Root Beer Reviews – Page 61 – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Faultline Brewing Company

Jul 052017

A mug of Faultline Brewing Company Root Beer Two weeks ago I was down in the Bay area, not for the business trip that I posted about on Facebook, but for another amazing Tesla Road Trip! It’s that time of year and probably my last trip down there for awhile, so I had to see what I could find. My friend had upgraded his P90D to a new Model X P100D! So much more ludicrous speed. And he even let me drive it! And he laughed as I raged at getting kicked out of autopilot time and again for “not holding the wheel.” I WAS HOLDING THE WHEEL!!!! Upgrade your sensors or something… So anyways, we had stopped in Mountain View and were trying to supercharge and I scanned the area and found the Faultline Brewing Company was only about 10 minutes away and still along the way to Monterey. So we left the rather congested super charger and took the Gilroy route down, stopping at the brewery along the way. It’s a really classy brewery I must say, as the pictures below will attest. The root beer order seemed more than a pint but it didn’t say on the menu and I didn’t ask. I was too busy drinking.

The Body is mild with a fruity generic flavor with some hints of sarsaparilla. There really isn’t much distinct about it. The Bite is mild as well yet it isn’t smooth. The Head is nice and foamy and can be built tall. The Aftertaste is fruity sarsaparilla with caramelized sugar.

So, no, not really, nope. I don’t really like this. I mean, it’s not horrible, but not good. We ordered some very delicious seafood ceviche and then, interestingly, the brew paired quite well with it. Afterwards I doubted my initial reaction to the brew and got a bit more to swig again and yup, didn’t like it. So my conundrum, a brew that literally only tastes good when paired with a menu item. I guess that’s my definition of drinkable, so 3 kegs it is, barely. I don’t even think it’d pair well with the other food there, but the ceviche was yummy and so I can recommend the combo but not the brew by itself. Check it out if you’re in the area.

Three kegs

The seafood ceviche with root beer. Quite a tasty combo.

The left side of the restaurant as viewed from the entrance.

The right side of the restaurant as viewed from the entrance.

Big Rock Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Jun 282017

Big Rock Root Beer Bottle This was a find by my good friend and avid root beer collector Vince. He found it on a road trip somewhere in the south. I’d never even heard about it before. It’s made by Diamond Bear Brewing Company from Little Rock Arkansans. So this brew is the Big Rock of Little Rock? I approve of that joke. There’s also an image of a big rock on the label, though I have no idea if that’s a real place. It probably is. Maybe. I like the color scheme of the rest of the label too, all blue and white and whatnot. The brewery itself is pretty new, only coming on the scene in 2000. This root beer is kept pretty hush-hush as the only reference to it is the root beer float dessert on the alehouse menu. And yet they bottle it so I’m not sure what their marketing plan is with this. Maybe it’s to make the most amazing root beer in the world and have only the coolest people know about it. We’ll see.

The Body is sweet with a medium strength. There’s a sarsaparilla flavor with a little vanilla. It’s got a zippy little Bite to it. The Head is tall but lacks staying power. The Aftertaste is more vanilla sarsaparilla.

This kind of reminds me of Barq’s, but better. That makes sense it coming from the South and all. It’s pretty solid but nothing exceptional or fancy. Just a straight up root beer with frills. See how it rates against other root beers.

Harmony Springs Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Jun 212017

Harmony Springs Root Beer Bottle Awhile back I learned of this brand. They were established in 1908 by the Vanasse Bottling Works in Northampton, Massachusetts. Their website is devoid of details as to whether they’ve been in continuous operation since then or not. They do have a huge array of flavors, leading me to believe that they’ve been around awhile, but then again, I hadn’t heard of them, so maybe they weren’t. No matter, what’s important is that they’re here now. They’ve got a classic, old-timey look for their label, with course paper and all. A trio of fine gents are on the front, harmonizing in a fine play on the name of those clean and clear springs. Their website takes it further with “Composed by Nature, Tuned by Tradition”. After I first learned about it I think I called them in the mid fall to try and get brews before the winter freeze. I don’t know what they said or if I paid them or anything, but late winter two bottles of it showed up on my doorstep. An unexpected yet welcome surprise.

The Body is rather bland. There’s some anise and sarsaparilla and a bit of vanilla but none of the flavors are very intense. The Bite is rather weak, there’s some spice but not much. It is unbelievably rich and smooth and creamy like few brews I’ve ever had. The Head is excellent and tall, as good as any. The Aftertaste is a hint of vanilla and anise but still rather bland, not bad, but not exciting.

The taste here is nothing special, but that texture … It feels so nice in my mouth, like a warm bubble bath followed by drying off with mink fur and then flopping on a thick down mattress with silk sheets. Oh yeah … drink it occasionally just for that amazing texture. See how it rates against other root beers.

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