Sprecher Hard Root Beer

Brewed By: Sprecher Brewing Company in Glendale, Wisconsin  

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Malt Beverage, 5.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

I've seen Sprecher's Hard Root Beer sitting on shelves for ages, so I decided to pick some up at a ridiculous price of $5.00 a 4-pack. About Sprecher: 

The Sprecher Brewing Compnay is a brewery based out of Glendale, Wisconsin. The company was founded in 1985 by Randal Sprecher, who was a brewing supervisor at Pabst Brewing Company. During 1985 to 1994, the brewery was located at 730 W. Oregon Street in Milwaukee, but the company outgrew its original facility and moved to Glendale in 1994. For more info, check out the brewery's history page. 

The Sprecher Hard Root Beer is "not your granddaddy's root beer." This is the adult version of their famous root beer.

Sprecher Hard Root Beer

The Hard Foot Beer pours out looking exactly like regular root beer, only with a couple of fingers of tan head. The head, surprisingly, sticks around for the long haul. This stuff is cola-like with a brown/purple body. In bright light, the beer takes on a swampy and murky brown appearance.

On the aroma: big root beer, some woody character, lots of spice. There's some nice sassafras, licorice, a little cherry/grape, and lots of cola goodness. It smells surprisingly earthy and medicinal, like good root beer, with minimal sweetness on the nose. 

This is pretty tasty, but right up front is a really sweet and spicy note that tastes like sweet grape or maraschino cherry, or something. Once that sweet note passes, you're hit with big wood, fired barrels, and then HUGE oak, vanilla, sassafras, more gentle vanilla, medicinal spice, and root beer. It's like...Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The front half of this beverage is overtly sweet and somewhat turbulent, but the back end delivers the goods. It's kind of a shame that it doesn't ride out the good vibes from start to finish. 

This has a medium-bodied mouthfeel, with good palate depth, duration, and complexity. It's actually pretty tasty as far as malt beverages go, and things move along with lots of carbonation. This isn't overly sweet at 5.0%, and that works to this drink's advantage. The only issue for me is the front 1/3 of this malt beverage. Up front: Overt sweetness, grapes, maraschino cherries, sweetness; that rolls into a decadent middle that features medicinal spice, oak, vanilla, barrel, wood, brilliant root beer and cola; the back end lingers with oak and vanilla, and cleans up nicely. You want to take another sip, and as you drink it the front end becomes less obnoxious.

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average here...this is a solid malt beverage, but nothing mind blowing. Compared to Small Town Brewery's Not Your Father's Root Beer, this has some work to do. But, that's not to say this is bad. It isn't. I'm really enjoying this, and it continues to sit on shelves everywhere. At the relatively cheap price this is sold for, and at the sessionable ABV, I could see myself picking this up for social gatherings and summer barbecues. I can't not recommend this, it's just a fun malt beverage.

Random Thought: Dat Not Your Father's Root Beer is fucking delicious.