A New Root Beer Thread

I like Barq's myself, but there was some free A&W available today.

 

A new Chicago brewery goes back to Root Beer's origins:

In times long past, Root Beer was something far Nobler. It was more compelling than todays' faint shadow, brewed like real beer, using roots and herbs wrested from the earth.

Forbidden Root returns to that lost era. Malt and a pinch of hops are topped by a generous dollop of botanic ingredients which includes: wintergreen, vanilla, cassia cinnamon, fennel, nutmeg, cardamom, black pepper, ginger, clove, star anise, tarragon, basil, capsicum, patchouli, sandalwood, balsam of Peru, licorice root, yerba santa, cocoa, molasses and finally aged with oak to round off the flavor. As a result, the rich complexity and a long clean taste tells you this is not a soda, but traditional brew that is a delicious window into another age.

http://www.forbiddenroot.com/forbidden-root

 

I wanted to share the small epiphany that caused me to become one of the many corporate refugees flowing into the wonderful community of craft brewing.

First, you must know one of my deep, dark secrets: I was born without the shame gene and suffer from an overactive curiosity – two prerequisites to both ask and attempt to answer the question…’Where did Root Beer come from?’

As can be the case, the answer is the journey. No one in the last 100 years had attempted to create the answer in a glass. Why sleep when you can research old botanic recipes, plants, tree, roots, and spices to derive the ideal flavor and aroma? We found that our quest, like many, actually had roots in a prior path – one of botanic brewing, with a history recorded since the beginning of man’s fermenting.

I have rediscovered a world and a way to invite others in to enjoy with us. Color me Wonka, but I’m having the time of my life, foraging spice markets all over the world to see what we can do next.

http://www.forbiddenroot.com/blog

 

Frostie. You'll Love It!

 

Hires and Dad's.

Used to do Dad's root beer floats and popcorn on movie nights at home when I was a kid.

Remember watching "The Great Escape" during one.

 

I get free Mugg at work. It's okay I guess. I'm partial to the local Detroit brand called Faygo. Also the same stuff those crazy ICP guys drink. Don't let that deter you though. Normal people drink this stuff too. And it's cheap. You used to be able to get a 12 pack for like a dollar. Now it's like $2.

 

IBC. I'm not sure if that's a local thing, but I do like it.

More than that, Hosmer Mountain. It is a local thing, to Eastern Connecticut. http://hosmersoda.com/

Its root beer has brown sugar and sarsaparilla in it. Delicious on a summer day.

http://blog.gourmetrootbeer.com/2012/05/hosmer-mountain-sarsaparilla-root-beer/

 

Barq's used to be the best, when it came in the longneck bottles with the orange labels directly from the original manufacturer in Biloxi. The bottles with the blue labels, which you can still get, were originally distributed in Louisiana, I believe.

Since Coca-Cola bought the company, however, it's not as good, too much carbonation. My preference now is back to what it was when I was a teenager: A&W. We had an A&W drive-in in my home town and when I ran track, we used to go after practice, order a gallon of root beer, pass it around and guzzle it down.

 

Loved Frostie. We also had Mason's in WNY and that was tasty too. Could get it on draft at a local drug store that had a lunch counter.

Another treat growing up in WNY: Vernor's ginger ale, imported from Detroit.

Late add: Henry Weinhard's also makes a good root beer.

 

I despise root beer.

That is all.

 

I enjoy some IBC. The glass bottles are a nice touch.
I don't drink alcohol, but do like to occasionally get a six-pack of IBC from Kroger and drink it when you'd normally think of drinking a beer -- watching a game, chilling out in the evening, etc. The wife and I call it "Poserbrau."

 

Then WTF are you doing posting on this thread?

No, seriously -- that's OK. Some people here get bent out of shape when people dare to criticize their likes.