavy for its size and looks to be 1/4 inch thick glass. It’s almost as if they wanted it to be able to survive a black bear attack or something.

The Body is kind of weak and slightly creamy. It tastes pretty generic. The Bite is pretty weak as well, there’s a little bit but it needs more. The Head is good. It is medium height with a long half-life, very frothy. The Aftertaste is a light vanilla flavor that lasts the right amount of time.

So, it’s about as generic as it gets despite all of the taglines to suggest otherwise. With the exception of the Head, there is nothing notable about it. It isn’t bad though so if I was looking for some bear-proof root beer for a picnic, I might just snag a few of these. See how it rates against other root beers.




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