H-E-B Old Fashioned Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  1 Response »
Jan 302013
 

I love my coworkers. They’re always willing to bring me back root beers from their trips. This one was brought back from Texas by my esteemed colleague Jimmy Jeff, who has family there and goes often. H-E-B is a grocery store chain in Texas and northern Mexico. The fact that they not only have their own root beer in glass bottles, but have one of the coolest and completely original bottles puts them in a class above almost any other grocery chain in existence in my opinion. An added bonus, if you like being bilingual, is that the label is also in Spanish, which sets this also in a class of its own since all other root beers I’ve encountered with bi-lingual labeling did so in French and English (to keep the Québécois happy). So they’ve got about everything going for them up to this point. How is the brew itself?

The Body has a rich medium sassafras flavor that is creamy with vanilla hints surfacing. There are nice caramel overtones as well. The Bite is well balanced between spice and carbonation while not being overly strong. The Head is tall and moderately frothy though it fizzes down faster than I prefer. The Aftertaste is a light vanilla and caramel flavor that turns slightly bitter at the end before vanishing. The bitterness doesn’t build though, so it doesn’t affect the rest of the brew the more you drink. It’s kind of like eating bread dipped in olive oil, the slight bitter notes at the end.

Yum. I like it. It’s got the right attributes and still has a unique flavor. Is it good enough for the Seal though? I was right on the line with this so I drank a third bottle (because I had one) and freezer chilled it to see if it gets better or worse in the frosty mug. I normally don’t need a third bottle, and usually don’t have one but this one was just so on the line between 3.5 and 4 I figured it could help. The head turned incredible and everything else was just as rich and developed as before. I was convinced. The Seal of Approval it is. I really want to go visit an H-E-B now. If this is the quality of their store brand root beer, I wonder what other treasures they’ve got there. See how it rates against other root beers.




Zuberfizz Creamy Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  3 Responses »
Jan 092013
 

Every year for Christmas I receive at least one new type of root beer from my family. It’s a pretty safe bet on their part that if they give me a new glass bottle brew, I’ll be thrilled. About four years ago my sister gave me a six pack of this. She picked Zuberfizz because it had such a funny name. I must admit, it is a pretty funny. I imagines that it must be zuber fizzy with a name like that. It’s made by Durango Soda Company and has a simple yet attractive label with some catch phrases including “Feel the Fizz!” as the official flavor text plus some of the standard “classic” and “draft” and whatnot.

The Body is very crisp and clean with all of the right flavors in the right proportions. Love that cane sugar. The Bite is very mild. It is a nice and smooth brew. The Head is a little weak but frothy and lasts. You can “feel the fizz” to the end. The Aftertaste is sweet and creamy that lingers just the right amount.

Yum! I really like it. Also, I find that it is zuber fizzy and I can feel it. Congrats on that Zuberfizz! It could be better of course but this is a solid brew worth getting more of. My sister, of course, was extremely happy that I loved it and that I gave it the Seal. I even had four bottles of this at my official launch party for the updated and improved website. See how it rates against other root beers.




Grand Teton Brewing Company Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  No Responses »
Dec 122012
 

What better way to celebrate 12/12/12 than with a root beer review! Up and out of the blue one day, I got an email from Cosmo asking if I’d tried Grand Teton Brewing Company Root Beer and if I was willing to trade for it. At the time I was in the midst of acquiring around 10 different brands and though my root beer budget was stretched, I couldn’t resist. Two days after I agreed and he said he’d ship it, my sister who lives in ID calls me up and asks if I’d tried Grand Teton Root Beer because they sell it at the super market near Boise. Some context, when I got the call, I knew I’d see my sister in two weeks time. Oh well, I’d already committed to Cosmo. I really like the label of this, being an outdoors man myself. “Kettle Brewed” conjures up images of a large, sweet looking brass kettle for some reason over a fire in a brewery. I’m not sure why I think of brass, but you have to admit it would look really cool. So up in the Grand Tetons, some brewers are mixing root beer ingredients in large brass kettles, heating them over fires, and pouring in pure spring water that they’ve tapped near their brewery. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. They also relabel this as Old Faithful Root Beer to sell in Yellowstone National Park which is good that Yellowstone has got such a good root beer, but sad that they didn’t add some little extra goodness, like a dash of cinnamon or cloves, so I could have two different root beers to review.

This has a very rich and creamy Body. It has a strong sassafras flavor with hints of vanilla and wintergreen. It has a solid Bite from carbonation and a little spice, but nothing that really jumps out and demands attention. It goes down very smooth on account of the maltodextrin. The Aftertaste is creamy and minty and lasts the right amount of time.

Yum. It’s very rich and strong. Stronger than I usually prefer, but they’ve somehow pulled it off in a way that it comes across as bold without being overbearing. After the first bottle I was really on the fence about where to rate it, but the second bottle reinforced that this is top notch. It’s good when quaffed, but really, it’s more excellent to sip slowly, enjoying every bit of that rich sassafras flavor washing creamily over your tongue. When I’m in the mood for a bolder, darker root beer flavor, I’m comin’ for this. See how it rates against other root beers.




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