Small Town Brewery Not Your Father's Root Beer (5.9%)

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%

Reported IBUs: ?

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'.

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. 

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.