Seal of Approval – Page 9 – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Ginseng UP American Classics Root Beer

Sep 272017

Ginseng UP American Classics Root Beer Bottle I am going to take some credit for the existence of this root beer. I know it sounds presumptuous, but that could be said for most of this website. You see, after I reviewed the Ginseng Up Private Label, I sent them an email congratulating them on the Seal of Approval. I also mentioned that it was strange that their Ginseng UP brand line didn’t have a root beer, especially since their tagline is “The Root of All Power” which could be a double entendre with root beer, and hoped that they’d make something equally good with ginseng. As you can see, they make one now, but it’s different from the Private Label in more than just added ginseng. This is all natural with cane sugar and no preservatives, which makes people like my lovely wife very happy.

The Body is sweet and full and creamy with a pronounced ginseng flavor and notes of caramel and a hint of wintergreen. The Bite is nice with clove the dominant spice though it finishes smooth. The Head is tall with decent staying power, not the best by any means, but nice. The Aftertaste is vanilla with a little ginseng.

Yum. They’ve made a nice creamy root beer with some additional complexity from the wintergreen and cloves. They make the ginseng work perfectly with it too, adding a nifty little twist without detracting in the least. I expected nothing less from the shadowy root beer overlords of the private label industry. Predictably, this is also sold in different bottles with different labels with the American Classics more prevalent. But it’s the same recipe. See how it rates against other root beers.

Sunshine Bottle Works Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Jun 142017

Sunshine Bottle Works Root Beer Bottle So a few weeks ago I was contacted by the people at the Sunshine Bottle Works asking if I’d like to try their root beer. It is all natural, but they assured me it wasn’t like some of the nasty ones I’d try. And I said … of course I said yes. I’d say yes if they said they’d made the worst root beer in the world and wanted confirmation, or if they said it was the most generic thing out there. I always say yes to trying root beer. Sunshine Bottle Works started making craft sodas in 2014, with a desire to make sodas to match the modern lifestyle of the Central Coast. In talking with the owner, he thought that all natural root beers should be judged in their own category, since they it isn’t fair competing against artificial ingredients. I disagree. With the exception of safrole, all ingredients of root beer can be natural, and sassafras root extracts with the safrole removed are fine to use. It’s just more expensive. I’ve had plenty of amazing all natural root beers and plenty of artificial garbage. What you do with the ingredients and how you proportion them is far more important then whether they are all natural or not. And, if you do it right, the all natural ones should end up better. Real vanilla, honey, and spices can taste much better than the fake, if mixed at the proper ratios. So no, it’s perfectly fair to compare the natural to the not all naturals. And how did they do? You already saw the Seal up top, they nailed it.

It’s got a nice sweet, creamy body with wintergreen and birch notes. The Bite is a little sharp with spices but doesn’t finish as smooth as I prefer. The Head is nice and tall and foamy, just how I like it. The Aftertaste is a nice vanilla with some minty hints.

This is quite a fine brew, even when compared against those with the “unfair” advantage. They had nothing to worry about. Let this continue to be the lesson to you all. Great brews need more than just great ingredients, they need those ingredients to be expertly prepared, such preparation is in adequate supply at the Sunshine Bottle Works. Good job. See how it rates against other root beers.

Twisted Root Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Jun 072017

Twisted Root Root Beer Bottle From a family owned and operated Ocean City Brewing Company in Ocean City Maryland comes this Twisted root beer, but it’s actually Twisted Root Root Beer, which makes spell check angry. You might think that it’s some mistake of mine, misinterpreting their original intent, but the label picture clearly has trees with twisty roots. For whatever reason they thought the double “root” was a necessity. Perhaps they did it so as to be able to pour it into a square glass and not have it turn into regular beer. If you square root root beer you’ll get beer after all. I should have asked them when I ordered it. I was more concerned about getting them to send me some at all. Some places can be finicky about that sort of thing. It joins Maine Root as the only other brand (that I know of) with the whole double root-ness.

The Body is rich and creamy and sweet and delicious. There’s cinnamon and vanilla accenting the rooty core with caramel undertones. Yum! The Bite is mild and pleasant with a smooth finish. The Head medium and frothy, lingering through the drinking experience. The Aftertaste is a mild vanilla with some hints of wintergreen coming through.

This is a proper root beer. It’s well balanced and has the quintessential creamy root beer flavors, with some added spices for an extra zip, but not too much. This is the sort of root beer you can drink time and again and it’ll never get old. That being said, it doesn’t completely blow me. It get’s 4 kegs and the Seal of Approval. See how it rates against other root beers.

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