Americana

With pure cane sugar, organic honey, and extracts of licorice and sassafras root, this promises to be a top notch brew. We need a good root beer to break our losing streak, is this it?

John: The initial scent is complex and captivating, with essences of vanilla, honey, and licorice. The taste is extraordinary: So many flavors perfectly balanced, and none overbearing: the honey adds body and mild sweetness to the brew, and is balanced nicely against the licorice and sassafrass root spices, with only a hint of vanilla and nutmeg to round out the flavor. It is not too sweet a root beer, nor is it too herbal and spicy--all the flavors are in perfect proportion. Americana has depth and complexity without overdoing it. The aftertaste is clean and does not linger too long. This is a really, really good root beer. ****

Jo: There's just nothing wrong with this root beer. Its all around good flavors, mild sweetness, and old fashioned routiness is a winner! ****

FRED: EXCELLENT ROOT BEER. MANY SUBTLE FLAVORS. VERY SATISFYING. ****

Berghoff's Famous Chicago Root Beer

Berghoff's was a famous old time Chicago restaurant that among other things was known for its fresh draft, homemade root beer! While the restaurant is now defunct, the brew survives and is rated highly among many root beer enthusiasts. Today, we see if we can break our losing streak of reviewing medicore bottles and find something to celebrate for a change!

John:

1st taste: "Wow, this is delicious. Four stars for sure!"

2nd taste: "Actually, it's a little too syrupy and sweet, not as good as i first thought. 3 stars though."

3rd taste: "Ugh. That aftertaste is too sugary and lingers. I don't want to drink any more, but I'll finish out the glass to be fair. 2 stars.

4th taste. "This aftertaste is disgusting; it's like artificial sweetener. And I can't get rid of it. My mouth is coated in this stuff and it's gross. Only root beer in history to go from four stars down to one in less than 2 minutes. I still can't get rid of that foul aftertaste. Please Bring Dr. Brown's back to wash it down! *

FRED: FIRST TASTE IS DECIEVING. THE RATING GOES DOWN WITH TIME. TOO SWEET AND SYRUPY. BIT GUMMY. AFTERTASTE LINGERS SWEETNESS. **(revised--see below)

FRED (revised via phone communication): "LOWER MINE TO A ONE. I STILL HAVE THAT [EXPLETIVE] AFTERTASTE AND IT'S AWFUL." *

Mason's Root Beer

Mason's is an old time Atlanta brew that dates from 1947. We know those southern boys like their tea sweet. What about their root beer?

John: The most interesting thing about Mason's is that it has a slight fruity or berry flavor. The only other brew we've encountered so far that has had fruit overtones was A.J. Stephan's Sarsaparilla (see review below). ***

FRED: PRETTY GOOD OLD ROOT BEER. A BIT FRUITY AND PLEASANT. ***

Waialua Root Beer

The first and probably only Hawaiian root beer to make our list, Waialua is a pure Hui tonic marketed to Haolis like us! Brewed with Hawaiian sugar cane and Hawaiian vanilla extract, there's only one thing left to do: Drink it, Kook!

John: The initial scent is sweet and strong with delicious aromas of vanilla. Unfortunately, the scent proimises something that the taste doesn't even remotely deliver. In fact, it's the opposite: bitter, medicinal, like quinine. That being said, I didn't find it unpleasant, it's just very different; like moving from a fish up to a big gun. It was an unreal experience, but this stuff is basically Barney water, so i'm bagging it. **

FRED: IF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN TO HAWAII AND ENJOYED THE PEACEFULLNESS AND TRANQUILITY OF THE ISLANDS, THE SOOTHING OF THE WARM WATERS AND THE TROPICAL BREEZES THEN DONT DRINK THIS ROOT BEER.; HOWEVER IF YOU FEEL SICK WITH TOURISTA THEN THIS MIGHT BE THE SHOT YOU NEED. MEDICINAL AND UNPLEASANT.*

Faygo Original Root Beer

Faygo sodas have enjoyed success and popularity in the midwest for over 100 years. But more importantly to us, in 2009 Bon Appetit magazine named Faygo the best tasting American root beer, profiling it as "dry and crisp, with a frothy head, a good bite and a long finish." This stuff must be good! Let's find out if those food snobs know what they're talking about.

John: On one hand, there is nothing out of the ordinary about this brew, but on the other hand, that's its strength: if you had to describe root beer to an alien race, you could just hand them a Faygo. Its root beer flavor is simple yet sophisticated: rooty, but a strong splash of peppermint accounts for its crisp bite. It's not too sweet and the mint aftertaste lingers long enough to prompt another swill. Refreshing and good. ***

FRED: JUST AN OLD TIME ROOT BEER WITH LITTLE FLAVOR AND BORING. **

Whiskey the Root Beer Cat!

Let's take a moment out from our busy lives to say hello to Whiskey (Boobers), the official Root Beer Cat of routebeer.blogspot.com!

