Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog – Page 148 – The blog of the gourmet root beer site.

Fitz’s Premium Root Beer

Dec 182013

Fitz's Root Beer Bottle Fitz’s originally appeared in St. Louis in 1947 at a root beer stand. It shut down in the 1970’s like so many root beer stands but was resurrected in 1993 by Fitz’s Bottling Company. Not content to merely bring the root beer back, they wanted a vintage bottling line as well to ensure authenticity. Luckily they found one in some barn in Wisconsin because where else are you going to find a 1940’s vintage bottling line? I must say that’s pretty unique to them compared to a lot of the other resurrected brands. Their bottle is slightly different than your standard long neck as well, which I suppose is related to all of that authentic vintageness. The label is also the original from before so it’s as if the esteemed root beer never left.

The Body is dark and rooty, with a clean crisp flavor on account of the luscious cane sugar. The spices and fizz level make for an excellent little Bite. The Head is average at best but frothy and lingers. The creamy vanilla and wintergreen Aftertaste is very desirable.

This is a quality brew by all metrics. I wonder how it could have died off in the first place. All of their attention to detail in authenticity clearly shows through. The results are impeccable. Drinking this root beer is a pleasant experience that should be repeated often. See how it rates against other root beers.

Gourmet Root Beer in Saudi Arabia – Good News for All

Random Root Beer-ness 1 Response »

Dec 162013

Root Beer cans and bottles in Saudi Arabia
This last week I had the immense pleasure of traveling to Dhahran in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to do more electric car academic things, presentations and a thesis defense. I of course was on the look out for the greatest soft drink the world has and ever will known/know. I was simultaneously hopeful and worried. Hopeful, because all alcoholic beverages are banned and so many beer companies make 0.0% malt beverage to sell there, and worried because none of my Saudi friends have ever liked root beer. And also because the internet filter put on by the government blocked my site. I assume it is due to the “beer” in the title of Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Site and all of the talking of root “beer”. I did send an unblock request explaining the misconception so hopefully it will be taken care of soon. Either way, it didn’t bode well for root beer finding.

I searched in every grocery store and cafe I encountered, and while I did find many new and strange sodas and malt beverages, root beer eluded me until the second to last day. I had gone to Safeway in search of a post card (also something nigh impossible to find). In the soda section I saw cans of imported A&W, my heart was swollen with joy, but not as much as when I turned the corner and saw another display with bottles of IBC. A drinkable gourmet root beer in a regular grocery store. A most triumphant win for the good people of the Kingdom this is. With any luck it will catch on and they’ll start making their own version for me to review. Until then, all root beer lovers heading out that way for extended periods of time can rest easy in the knowledge that some gourmet brew is awaiting.

The Cider Mill Soda Company Rootin Tootin Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Dec 112013

Rootin Tootin Root Beer Bottle Another one from anthony as part of our on going root beer trades. The picture on the label is hilarious/ridiculous. The root beer keg, while firing off his six shooters, is actively trying to drink the drops of root beer coming out of the tap. But since the tap is where his nose would be, it’s akin to being excited to drink out of one’s own runny nose. But then the fact that he’s a root beer keg means, that what he drinks will go back into the keg, so maybe he just doesn’t want to waste any root beer. And then he’s shooting as well and … maybe I’m just over thinking it. Fun back story. About three weeks before I tried this I had bought some blue agave nectar from Trader Joe’s to see how it went with waffles. I liked it a lot and mused that it would taste really good in root beer while lamenting that the other non-blue agave flavored root beers I’ve had have not been stellar.

The Body is full and rich with creamy vanilla and blue agave nectar featuring prominently. It has a rather heavy feel to it which I think is from said nectar. Everything mingles together to give a wonderful flavor that’s familiar and comforting as well as unique. The Bite is very mild. There’s a little spice but the carbonation is really lacking. The Head is poor, there’s no point mincing words over that. It’s very short, yet frothy so as to be better than the two-second-Head. It’s just that it isn’t carbonated enough to build a Head. The Aftertaste is a delicious combination of the blue agave and vanilla that lasts the perfect amount of time.

Wow, yummy. I was right about blue agave in root beer. The only flaw in this is that it really doesn’t have much carbonation, which was their stated goal on the bottle. They wanted to make it so that it would go better in floats so no over foaming. I can respect that, but without a better Head, it can’t get the Seal, what a shame. Give this sucker a Henry’s style Head and some more Bite and we’re talking top 10 root beers ever, maybe even top 5. Oh well, it would make some amazing floats at least. See how it rates against other root beers.

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