Dad’s Root Beer Barrels

 Root Beer Candy  No Responses »
Feb 272019
 

Dad's Root Beer Barrel

Time to write a post about the most iconic root beer candy there is, the root beer barrel. I’m sure that’s what you first thought of back when I said I would write about candy and stuff. Because honestly, while other candies may have a root beer flavor, there is no other barrel candy. The root beer barrel is as synonymous with old fashioned candies as lemon drops and those ribbon candy things that your grandma used to give you. There’s a lot of types, and I aim to write about them all, but to start I’m going with Dad’s, since it’s also a rather iconic root beer brand with national distribution.

They’re nice and sweet with flavor that is not unlike Dad’s Root Beer, unsurprisingly. This means that there isn’t a strong licorice or mint flavor, and there’s a hint of spice. It also isn’t too sticky for hard candy, if that makes any sense. And gives a fine root beer like experience.

Yum. I can honestly say I really enjoy sucking these things. Being of a lighter flavor profile than some of the other root beer hard candies, you can pop quite a few in a row and they don’t get old. I can’t wait to see what they other root beer barrel candies are like. Until then, I highly recommend these.




Root Beer Advertising and Collectibles

 Root Beer Books  No Responses »
Feb 202019
 

My first root beer book post. Well, I mean, my first root beer book post since I started doing Wednesday posts about other root beer products and things. I thought I’d take a break from hard candy (I’ve got more, fear not) and check my local library to see if there were any good books on Root Beer. This is written by Tom Morrison, who is/was one of the more avid collectors of root beer paraphernalia, in 1992. At over 100 pages, it is filled with photos from his collection.

The book is organized in 12 chapters: History, Bottles, Caps, Cans, Dispensers, Drinking Glasses, Magazine Ads, Matchbook Covers, Mugs, Trading Cards, Signs, and Miscellaneous. Each chapter has a brief description of how that type of item featured in the history of root beer, followed by pages of photo examples.

This book is a treasure trove of root beer history and nostalgia. That guides you through its storied past to the present day. Many long lost brands are represented as well as many that have been resurrected and endured. I was pleased to see some now dead brands that I was able to review mentioned here. This book is a must read for any true devotees of root beer, as it simply and eloquently paints the picture of root beer’s past in a way that is hard to surpass. It’s also a very good starting point for anyone looking to start their own root beer collection. I wish I’d read this years ago.

A sample page showing glasses and magazine ads.




Indeed Brewing Company Ideal Root Beer

 Draft and Keg Root Beers  No Responses »
Feb 132019
 

A pint of Ideal Root Beer From Indeed BreweryLast Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to meet one of the world’s leading collector’s of root beer paraphernalia, Vince. He was up in Minneapolis for some reason and I had empty bottles to get to him for his collection. I told him to meet me at Indeed Brewing Company, cause I knew they had a brew that I needed to try. To be honest I don’t know much about this brewery, other than one of my coworkers told me they have root beer. It’s a rather larger brewery by some railroad tracks about half an hour from my house. They don’t have any food in their taproom, owing to those pesky Minnesota laws, but not even the popcorn or peanuts that are quite common in others. I met Vince and his friends and got down to business.

The Body isn’t overly sweet and it’s a little dark. There’re distinct honey and wintergreen flavors as well but the proportions aren’t quite right. The Bite is a little spicy but still on the mild side. The Head is very nice, it pours out tall and stays foamy for awhile. The Aftertaste is of honey and a little wintergreen with some bitter notes.

This isn’t my favorite root beer by any means. It’s got the right flavors but not in the right ratios. I don’t know why this is called Ideal Root Beer, maybe it’s their ideal but it surely isn’t mine. It’s still drinkable and was worth the trip to meet another root beer lover. He was able to get one of their root beer taps to add to his collection, so a success all around.

Three kegs




The Indeed Brewing Company.

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