Jul 202022
 
Seal of Approval

I’m in Denver this week for the IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting . Last time I was here it was for EV things, but now I’m doing DERMS things but EVs will be controlled by DERMS so they’re kind of the same. Either way, you probably don’t care why I’m here, you want to know about the root beer. You’ve heard this story before, I go to a place for work, find a brewery and try their root beer. Well this time the brewery in question makes not one, not two, not even three, but four, yes four draft root beers. It’s a good thing I’m here for five days, because you know I gotta catch ’em all. Also I’m not going to tell you the full story of this place today, because I need to fill four posts worth. This first brew is their classic flavor, named after some Canadian favorites. The brew master actually lived in Duluth for awhile and if you remember some of my reviews from Duluth and read the name of their root beer like a Canadian, you’ll notice it’s quite the clever and familiar name.

The Body has a nice and creamy classic flavor with vanilla and a hint of aged sarsaparilla that come together nicely to give the delicious nostalgic flavor I love. The Bite is mild, but present, and it finishes nice and smooth. I’d like a little more spice but this has enough. The Head is medium and foams down medium quick, but once again, is good enough. The Aftertaste is slightly minty with vanilla and last just as long as it should.

Yum! It also has a very familiar flavor to some of its namesakes, but not exactly the same. I also think it’s better (at least than the Duluth stand) and really has nothing bad with it at all. It could use a little more Bite and Head, but still a solid brew I’m pleased to award my Seal of Approval. I can’t wait to try the rest of his brews, but you’ll have to wait some weeks to read about them all.

4 kegs

The Reverence Brewering Company root beer taps (and some others)

Jul 062022
 

This is my fourth Sprecher root beer. I really appreciate them for continuing to develop new flavors for me to test. Though, I always have the hardest time finding these. Like, supposedly they’re sold at hardware stores near me, but I never find them. If not for the immense generosity of Vince, I would be left to wander in darkness, groping in vain for root beers always beyond my reach. Or, just drive a little further to a specialty soda store that will have them, but I like to be melodramatic. Plus it’s always fun to meet up with true root beer savant. Anyways. I like vanilla root beers. I love vanilla and making it the dominant flavor in root beer has always worked well. Sprecher being Sprecher, I have no doubt this will also be a great hit. Sadly the crow beast thing on the label is not jovially holding a mug, but I guess this is more coat of arms style. This is flavored with natural vanilla flavor rather than vanilla extract, which I’m not sure makes a huge difference, but does seem a bit weird to me.

The Body is mild with a strong, albeit not creamy, vanilla flavor. It kind of tastes artificial, despite being natural flavor. The Bite is mild as well, with little worth mentioning.  The Head is medium height and staying power. The Aftertaste is more of that vanilla flavor, which while not the best vanilla flavor, isn’t bad.

Well, um, this brew is okay, but not what I’d hoped. Maybe there’s something to that natural flavor vs extract thing. I really don’t get it, but normal Sprecher is so good, why didn’t they just double or triple the vanilla? That would have been amazing. As it is, this is drinkable but not what I expect from Sprecher. Oh well, I guess 2 out of 4 having a Seal is a lot better than most brands. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three kegs

Jun 152022
 

Brew number two from DERMS Does Dallas trip! That’s right, you think I’d go there and only come back with one? This was a rather serendipitous find, as I didn’t know they even had root beer until I was walking home from the convention on Tuesday evening and saw Pegasus Brewing Company. I thought I’d duck in and see if they had root beer and they did! But, they were closing down, as Cisco was having their hospitality event there that night. I thought about crashing, but I did have my own event to get to, so I decided to return the next day, at 4 PM, when they opened before I needed to head to the airport. They recognized me instantly, probably due to the fact that no one else had ever come in and make such a big deal about them having a root beer.

The Body is bitter and light with wintergreen as the dominant flavor initially. It isn’t particularly sweet either. The Bite is mild though present and a little harsh. The Head is medium height and staying power and they easily make you a foamy pint. The Aftertaste is complex with caramel notes on the backend that almost seems to have hints of nutty. It is the best part of the brew and grows stronger as you drink it.

Well, this was not nearly as good my other Dallas root beer. In fact, at first drink I’d say it’s quite bad. However, that complex Aftertaste does raise it considerably, but not enough for me to even call this Drinkable. At least they have a root beer at all.

2.5/5 Root Beer Kegs
The Pegasus Brewing Company bar and taps.