Craft Root Beer Taste Test

ROOT BEER TasteTest

BY RYAN SPELTS In my opinion, there is nothing like a tall glass of cold root beer.

I have distinct memories of going to an A&W Restaurant as a boy with my dad. He would order root beers in frozen mugs. Yum! I recently sat down with Lance Peterson of Two Brothers Homes and Loans; he opened a small fridge under his desk and pulled out a couple of ice cold brews. They were Henry Weinhard’s brand of root beer. With one taste of its strong, yeasty, delicious root beer flavor, I was hooked. Over the next couple of months, I started buying craft root beers any time I saw them at stores. Surprisingly, there are many to choose from, even some local Utah brands. History and Ingredients

Root beer originated right here in North America. In fact, it is sometimes unpopular in other countries, with people stating it tastes like medicine to them. Many people back in the 1800s had recipes for root beer. (Think chili cookoffs, but for root beer.) Historically, root beer was sold in candy shops as a syrup that people could mix on their own, and it was enjoyed non-carbonated. In the 1850s, it was combined with soda water and started becoming the family favorite it is today. The first major commercial root beer was Hires, which was sold in small packets of powder that would make

Root beer was traditionally brewed with sassafras root as the primary ingredient. Today, it is almost always made with imitation flavoring, because cancer-causing agents were found in sassafras. Other flavors, like vanilla,

five gallons of root beer. A&W, arguably the most recognized root beer company, was started in 1919 when Roy Allen partnered with Frank Wright. Barq’s is the largest seller due to its current ownership by Coca-Cola Company and its distribution in restaurants nationwide. It was originally created by the Barq’s brothers and an employee. licorice, ginger, butterscotch, birch bark, and many more are often added. There is not a set recipe for root beer, so you will find many variations. The traditional dark brown color came from the brew, which is water boiled down with the roots and other ingredients to create what is called a wort, and from the sweetener, molasses.

Made and Sold in Utah

In doing research for this article, we came across The Root Beer Store in Sandy, Utah. A local family started the root beer-focused store and has plans to expand to Boise and other locations. We stopped in, talked with the owner, and bought 18 different craft root beers. The owner said most people don’t know the difference between sarsaparilla and root beer because they start with the same root. The major difference is that root beer includes other flavors, like I mentioned before.

The Root Beer Store brings in a new flavor each month, and when popular, they keep it in stock. They showed us the local brews. If you have been in a restaurant that offers Apple Beer by SodaBeers, you are drinking soda made by a Utah company out of American Fork. We also tasted one in a can by Taproot, another Utah company. This particular option is unique because they use the original roots, not “natural” or “artificial flavors,” which is common in the ingredients of sodas nowadays. Brigham’s Brew is made by Wasatch Brewery, a popular beer and root beer brewer in Utah. It fared well with our testers, as you will see, although Koby didn’t like it and claimed it “tastes like polygamy” – whatever that means.

The store owner told us that there are two basic types of root beers: dark and light. The darker flavors are stronger, and you will taste the ingredients more strongly. Light versions are more subtle. The Taste Test

We did a taste test, and all of us were surprised at how varied the flavors were. We had a great time, though most got a little overloaded after tasting 22 different flavors. We kept the serving sizes small, but it still added up. We had to start eating crackers in between to clear our palettes. I have included the ages of the tasters so you can see some perspective in their opinions.

TASTERS' reactions TASTERS' reactions

CAMRYN SPELTS (19)

Favorite: Brigham’s Brew This test, sadly, may have ruined root beer for me. When I originally was asked to join in on the testing, I thought that root beer would all taste the same. I was so wrong. Root beer has so many flavors, and most of them I did not like in the slightest. Some tasted yeasty, which was nasty, and some tasted like vanilla or licorice. I personally loved the OG brands (Barq’s and A&W), because they were the very few that tasted like root beer and were super simple without being too sweet.

KOBY SPELTS (21)

Favorite: Margo’s Bark It was cool to experience all the different kinds of root beers. I didn’t expect there to be so many different flavors. There were some good ones that I had never tried before. My favorite was Margo’s Bark because it had a unique flavor and I liked the taste.

LUCY SPELTS (14)

Favorite: Frostie I think most of them were a little gross, but there were a few that I really liked. I picked Frostie brand as my favorite because it was really good, but I wouldn’t use it in a root beer float, because it already tastes like one, and it would be too sweet. My second choice would be Brigham’s Brew.

GREY SPELTS (11)

Favorite: Labrador There were a lot of pops, and they all had different flavors. I really didn’t like Bundaberg, but many of the others were really good. I really liked the Labrador brand root beer, it had the best flavor, and it tasted like actual root beer. ELLY SPELTS (17)

Favorite: Frostie I don’t particularly like root beer, so this was not my favorite activity.

ANN PARK (46)

Favorite: Brigham’s Brew For the record, 22 cups of root beer in a row was TOO MUCH. Still, it was interesting to sample all the different flavors. My favorite was Brigham’s Brew, which had a classic root beer flavor but was less sweet than Barq’s. Some of the dark, highly flavored drinks were good, but some of them taste a little like licorice, which isn’t my favorite. Frostie was yummy, with a tang of vanilla.

JULIE PARK (13)

Favorite: Frostie My favorite was Frostie. It had a unique flavor, and it wasn’t overpowering; it was just sweet enough. The one that tasted the most interesting was the Hippo Size. I put it in my mouth and thought, “This tastes like cherry chapstick, which is not normal for root beer.” After trying 22 kinds of root beer, it might be two to eight business years before I drink it again.

