Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Sprecher Bootleggers Bourbon Barrel Hard Root Beer

I love Root Beer.  I love alcohol.  So this seemed to be a match made in heaven.  Like puppies and rainbows, peanut butter and chocolate.  Or fish fingers and custard.

Friends, run, do not walk, away from this brew.

I had the opportunity to try this at the Sprecher Restaurant in the Wisconsin Dells, and was super excited to try it- not only was it Hard Root Beer, they offered a Hard Root Beer Float!  How could I be expected to resist that?

It tastes neither like beer or root beer.  You get a little bit of licorice on your initial taste, and an odd, oak-y aftertaste (possibly from the bourbon barrels)?  Yet it doesn't really taste like bourbon, either.  There's a bit of a grainy taste, too, more barley than malt.

I really can't recommend this.  If you want to get buzzed with your Root Beer, order a shot of the hard stuff on the side.

Couldn't find an ingredient list, as I got this on tap, but it has a 5% ABV.


Thursday, September 5, 2013

Strawberry Zevia

First off, Zevia is a stevia-sweetened pop.  It is not going to taste like sugar.  It does not taste like splenda or saccharine or aspartame.  You need to know this going into it because you will not be happy with this soda if you expect it to taste like a regular, sugar based soda. 

Zevia is an aquired taste. 

Yet when you can't have artificial sweeteners or sugar on a daily basis, it suddenly tastes like the most awesome soda EVER.

The best way to get used to a stevia-sweetened pop is by tasting an unusual flavor.  You'll notice the "off" taste more if you're drinking cola than if you're drinking something that you don't typically drink.

I give you Strawberry Zevia.

The ingredients are simple:  CARBONATED WATER, ERYTHRITOL, NATURAL FLAVORS, CITRIC ACID, REB A (STEVIA EXTRACT).

None of these are scary ingredients, and they won't spike your blood sugar.  Stevia is an herb that is naturally many times sweeter than sugar.  Erythritol is a sugar alchohol that is used to improve the flavor of stevia, it has far less side effects than other sugar alcohols like malitol. (Your mileage may vary)

So...what does it taste like?  Bubble gum.  In a good way.  It has a great amount of carbonation and no sugary mouth feel.  I highly recommend it if you can't drink traditional diet sodas.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Killebrew Root Beer

I really wanted to like Killebrew Root Beer.  I've tried it for the first time at a Saint Paul Saints game and was excited to try it- a local, baseball themed beer at a baseball game!  Sadly, it did not live up to the hype.

It comes in a strange aluminum bottle.  I'm wondering if that is part of the problem, as I've tried several bottles and they are all so lightly carbonated to the point of being flat.

It is very sweet.  It is sweetened both with my nemesis, high fructose corn syrup and honey.  I tend not to be a fan of honey sweetened root beers as they tend to have a surprisingly bland taste, and this is no exception.  It also has a very sugary feel on your mouth, and I was looking for a glass of water after drinking this to get the sticky feeling to go away.

I do not recommend this root beer, other than for the novelty of the aluminum bottle.

Ingredients:  Pure natural spring water, high fructose corn syrup, pure Minnesota honey, caramel color, natural and artificial flavors, and citric acid.

Cock 'n Bull Ginger Beer

Picture
I found this ginger beer in a truckstop on our way home from our vacation- after 3 hours of driving I was ready for a little something.  Sadly a sharp left turn out of the parking lot left me wearing more of this ginger beer than I got to drink, but what I had gave me a good idea of what this brew is all about.

First of all, it has a nice, sharp ginger taste.  You'd think that would be obvious, but I've had quite a few ginger beers and ales that had a weird fruity taste, either from their sweeteners or something else.  This one has real sugar, and it really makes a difference in the taste and mouth feel.  This was a nice mix of spicy ginger with just enough sweetness to make it drinkable, it'll warm your tummy and tickle your sinuses.  Good carbonation, and the label makes me giggle.  I would buy this one again, I like it on its own and it would be great in a mixed drink. 

Ingredients:  Carbonated Water, Real Sugar, Citric Acid, Caramel Color, Natural Flavors, and less than 1/10 of 1% Sodium Benzoate as a preservative.

A & W Diet Root Beer

My first job ever was at a waitress in a tiny town at the local A&W.  I lasted a whole 3 months - clearly waitressing was not my thing.  I developed amazing biceps that summer from hoisting trays of the frosty glass mugs out to the cars- we had both indoor seating and carhop service.  I never drank the root beer there, though, after seeing how the open vats were stored down in the basement.  Ick.  (Note, if you enjoy a restaurant, never, EVER tour the kitchen or you'll never eat there again.)

Of course, the stuff you buy in the store is a far cry from the draft root beer you get at the restaurant. I've pretty much given up all diet soda's since I can't handle aspartame anymore, but this was left by a guest in my fridge and I got desperate.  And...it's alright.  They bill it as "vanilla root beer" and it is as good a description as any.  A very mild root beer flavor, nothing outstanding, typical mass-market carbonation and, since it is a diet soda, very light mouth feel.  I grew up drinking diet so I don't notice much of an aftertaste from the aspartame.  

The ingredients are somewhat scary:

Ingredients: Carbonated water, caramel color, sodium benzoate (preservative), natural and artificial flavors, aspartame, malic acid, Phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine.


If you have to drink a mass market pop, this isn't a bad choice, but if A&W is your only choice, I'd probably go for the cream soda over the root beer which has a more intense flavor.  If you're looking for something that won't compete with your food choice, this is a good pick.

Dorothy's Isle of Pines Root Beer

Picture What better way to start this blog than with the doyenne of Root Beer herself, Dorothy Molter?  Dorothy was a bad-ass nurse who lived by herself in the Boundary Waters for many years, who became known for her homemade root beer.  We discovered her museum on a recent trip to Ely, MN, which consists of her cabin (moved to the city after her death) and gift shop.  Yes, I bought the T-shirt.

Onto the root beer.  I wish I could have tried her homemade version, but all that's available these days is the mass-produced bottles.  Which are pretty good.  There is a nice blend of flavors, with an initial vanilla taste followed by the deeper licorice "root beer" taste.  No one ingredient really stands out, just a good, basic root beer, nice with dinner.  Not flat, but not super-carbonated, with a lighter mouth feel.  Sadly contains high fructose corn syrup.

Ingredients: Carbonated water, high fructose corn sweetener, natural and artificial flavor, caramel color, sodium benzoate (preservative), citric acid, acacia and quillaia extract

Order your own, and learn more about bad-ass Dorothy Molter here.  Better yet, plan a trip up to the Boundary Waters, visit the International Wolf Center, and have a root beer float made with Dorothy Molter root beer at the Chocolate Moose.  You'll thank me later.