Uncle Scott’s Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  No Responses »
Aug 292012
 

I’m not sure who Scott is, or more importantly perhaps, whose uncle he is. Maybe he’s Dad’s brother. When I first heard about this I refrained from rushing a mail order since it is sold in North Carolina and I often do business trips to Charlotte. Of course, once I knew it was there I didn’t go back to Charlotte for another 8 months. I had gone to Greenville, SC and Raleigh in those 8 months but I never seemed to be able to track it down. Therefore, when I found myself going back to Charlotte, getting this was my top priority (after accomplishing the business of course). This is an all natural brew that is 98% organic. I’m not sure which 2% of it isn’t though. Interestingly, one of its ingredients is “wood extract.” Huh, that’s a new one. I would stick it on my ingredients list except I don’t know what type of wood it is. It could be something good like sassafras, birch, maple, or something else along those lines, but it could also be cedar, oak, aspen, or maybe even something deadly like hemlock. Why not sagebrush? Or mahogany? I mean, there are hundreds of different types of wood out there. Maybe it’s a different wood in each batch. Who knows. Just as important as what’s in this root beer is what isn’t. They clearly spell out that this brew does not contain “Milk, egg, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy bean or gluten.” That’s a relief. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve not been able to find a root beer that isn’t made with oysters or scallops. Or all the times I’ve tipped back a cold bottle of root beer to find that it’s really milk. If only all the root beers could be labeled thus my life would be easier for sure. So how is this woody and not clammy root beer?

It has a rather complex, but not full, Body with a prominent licorice and anise flavor as well as some cinnamon and vanilla. There’s some caramel flavor in there too. It sadly tastes a little watery, not much, but a little. There is a small cinnamon kick for a Bite which is kind of nice but still smooth, too smooth actually, as the carbonation is severely lacking. The Head is pitiful. There’s really nothing at all. Just a slight bubble up that doesn’t even cover the whole surface before it disappears. It makes the “two second Head” look good. The Aftertaste is vanilla with some cinnamon and licorice.

Interesting. The way the flavors mix you really need to sip it to see what’s going on. Every sip tastes a little different too. It is actually rather intriguing and unique, though not my favorite by any means. Also, the whole presentation needs some serious work. The Head and the carbonation level are atrocious. Even their own website, when showing a picture in a frosty mug, reveals that there is hardly a Head on this thing. I was really on the fence about how to rate this one. It has some major flaws but an interesting flavor. I think, if I were ever to go back to Charlotte, and I were at dinner, and the restaurant said they carried Uncle Scott’s, I’d get one with my meal, so it’s drinkable. See how it rates against other root beers.




Devil’s Canyon Brand Root Beer

 Draft and Keg Root Beers  No Responses »
Aug 222012
 

So this is my first Draft and Keg Root Beers review to not appear as a bonus review, and I think that all of the others will be Wednesday reviews as well. I’m sorry, there’s only a finite amount of root beers in the world and even fewer bottled ones so I need to keep the regular pace as much as possible. I was down in San Francisco taking care of some business and then decided to go down to San Jose to visit an old college room mate who was also the best man at my wedding. My scouring of the internet revealed that Devil’s Canyon Brewery was on the way just off of HWY 101. They only let you buy pints and growlers Fridays 4-6 pm which worked out well since I started out for San Jose at 3:30 on a Friday. When I got there came up with a paper and pen, a camera, and specific instructions on my pint, no plastic cup but an actual glass, pour it so it builds a nice Head, and pour it once I’m ready to get a picture afterwards. As I began to drink and take notes, they figured I was more than just the average root beer fan and asked who I was with, promising to check my site. They also informed their brew mistress/owner who came to tell me more about it.

The Body is medium with fruity and slightly creamy hints. There’s some honey that comes through and it has a nice clean mouth feel. It is also really smooth with only a little Bite from some spice. The Head is short but frothy. It could be much better. The Aftertaste is fruity and vanilla.

It’s not bad, but I really don’t like the fruity. I thought it was citric acid at first but was informed that in addition to organic cane sugar and local Belmont, CA honey, they use local agave nectar as a sweetener. That’s where it comes from. It kind of ruined it for me. The Head could be much better as well. It’s better than your generic store brand, though, I didn’t feel it warranted a growler as a gift to my friend.

Their little tap stand outside the brewery. Notice the Root Beer Tap.




Blumers Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  2 Responses »
Aug 152012
 

I got this on trade with another reviewer who goes by the name of Cosmo. He’s pretty much the Anti-Eric – He thinks Henry Weihard’s (pretty much my standard) is the worst root beer in the world and that IBC (his standard) is the best. To each his own I suppose but I can’t help but think that he looks down upon me for liking Henry’s so much (and IBC so little). Though I’d never spoken with him, I figured I would make a preemptive strike and out of the blue offer him one of the world’s last bottles of Thomas Kemper Purely Natural since he hadn’t reviewed it. The plan worked perfectly, though he still disagrees with me about many of my brews of choice. He sent a reciprocal offering of Blumers, though it isn’t the last in the world but that’s ok, I’ve never tried it. This stuff is made my Minhas Brewery, the same people who make The Cubby Bear, but the ingredients and nutritional info are different. It’s got a pretty cool label all frilled like a postage stamp and the bottle has and embossed ‘M’ in the glass.

It has a sweet and creamy medium Body with noticeable vanilla. Then there is a strange caramelized corn syrup herbal flavor that tastes a lot like bubble gum. The Bite is solid and spicy. The Head is short and fizzes down much too quickly, though it doesn’t leave in mere seconds so it could be worse. The Aftertaste is the bubble gum flavor that last way too long. It builds the more you drink until that is almost all you can taste. At the end of the long and gross bubble gum Aftertaste, it turns bitter.

Ugh. What a disappointment. That weird and bitter bubblegum flavor progressively overpowers everything else so the more I drink this, the less I want to keep drinking. I suppose it’s a good one to pass around amongst a group but really, a bottle by itself is not good at all. So Cosmo sent me a nasty root beer and I sent him a nasty root beer. Fair trade I suppose. See how it rates against other root beers.




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