John: Soft and fuzzy, tolerant, and very patient. Cute and relaxed but more friendly to some than others. ****

Jo: Extra digits. Costumes. Fluffy. What's not to like? ****

FRED: JUST A GOOD OLD FASHIONED CAT **

Dog n' Suds

Dog n' Suds talks a good game, but underneath the facade lurks a thoroughly mediocre root beer.

John: First of all, I don't know where the suds are. As you can see in the photo, the liquid surface is completely flat. It's not that the taste is bad... it just doesn't really taste like anything. Some caramel/butterscotch accents can be detected in the flavor, but that's about it. It's like they left some ingredients out. It's worse straight out of the bottle--a dirty metallic tang affects the beverage making it almost unpleasant to consume. **

FRED: AVERAGE BUT BORING. NOT MEMORABLE. **

Columbia Soda Works Sarsaparilla

So is sarsaparilla root beer or isn't it? Some sarsaparillas are indistinguishable from root beer, and some (like today's subject) don't really taste like root beer at all! In fact, my associate on this blog didn't even want to review it because he didn't think it qualified as root beer. But I convinced him that our legion of fans deserved every shred of information we could provide in this survey, and that view carried the day.

Columbia is an old gold mining town in the foothills of the California sierras. A neat little place, Columbia Soda Works claims to be "bringing back the taste of the Old West" with "A taste as rich as the Mother Lode!" Can their sarsaparilla live up to that claim... or is it just another load?

John: Very strong and unique flavor, with very prominent licorice and fennel in the scent and in the taste. Definitely a taste as rich as the Mother Lode. The problem is that it's a little too sweet, a little too syrupy, a little too licoricey. It gets 3 stars for its unique boldness and initial good taste, but only 2 for full-bottle drinkability. **

FRED: CLOSE TO ROOT BEER BUT MORE LICORICE FLAVOR. SWEET AND SYRUPY. **

Sioux City Root Beer

Okay, back on track after that Dr. Brown's debacle. Sioux City presents itself like something that might be found hiding in an old west saloon, cradled gently in the palm of Doc Holliday or Wyatt Earp as they play a friendly round of Jick, Jack, Jenny, and the Bean Gun. Now we'll tell you what we think, shooting straight from the hip.

John: Good stuff. Not a fancy, gourmet style root beer, this stuff does indeed taste more "western,"--woodsy with prominent tones of sassafrass root, yet gentle on the palate. The sweetness is balanced nicely with the spices. This is a gentleman's root beer. Easy to drink and refreshing at any time. ***

FRED: GOOD OLD FASHIONED ROOT BEER. BIT TOO SWEET AND SYRUPY.***

Dr. Brown's Original Root Beer

Dating all the way back to 1869, Dr. Brown's is a famous New York city root beer! The soda's creator--a pediatrician--originally treated the children in his neighborhood with his own celery-flavored soda before branching out into brewing root beer. But enough of the history lesson, we're concerned with only one issue: How does it taste?

John: Probably the quickest-dying foam of any root beer yet. The flavor is weak and the aftertaste borders on rancid. Perhaps we got an original bottle left over from 1869? Hands down the worst root beer we've reviewed so far, it was like choking down medicine to finish it. Maybe it's better out of a can. *

Jo: As far as being a “Flavor Favorite” as the bottle promises, I have to disagree. The flavor didn’t offer anything special that you want in a root beer, it was more like dirt beer. A special dirt brew with bitter afternotes. Kind of like coming down with a flu- at first you feel a little off, and as time goes on you get progressively assaulted by the virus and you just have to tough it out till it’s out of your system. *

FRED: AWFULL. NOT WORTH A REVIEW. TASTES STALE. *

Sea Dog and Capt'n Eli

Today we have a dual entry on account of the suspicious similarities noted between two root beers: Sea Dog and Capt'n Eli. Oddly, both contain identical ingredients ("Water, cane sugar, caramel coloring, natural & artificial flavors including wintergreen oil, anise, and vanilla, spices, herbs, citric acid, and sodium benzoate as a preservative") and both are brewed and bottled by companies out of Portland, Maine. Obviously there is some story here, but the real question is: do they taste the same? And, if not, which one is better? We did not shrink from the challenge, and we found some answers.

John: The initial pour showed that Capt'n Eli's yielded a much foamier head than did Sea Dog's, and the color of the foam was different, too: Captian Eli's had more of a caramel tinge, while Sea Dog's looked like white caps foaming off the Atlantic coast. As for taste, I won't keep you in suspense: Capt'n Eli's sent Sea Dog down to Davy Jones' Locker. Eli's had more vanilla/caramel flavor and a better balance all around; Sea Dog was like a weaker version of Eli, only with more wintergreen extract, and less taste. Eli's gets **** easy; Sea Dog has to settle for ***. It's not an offensive root beer--just not great.

