Brewed By: Small Town Brewery in Wauconda, IL
Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014
Style/ABV: Malt Beverage, 5.9%
If you need proof that beer geeks have a strong overlap with alcoholics, look no further than the Small Town Brewery and Not Your Father's Root Beer. Not Your Father's Root Beer is an alcoholic root beer that punches in at 5.9%, 10.7%, and 19.5%. You can guess which one beer geeks seek out. I have never quaffed the 19.5%...and maybe that's a good thing. I have no problem pounding 12oz draft pours of the 10.7% version. The beer is not only smooth as hell, but it has some of the best root beer flavor I have ever had. It's legitimately better than non-alcoholic root beer, as the alcohol brings a peppery spice and extra dimension of flavor. And did I mention this stuff is tasty? It makes Sprecher's Hard Root Beer look really crappy. Anyway, about Small Town Brewery:
Small Town Brewery is a small brewery based out of Wauconda, IL. The brewery was founded in 2010, and have become notorious for their boozy root beer. For more info, hit up their website or Facebook page.The 5.9% version of Not Your Father's Root Beer is available year-round, and at this point in time I am having no trouble finding it on shelves. As these things go, this really isn't a beer...but you know, fuck it. That wine tag...they see my trollin'.
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| Not Your Father's Root Beer (5.9%) |
The aroma on this is serious root beer with big vanilla, wood, medicinal spice, sassafras, cough syrup, molasses, and some serious cola. There is that amusement park candied sugar aspect, and big hard root beer candies. It's like a blast into my childhood, so I have to give this thing credit for making me drunk and making me feel like I'm 12.
As you can imagine, this tastes like root beer. This is super sweet, sugary, one-dimensional...but this is also really fucking good. It's like a top-tier root beer, with alcohol. You get that spicy bite up front, with some medicinal elements, sassafras, cola, dark fruits; the mids roll into more spice and some bubble gum sweetness; the back end dials up wood, vanilla, root beer candies, and tons of sugar.
There's not much to say...this isn't complex, but the palate depth is really good. This is basically a stickier, sweeter version of root beer...with alcohol. It is ridiculous how drinkable this is, and that scales up with the higher alcohol version as well. And by scales up I mean scales up inversely. Honestly, the 10.7% is the smoothest 10.7% thing I have ever consumed. Dangerous stuff.
Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this. There is a slightly grapey flavor in here that was present in the Sprecher Hard Root Beer that you don't get when you have this beer on tap (or at least the 10.7% version). It's not a problem though, and sort of integrates into this beer. It's definitely a component in a good root beer, but when it runs away it can cause trouble. In this case, no trouble. You can pair this stuff with anything, but I'm partial to sipping on it after a meal while watching TV or whatever. And by sipping I mean drinking the whole 6-pack. Damn.
Random Thought: So now that the Bear's season is over, I need to figure out who to root for. Suggestions are welcomed.
Good to see ya back in the saddle.
ReplyDeleteMyself and 5 other people tried the 19.5% variety, available in Ohio for $1.89/bottle. 4 of us liked the root beer taste when you initially took a drink, but absolutely hated the "nothing like root beer" medicinal aftertaste that hits immediately after swallowing. Only 1 person thought it was good, with no unpleasant aftertaste.
ReplyDeleteOverall, more people seem to like this beverage than dislike, so please don't take my word for it. Try it yourself. You'll probably enjoy it.
Myself and 5 other people tried the 19.5% variety, available in Ohio for $1.89/bottle. 4 of us liked the root beer taste when you initially took a drink, but absolutely hated the "nothing like root beer" medicinal aftertaste that hits immediately after swallowing. Only 1 person thought it was good, with no unpleasant aftertaste.
ReplyDeleteOverall, more people seem to like this beverage than dislike, so please don't take my word for it. Try it yourself. You'll probably enjoy it.
Myself and 5 other people tried the 19.5% variety, available in Ohio for $1.89/bottle. 4 of us liked the root beer taste when you initially took a drink, but absolutely hated the "nothing like root beer" medicinal aftertaste that hits immediately after swallowing. Only 1 person thought it was good, with no unpleasant aftertaste.
ReplyDeleteOverall, more people seem to like this beverage than dislike, so please don't take my word for it. Try it yourself. You'll probably enjoy it.