Jun 272018
 

A pint of Logan's Root BeerLast week I was in sunny hot Phoenix for sales demos with some Phoenix companies. It was my very first time there (as with most of these trips of mine) and the thing I was amazed the most by were those saguaro cacti (catuses?). I’ve only really ever seen them in movies, and suddenly they were everywhere, just like in the old Western movies. What fun! But wait there’s more to this trip then just DERMS and cacti (cactuseses?). There was root beer! Several places actually showed up on my initial search, but time was limited (as was the patients of my coworkers I imagine), so I could only hit up one. I chose Sunup Brewing Co, the makers of many a brew and mead and Logan’s Root Beer. I don’t know why it’s called Logan’s, I didn’t ask and their website is devoid of any mention. I’ll postulate that Logan is some teetotaler or child who either made or inspired the creation of the brew. Either that or they just love Hugh Jackman movies… Anyhow, the root beer!

The Body is sour and fruity on the initial contact. Very fruity. After a bit that gives way to a rather generic creamy root beer flavor lacking in spices. The Bite is smooth and without much complexity. It has a nice Head that is very foamy and tall. The Aftertaste is some nice, smooth vanilla.

Ugh, that sour fruity. I can’t get past it. I mean, it’s a decent brew underneath that, but when the whole package is considered, that just ruins it. Sorry guys. We had some spicy artichoke dip and chips there, and it was yummy, but went elsewhere for our dinner so there’s nothing else to say about this place other than it’s got some character.

2.5/5 Root Beer Kegs

Some awesome barrel in front of their restaurant.

The Sunup Brewing Co. taps.

The Sunup Brewery. It’s pretty big. Hard to fit into one photo.




Jun 202018
 

Mr. D'z Root Beer Bottle More Route 66 root beer, though this time they decided to dispense with the puns. They are probably all taken anyways. Mr. D’z is a diner on Route 66 in Kingman, Arizona. They’ve been there since the year 2000 and they do all of the things you’d expect from a Route 66 diner like hosting car clubs, having a gift shop, and of course, making their own root beer. The label is an embodiment of the diner, with the classic food, cars, and root beer itself. The “D” is for somebody by the name of Dunton, from Dunton and Dunton, but the website doesn’t explain this connection. Additionally, I don’t know who actually bottles this stuff, as that detail has been left out as well. Many a mystery with this brew, perhaps it’s worth dispatching my favorite detective. My good pal Sagai, The Root Beer Tracker sent me a bottle to review, which is fortunate since it doesn’t appear to be sold online anywhere. And, though I love a good road trip for root beer, Arizona is a little too far.

The Body is creamy with a nice caramel flavor but also a hint of fruity. There’s a nice Bite from the spice that isn’t too assertive. The Head is short but not “two-second” so. The Aftertaste is a light vanilla with some caramel and fruity hints.

Shame about that fruity. It really takes away from a pretty decent brew. It’s not so bad as to make me recommend avoiding this altogether, but I think it’d be best to have this with your food down there. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three kegs




Jun 132018
 

Boots Sarsaparilla Root Beer Bottle Boots Beverages was created by a man whose name was Boots (and no, he wasn’t a monkey that went exploring). Mr. Boots is not the man the label. His name is Ambrose and he came from Germany and purchased the Bellville Bottling Works in Texas. I think he’s Boots’ father, but I’m not sure. The text on the bottle doesn’t say, neither does their website. Anyhow, they had a bottling works so they made some sodas. Except this came from the Crown Valley Winery in Missouri, like the Fizzy Izzy Root Beer. Same shipping box and everything. I’m not sure if Boots does the bottling for Crown Valley or the other way around. I would like to point out that this is a root beer, not a sarsaparilla. The name clearly says Sarsaparilla Root Beer. I don’t review sarsaparillas, I review root beers. A sarsaparilla root beer is a subset of root beer. I’ve mentioned this before with Hosmer, but just in case you forgot.

The Body has a full fruity sarsaparilla flavor with some vanilla as well. It isn’t overly complex. The Bite has some nice spice but it overall smooth, as I prefer. The Head is tall and foamy and all around excellent. The Aftertaste is vanilla with sarsaparilla hints.

Well, flavor wise this is definitely more sarsaparilla than root beer. But since semantics must rule the day I’ll review it as a root beer. It’s a decent root beer. I mean, good enough to drink if I really need a root beer but want it to be sarsaparilla tasting but not be a sarsaparilla. I’ll admit, that isn’t very often. I think Hosmer pulled it off much better. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three kegs