JoJo: Capt'n Eli: I'm happy I pulled Capt'n Eli's out of my fridge. This is a well-rounded, easy to drink root beer with lots of vanilla and good effervescence. The mild biterness keeps the sweetness in check. I'll even drink the whole bottle. ****

FRED: CAPT'N ELI. FROTHY FLAVORFULL AND TASTY. ****

SEA DOG: GOOD BUT NOT SPECIAL. SIMILAR TO ELI BUT LITTLE BITTERNESS, **

Route 66 Root Beer

Today's contender is another newbie looking to cash in on the nostalgia beverage market: Route 66 Beer. Among the items of interest on the ingredients label is the comparatively low amount of sugar used (28g--other root beers sometimes weigh in at 42 grams or higher), and the use of quillaia root extract (also known as Chinese Bark or Soapbark, and traditionally used among native Peruvians to cure dandruff and bronchitis).

John: Surprisingly mild. The quillaia extract gives a very mild root beer flavor. Not too sweet, although the aftertaste has a sugary quality that lingers. Good enough, but i don't need to drive down this road again. ***

FRED: MILD FLAVORFULL NOT TOO SWEET. REFRESHING. ****

A&W Root Beer

The one. The only. The classic. Two earth-changing events happened in 1919: The Versailles Treaty, and the creation of what would become the most celebrated and famous root beer of all time: A&W. But does it stand time's test? Can it hold its own against the armada of gourmet root beers we have been surveying on this blog? Now is the time to find out.

John: A root beer that doesn't let you down, A&W does indeed have that "frosty mug taste"--it tastes like an old fashioned root beer float with melted vanilla ice cream, like it just came out of the soda jerk's tap. This root beer proves that you don't need gimmicks like "made with pure cane sugar" or copious amounts of anise and nutmeg to brew a top notch root beer. As you can see from the empty glass, we drank it all, enjoying every drop. A true American classic. ****

FRED: NOTHING FANCY JUST GOOD OLD ROOT BEER.FROTHY MILD AND SWEET. PERFECT FOR BLACK COWS. ****

A.J. Stephan's Sarsaparilla

Sarsaparilla is the afficianado's root beer. And since we're root beer afficianados, we'll sample any sarsaparilla we can find. Today we're going after a Boston Brew: A.J. Stephan's.

John: This stuff surpised us both--when we poured it out, it had a purple tinge to it! Kind of syrupy in texture, I noticed a grape-like flavor right off the bat, giving way to sassafras root and oily fennel taste. The pure cane sugar sticks to your teeth afterwards. Yummy. ***

Fred: DEFINITELY FROM ROOT BEER FAMILY BUT SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT. STICKY AND GUMMY BUT MILD AND SWEET. SYRUPY AFTERTASTE. ***

Fitz's Premium Root Beer

An old time root beer that boasts an original recipe from 1947, Fitz's is a classic from a bygone era!

John: This is a sweet root beer, lots of sugar. But that's okay because the flavors are so good. Smooth and creamy with a touch of vanilla, it goes down easy. As you swallow more flavors evolve, like caramel and candy corn. A bit of licorice at the end. Very delicious, easy to drink. ****

Fred: CREAMY MILD SMOOTH AND SWEET. LASTING AFTERTASTE. ****

Sparky's Fresh Draft Root Beer

Sparky's Root Beer, out of Monterey, California, claims to be "leading the Root Beer Revival," with their homemade, kettle-brewed root beer. They brew with pure cane sugar, honey, and "natural ingredients."

John: The scent when you open the bottle is powerful and sweet. A great smelling root beer. This is a different tasting beverage. The honey gives it a full body and considerable sweetness, but the sweetness is offset by other spices, such as fennel and peppermint. A hint of eucalyptus extract suggests the California Coast. This is a great dessert beverage, in small doses. But an entire bottle is a challenge. A powerfully individualistic root beer. ***

Jo: Not only can I handle Sparky’s, I can handle a whole bottle and enjoy it. So take that bro. I liked the smooth honey vanilla flavor, and pungent root beer scent. My custom blend would have a little less honey flavor, but it was very unique, and good. ***

FRED: STRONG ANISE WITH SWEETNESS OF HONEY. LONG AFTERTASTE. HARD TO TAKE TOO MUCH. **

Olde Rhode Island Molasses Root Beer

Olde Rhode Island is a heavy, black, full-bodied root beer. Allegedly made from "an old New England recipe," you can imagine this being consumed by hearty fishermen along with a bowel of thick clam chowder after a long, hard day at sea. Dense and syrupy, the beverage more closely resembles a hefty stout beer than a root beer.

John: The first taste of this root beer surprises one with a complex but not overly-sweet flavor. A hint of molasses and mint fill out the thick-bodied brew. After a few swallows it becomes heavy and difficult to finish. By the end, it's just too much, even though I was splitting only a single bottle with my dad. Still, it has a very unique flavor profile and something everyone should try once. ***

FRED: INITALLY GREAT TASTE BUT AFTER A FEW SWALLOWS, IT SEEMS HEAVY AND OVERPOWERING. A FULL GLASS WOULD BE DIFFICULT. **