Root Beer Reviews (page 3)


	Henry Weinhard's Root Beer - Blitz-Weinhard Co., 1133 West Burnside St. Portland Oregon 97209. Rich and Hearty without being overbearing. It is heavy but not syrupy sweet. Excellent combination of ingredients that work well together, include honey essence. vanilla and acacia sassafras extract. Serve with Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream for the best root beer float.
	IBC Root Beer - Independant Breweries Company, Dallas TX IBC has been around "since 1919" however it wasn't until the 1970's it reached peak popularity. It lead the microbrewed root beer revolution by nearly three decades. A good starting point to rate other root beers against. Smooth and creamy root beer taste. Lacks the character some of the other brews have.
	Jerningham St. Olde Style Sasaparilla Bickfords Australia www.bickfords.net An aggresive aroma burst out of the bottle, It poured dark with a thick head. It started with a bold root-beer taste and ended with an even stronger bitter lemony-salt finish. Licorice dominated it's character with hints of wintergreen. This is not for the American palette. I was impressed with the small size of the bottle, about 8oz., and historic label. I really wanted to like this one. Perhaps I just live in the wrong place.
			Journey - Distibuted by Journey Food and Beverage Company Route 5 near Town Farm Road, Putney, VT 05346 Journey carves it niche in the market by reproducing old and unusual recipes on sometimes a limited basis. Mainly for the root beer enthusiast. The recipes are "soft brewed." "Soft Brew is a steeping of botanical herbs, roots and spices by a unique time and temperature method. This unique 'botanical tea' is then folded into a fine balance of natural sweeteners and cold purified sparkling water." Their most popular root beer is the Shenandoah Sassafras Root Beer. The herbs and spices are clearly evident. Overpowering to a few drinkers. Ingrediants include: safrole free sassafras root bark honey and star anise. John Barleycorn is one of the old/unusual recipes. The label says "Nutty, Malty, Foamy." It's Right! hints of wintergreen in the finish. Another of the odd/unusual recipes is Desert Sage. This root beer tastes green. Green as in fresh. Green as in light. Green as in herbal. Yup! There are many other recipes, check back for updates.
	Lost Trail Root-Beer Lost Trail Root-Beer Co. With a western theme on the bottle, this brew had the earmarks of a serious root-beer. A pleasant root-beer aroma followed by a medium head in the glass preceded my first sip. It was a sweet brew that tasted similiar to the root-beer barrel candy, and it was welcome. The color was a bit pale, but the genuine taste made up for this. The label includes an authentic diary entry of a lost settler from some 150 years ago. This is the kind of brew that makes root-beer an experience.
			Mianeroot. Root-beer & Sasaparilla All Natural Maineroot, llc 9 Libby st., Scarborough, ME 04074 www.maineroot.com Instead of useing refined sugar, this brew boasts something new, organic evaporated cane juice. After checking out their web site, I was comforted to know that they still use sugar, but in a more natural form. But really, the proof is in the pudding or shall we say root-beer. The brew had a fruity smell that took me by surprise, but when poured, it had a dense head and rich color. The taste was a clean well rounded flavor. Smoother than any I've ever had. The spices blended together to produce an authentic root-beer taste, that was one of the most refreshing and drinkable I've had. This root-beer left me craving another. Unfortunately, the Sasaparilla was lacking in any flavor other than sugar. I suspect this came from an authentic sasaparilla recipe since sasaparilla root by itself is extremely mild in flavor. Hunt out the root-beer, it's worth the effort.
	Mendocino Root Beer - Taubolds Private Reserve. Mendocino Soda Pop Company, 179 Jewett Street, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 707-961-1442 A local favorite. Label by local artist Tim Taubold
	Monterey Soda Root-Beer The Monterey Beverage Company 18715 Vasquez Ct., Salinas CA 93908 www.montereysoda.com A tough thick head filled the glass, and the scent of brown sugar hovered above it. The dark brown brew was delightfully drinkable with a mild mollases taste woven through the brew. Even though hints of brown sugar mollases was detected from start to finish on this drink, it was not overbearing, but pleasant and unique.
	Mug Root Beer - Unlisted brewery. Too heavy. I could not finish the bottle. Perhaps it should be sold in the old fashioned eight once bottles. Too much sweetener and syrup.
	Natural Brew Handcrafted Draft Root Beer - Dist. by Juice Creations Co.Chico CA 95928 A complex combinations of flavors that clash instead of harmonizing. Ingrediants include: sweet birch, licorice root, sarsaparilla, cinnamon, clove, anise and wintergreen. Refreshing for a root beer.

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