HAILEY MINTON (29)

Favorite: Rocket Fizz I found myself noticing the ones where sweetness was the shining factor. There were others where the flavor of the spices was the shining factor. Rocket Fizz was my number one. It had a bold spice flavor that was stronger than the sweetness of it. I would also go back to Capt’n Eli’s if given the chance. It would be a fun group date to get one different kind of root beer for each person, and taste test each of them. Our person-to-root beer ratio was pretty off, so we were all pretty sugared out by the end of the tasting.

RYAN SPELTS (46)

Favorite: Labrador I like full-flavored, dark root beers. I also enjoy sarsaparilla, ginger, licorice, and many of the unique ingredients often used to make root beer, so it’s no wonder that I enjoyed most of the drinks. Some had funky flavors or aftertastes that I didn’t really enjoy as much, but I could honestly drink most of them. I was also one of the only tasters who wasn’t totally overwhelmed by root beer. I could have kept going, and I did keep drinking many of them after the test was done. My overall favorite was Labrador, but there were many flavors that were close in the running, like Capt’n Eli’s, Ozark Mountain, Rocket Fizz, and Henry Weinhard’s. If I were you, I’d try them all.

Freddie’s:

Voted Favorite Label & Favorite Bottle Cap

tHE RATINGS tHE RATINGS (best to worst) (best to worst)

ROOT BEER BRAND

Frostie

Labrador

A&W

Frostop Fiz

Freddie’s

Barq’s

Brigham’s Brew

Steelhead

Hippo Size Rocket Fizz Dang! Henry Weinhard’s Margo’s Bark Fireman’s Brew Capt’n Eli’s Ozark Mountain Dad’s Death Valley SodaBeers (Utah) Utah Craft Taproot

Bundaberg

AVERAGE RATING 1 - 10 TASTING NOTES

7.6

This earned top score and most listed as the favorite among testers. This one tastes like a root beer float right out of the bottle because of the strong vanilla flavor. As Lucy mentioned, it wouldn’t be good for a root beer float because it would be overpowering. 7.31 The label lists butterscotch as an ingredient, which made this one my favorite.

6.65

This is the age-old classic. I will always have fond memories of those frosty mugs at A&W. You can still get them if the restaurant has some; you have to eat inside and just ask. I promise it makes a difference! 6.26 This is a classic brand with 350 restaurants worldwide. 6.03 Here is a light brew that received lots of middle-range scores. No one put this as their favorite, though. 5.72 It advertises Birch as an ingredient, and I can taste it. This has a good overall flavor.

5.72

This is my least favorite commercial brand. It is very basic and sweet with a chemical aftertaste that I simply don’t enjoy. I am disappointed if I see Barq’s on a soda fountain; however, some marked this very high. 5.64 This is a local brew with traditional flavors too plain for some testers; it was a favorite of others. 5.53 Root Beer This does not taste like fish, although it is sweetened with honey, and I could taste that coming through. 5.45 FEATURE This has a unique flavor outside of the normal root beer flavor profile. 5.4 This has a strong cloves flavor. I recommend this one

5.3

This has an average root beer flavor. 5.18 This is the one that Lance started it all with. I like it, though it does have a stronger yeast flavor, and it was too sweet for several testers. 5.08 Here is a popular choice for those who like dark brews. 4.67 This brew was neither loved nor hated.

4.4

4.4

This brand received some of the highest and lowest marks. Again, this drink had some of the highest and lowest marks. It is a dark brew that was full of flavor. 3.97 This has a basic root beer flavor and is on the sweet, light side of brews. 3.87 This had sharp licorice flavor. Some like it, some don’t. I personally love black licorice. 3.68 This is a very mild flavor and, as Hailey put it, not memorable.

2.37

1.74 This has strong flavors but isn’t as sweet. I think that made it score poorly in the taste test. I tried it again after a break and enjoyed the unique flavor much more than during the taste test. This had strong, unique flavors that most of us didn’t like. It is from Australia, and maybe they just like it different Down Under. This had one of the coolest bottles and bottle caps, though.

Note: There are a few root beer brands that you might be familiar with, like IBC, that are not included because they were not readily available, so we did our best with what we had. Keep in mind, there were no professional tasters among us. I have to admit, some of the scores surprised me. Some flavors were very polarizing, with some loving them and others hating them.

The A&W Barrel Café

By Cindy Jones

In the 1920s, as automobile ownership had become the norm across the United States, the nation’s first fast-food restaurants popped up in just about every state. At drive-ins, customers would park their cars and be waited on by carhops, who would take the order, report back to the kitchen, and bring burgers, fries, shakes, and sodas out to customers waiting in their automobiles. Quick and delicious greasy food on the go! It was all-American love at first sight.

The A&W Barrel Café was a fast-food icon right here in Clearfield, Utah. The unique restaurant offered a walk up counter for burgers, fries, and A&W root beer on tap, all housed inside a giant root beer barrel!

Ianthus H. Sr. and Alice Willey Barlow built the giant barrel on the site of the old Clark’s Blacksmith shop in 1927 in Clearfield, where Main and State Streets split: at approximately 50 South Main. Later, the Session family leased the restaurant, and the café became a favorite hangout for local teens. The Sessions operated the café from 1934 until 1941.

Burt and Donna Harmer and their business partner, Fay Atkinson, took the restaurant over in 1952 and owned the business for just over a year. The café closed its doors sometime in the late 1950s, but the Barrel Café was such a unique place to meet friends and grab a delicious treat, it was the talk of the town for years.