Root Beer Reviews – Page 15 – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Sprecher Vanilla Root Beer

Jul 062022

This is my fourth Sprecher root beer. I really appreciate them for continuing to develop new flavors for me to test. Though, I always have the hardest time finding these. Like, supposedly they’re sold at hardware stores near me, but I never find them. If not for the immense generosity of Vince, I would be left to wander in darkness, groping in vain for root beers always beyond my reach. Or, just drive a little further to a specialty soda store that will have them, but I like to be melodramatic. Plus it’s always fun to meet up with true root beer savant. Anyways. I like vanilla root beers. I love vanilla and making it the dominant flavor in root beer has always worked well. Sprecher being Sprecher, I have no doubt this will also be a great hit. Sadly the crow beast thing on the label is not jovially holding a mug, but I guess this is more coat of arms style. This is flavored with natural vanilla flavor rather than vanilla extract, which I’m not sure makes a huge difference, but does seem a bit weird to me.

The Body is mild with a strong, albeit not creamy, vanilla flavor. It kind of tastes artificial, despite being natural flavor. The Bite is mild as well, with little worth mentioning. The Head is medium height and staying power. The Aftertaste is more of that vanilla flavor, which while not the best vanilla flavor, isn’t bad.

Well, um, this brew is okay, but not what I’d hoped. Maybe there’s something to that natural flavor vs extract thing. I really don’t get it, but normal Sprecher is so good, why didn’t they just double or triple the vanilla? That would have been amazing. As it is, this is drinkable but not what I expect from Sprecher. Oh well, I guess 2 out of 4 having a Seal is a lot better than most brands. See how it rates against other root beers.

Pegasus Brewing Company Root Beer

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Jun 152022

Brew number two from DERMS Does Dallas trip! That’s right, you think I’d go there and only come back with one? This was a rather serendipitous find, as I didn’t know they even had root beer until I was walking home from the convention on Tuesday evening and saw Pegasus Brewing Company. I thought I’d duck in and see if they had root beer and they did! But, they were closing down, as Cisco was having their hospitality event there that night. I thought about crashing, but I did have my own event to get to, so I decided to return the next day, at 4 PM, when they opened before I needed to head to the airport. They recognized me instantly, probably due to the fact that no one else had ever come in and make such a big deal about them having a root beer.

The Body is bitter and light with wintergreen as the dominant flavor initially. It isn’t particularly sweet either. The Bite is mild though present and a little harsh. The Head is medium height and staying power and they easily make you a foamy pint. The Aftertaste is complex with caramel notes on the backend that almost seems to have hints of nutty. It is the best part of the brew and grows stronger as you drink it.

Well, this was not nearly as good my other Dallas root beer. In fact, at first drink I’d say it’s quite bad. However, that complex Aftertaste does raise it considerably, but not enough for me to even call this Drinkable. At least they have a root beer at all.

The Pegasus Brewing Company bar and taps.

Dairy-Ette Drive-In Root Beer

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Jun 082022

Last fortnight I was in Dallas for DistruTECH and DERMS in a little trip I like to call, DERMS Does Dallas… anyways, I was there and therefore I was searching for brews. I found several, but sadly, most were closed on the Sunday when I arrived, yet I wouldn’t be stopped since I had other days. So on Wednesday, after the show was over, I took off with a coworker and a customer (see me being a good employee) to Dairy-Ette Drive-In, Root Beer, Hamburgers. This is a third generation family owned drive-in, that originally opened in 1956. You know it’s got to be good if it’s still around. They make their own root beer which they serve from a red root beer keg, that says “Coca-Cola” on it. I don’t know why. I don’t know why it’s called Dairy-Ette either. But it’s a beautiful little place hiding on a corner in North Dallas.

The Body is smooth, amazingly smooth, so smooth I can’t even properly describe the liquid silk that is the Body of this root beer. There’s a classic flavor with lots of vanilla. It’s a simple, yet elegant taste. The Bite is small, a little spice but so so smooth. The Head is beautiful. So frothy and crazy tall if they let it. It lasts nearly forever, and you know how that foam feels in your mouth? Smooooth. The Aftertaste is sweet, smooth vanilla that lasts the perfect amount of time.

Okay, remember how last month I raved about some cream soda being smooth. Well that might as well be sandpaper compared to this. Seriously. I can’t remember a brew so silky smooth. With a wonderful classic flavor too, this is top notch. It could be a little spicier with a little more depth, but this is still one of the best root beers I’ve reviewed in quite awhile. The food there is just as amazing as their root beer. This place is worth its own pilgrimage.

A bacon burger with onion rings and root beer. Truly divine.

The “Red Root Beer Keg” according to them. But the brew comes out of there so I guess.

Dairy-Ette. Basically unchanged since 1956.

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