Small Town Brewery Not Your Father’s Root Beer Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 10.7% ABV | 10 IBU (US$6.99 at Specs Main Houston, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 8-Mar-2017, reviewed 22-Mar-2017)
Appearance: clear deep brown with a short, short-lived white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: sugary root beer, alcohol, mint, cream, grainy malt. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate alcohol, mild bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium slick body, moderate carbonation, sweet slick warming finish. (3/5)
I deliberately passed on the lower-alcohol versions of this I’ve seen in the past, because I understood this version was “the one”. Well, all I can say is, if this is the one, don’t bother trying any of the others. Heck, don’t bother with this one unless you’re a major fan of root beer. And rubbing alcohol. I mean, it’s not actually terrible – there’s even a hint of beer-like grainy malt underneath the cloying sweetness and root beer extract – but up front it’s very much a hot sugary mess. If that’s your thing, have at it. Me, I’m gonna go brush my teeth for about an hour to try and scrub away the sugar. (12/20)
6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
