As
a refresher to the readers of this blog, I didn’t really like Thomas Kemper‘s root beer all that much, but everything else I’ve tried from this craft soda maker is a clear winner. Their Orange Cream soda was fantastic, and the Black Cherry follows suit. The first sip hit with a brisk, surprising sour and almost biting strong black cherry flavor. This impression was quickly offset a bit by the honey used to sweeten the soda. It’s a very true flavor to the fruit it’s named after, and almost makes me thing they squeezed a bunch of black cherries, added some hney and cane sugar and brewed it a bit. The rich and full flavor lasted throughout the soda without ever becoming too sweet or thick. This is natural soda at it’s best, and I’m looking forward to trying more of their flavors.
www.tksoda.com
Monthly Root Beer Rating:9
I picked this soda up at World Market. They occasionally have interesting sodas and other curiosities. I had seen this many times and decided to give it a try. Apparently, the Pig Iron is a barbecue joint in Seattle claiming to be very authentic to southern barbecue. Now, being from NC, and currently living very close to the epicenter of the world’s best barbecue (Lexington, NC), I’m a bit skeptical. But, one thing I can verify is that they make a damn fine cola.
Simply put, this tastes like Coke should taste. It tastes like I remember Coke tasting when I was a kid. It tastes not too differently from those magical Mexican Cokes you can find periodically here and there that are made with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. My only complaints were that it was slightly too sweet and thick in mouthfeel. Very enjoyable for a cola and I would definitely drink again.
http://www.pigironbbg.net
Monthly Root Beer Rating: 8
Another find at the Dixie Classic Fair in Winston Salem, NC was the RICHardson’s Root Beer booth. RIChardson’s is a classic root beer that you don’t see much any more. The stand I bought mine from kept the root beer in one of the original casks (pictured to the left). While not as gimmicky an experience as Hillbilly Bob’s, this was by far the superior root beer. The vendor sold root beer in $.50, $1.50 and $2.50 cups. Served without ice, and freshly pulled out of the keg, the root beer was smooth and creamy. Not very complex, but it reminded me of original A&W when you could still buy it on draft from A&W stores. It was very tasty and lightly chilled, hitting the spot on a day that was just beginning to warm up. This will be a booth I visit every year at the fair…
Monthly Root Beer Rating: 8.5
Hillbilly Bob - Photo credit, hillbillybobsoda.com
I found this booth at the Dixie Classic Fair this past weekend! The fair was a veritable cornucopia of homemade root beer, and of course I had to try at least two. Hillbilly Bob’s definitely had the most colorful presence, as shown in the picture here. A little research taught me that Hillbilly Bob’s is a local business to Charlotte, NC and sets up stands like this at many fairs and other public events in western NC. The root beer is served draft style in cans, the type of cans that you buy soup in, just not used yet. It’s a neat little trick, and a pretty cool drinking experience. They also make and serve Cream Soda, Black Cherry and Grape sodas. All sodas are handmade with pure cane sugar.
Now, as for the root beer; first, the guy scooped the can into a big cooler chest of ice (a big mistake to me), and then wouldn’t give me just root beer without ice after I asked. So, I was a little pissed, considering a can of root beer costs $5. Anyway, the taste was pretty heavily carbonated, and kind of light with a cutting crisp flavor. I always find that the flavor is deadened when there’s a lot of ice. So, it was a nice refreshing drink on a hot day, but I really would have rather tasted the root beer. This was a nice and unique experience, and if I see Hillbilly Bob’s again, I’ll give them another shot to give me a can without ice…
www.hillbillybobsoda.com
Monthly Root Beer Rating: 7
A friend of mine on dailymile.com (Jeni H – http://www.dailymile.com/people/JeniH) sent me a 6-pack of this root beer, as she is very considerate and knows about this site and wanted to support my “habit”. Thanks, Jeni!
This root beer has a pretty great back story, as Dorothy Molter apparently went into the North Woods of Minnesota and took up residence on the Isle of Pines in Knife Lake. Here, she operated a “resort” (a few cabins) that she inherited from the previous caretaker and in the process of living there for half a century became a local legend. She made and sold root beer to visitors and travelers, and was know far and wide as “The Root Beer Lady” with a catch phrase of “kwitchurbeliakin”.
Great story, and you can read more of it on the site below. The actual root beer, although nicely packaged seems like a neutered homage to the kind of root beer a lady like Dorothy Molter must have made by herself with all natural ingredients. Nicely carbonated, the rest of the ingredients include High Fructose Corn Syrup and a lot of synthetic ingredients that Dorothy herself didn’t have access to and probably never heard of. It actually kind of tastes like a formulaic root beer syrup that has Acacia and Quillaia extract added to it. Not unpleasant, just not great or distinguished at all.
Jeni says that she is sending another variety from Minnesota that she admits is better, and I’m looking to get a nice little Minnesota/Maine rivalry going on here. Thanks again, Jeni!
www.rootbeerlady.com
Monthly Root Beer Rating: 6 (bonus points for back story)
a refresher to the readers of this blog, I didn’t really like Thomas Kemper‘s root beer all that much, but everything else I’ve tried from this craft soda maker is a clear winner. Their Orange Cream soda was fantastic, and the Black Cherry follows suit. The first sip hit with a brisk, surprising sour and almost biting strong black cherry flavor. This impression was quickly offset a bit by the honey used to sweeten the soda. It’s a very true flavor to the fruit it’s named after, and almost makes me thing they squeezed a bunch of black cherries, added some hney and cane sugar and brewed it a bit. The rich and full flavor lasted throughout the soda without ever becoming too sweet or thick. This is natural soda at it’s best, and I’m looking forward to trying more of their flavors.
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