San Diego Brewing Company Root Beer

 Draft and Keg Root Beers  1 Response »
Oct 032012
 

On my recent trip to San Diego for the IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting I had two main root beer goals, acquire Old Town D-n-A Root Beer and visit the San Diego Brewing Company, which is the only brewery in the area that makes their own root beer. They’re located over 5 miles from the hotel where I was at, but I rented a car for a day to visit my Aunt in Escondido and this was along the way. What a perfect place for lunch. This time I didn’t say who I was or what I was doing, because frankly, I would prefer to keep anonymity until after I know that I like the stuff. Trashing someone’s creation may be fun over the internet, but I’d rather not do it in person in their establishment if I can avoid it. This time I was extremely glad I did.

This has a medium, dark body that is rather spicy with licorice and wintergreen hints. The licorice flavor isn’t too strong but it is noticeable. The overall flavor reminds me of generic root beer flavor candy. The Bite is sharp and strong from cloves and carbonation. I wish it were toned down a bit. The Head is non-existent, even when the waitress tried to pour it from the tap in such a way to build the largest Head possible, there was nothing. The Aftertaste is wintergreen and licorice with accents of clove.

This really reminds me of the Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Root Beer, but with lighter flavors and no Head at all. It is just a little better than the generic stout root beer from the added cloves but not really anything special at all. When informed that there were no free refills, I opted for water for the rest of my meal, this wasn’t a root beer I’d ever pay for again. The food on the other hand was fabulous. The Cajun blackened guacamole pepper-jack burger with a side of sweet potato fries was extremely flavorful and well portioned. That might be worth another visit some day, but I’ll pass on the root beer.

My guacamole burger with sweet potato fries.

The Root Beer tap on the wall




Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Root Beer

 Draft and Keg Root Beers  4 Responses »
Sep 262012
 

My son, like most little boys, loves trains. This matters because Snoqualmie, WA has a historic train museum that includes a train ride from the historic depot. We had always thought it would be fun to take him there since we always drive through Snoqualmie on the way to my parents house. Then, I discovered Snoqualmie had a brewery that makes their own root beer, and only a block away from the museum. We quickly planned a family outing to see trains and drink root beer. The night before we went, we discovered that it was “A day with Thomas” at the museum, featuring a life sized Thomas the Tank Engine that would pull the train ride instead of the normal engine. Of course it was much more expensive (and a shorter ride) but with all of the additional events that were happening we were glad we went then. After a whole morning of riding trains, looking at trains, taking pictures of trains, and playing with model trains, we went to the brewery for lunch. Of course, I had to start by reviewing their root beer.

It has a sweet and complex Body. The core flavors taste like those generic root beer barrel candies with a lot of wintergreen and clove. It isn’t really creamy at all, but rather, sharp and spicy. The Bite is pretty strong from all of the spices but not harsh from carbonation. It’s still a little more than I prefer though. The Head is nice, medium height and very frothy. It lasts and lasts (at least when you ask them to pour it so it has a Head). The Aftertaste is wintergreen with some clove accents that lingers the right amount of time.

This is a pretty decent brew, but doesn’t really move me at all. While it has a nice complex flavor, it is more sharp than rich and I prefer a rich smooth flavor. There’s nothing unpleasant about it though, so I give it a 3 1/2 kegs, with the nice Head just pushing it over from a 3. So don’t go just to drink it, but it’ll go well with your meal. Just don’t get their pizza, while it’s loaded with toppings, it still tastes pretty bland. Their gumbo, however, is a different story.




Brooklyn Soda Works Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  No Responses »
Sep 192012
 

When I first learned about this one I was in the process of seeking out new brews to try so I immediately sent them an email to see if they would mail order it. They said they couldn’t since they didn’t bottle much and it had to be refrigerated at all times. This was rather saddening but I figured if I ever go to Brooklyn, I’d look them up. A few days later I received a root beer shipment (part of a trade) from the one and only anthony which had an ice pack and two bottles of this root beer. What joy! anthony, you read my mind. I think that this has elevated him to the status of Root Beer Wizard. The bottle itself sets a new record I think for low budget labeling. The label itself looks like those blank name-tag stickers with “brooklynsodaworks” printed all over it in courier font with “Root Beer” scrawled on there in Sharpie. Though, at New York wages, plus benefits, it may actually be the most expensive label there is. When I poured it out however, it was orange-ish color. I said out loud, “I’m … hesitant”

The Body is different, that’s for sure. It tastes fruity and herbal with ginger and some vanilla coming through. There really isn’t a sassafras flavor to it at all, but rather, lemon and herbs and spices. It reminds me of those lemon ginger herbal teas that I love so much. The Bite has a decent ginger kick with a light carbonation tingle. The Head is on the short side, but very frothy and lingers a long time. The Aftertaste is light lemon and ginger with the slightest hints of vanilla that fades quickly.

So, this is basically a cold, carbonated herb tea. It is very light and refreshing. I do like it, but if I were blindfolded and tasted it, or actually if I were just given a glass and asked what it was, root beer would probably be at the bottom of the list. It’s probably the best doesn’t-taste-like-root-beer root beer I’ve had yet, but to be rated as a drinkable root beer, it actually needs to taste like a root beer. See how it rates against other root beers.




 Older Entries  Newer Entries