It's an easy DIY project...
Posted on 07/14/2015 4:12:09 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A few years ago, I helped open a World of Beer location in the Chicago suburb of Evanston. On opening night, we had 49 taps flowing mostly local brews: Revolution, Goose Island, Three Floyd’s. But one local draft, belonging to a mysterious little brewery called Small Town, was getting much more attention than the others. Its popularity surprised us, because A) no one had ever heard of Small Town Brewery, and B) the beer wasn’t beer at all, but root beer. A kick-your-ass 19.5 percent ABV root beer. Though we served the boozy brew in 10-ounce snifters — the standard glass for beers of high alcohol content, meant for sipping — those drinking it were gulping it down as if it were regular old A&W. They ordered second glasses. Then thirds. By the end of the night, these people were going out of their minds. A limit was soon put in place: two glasses per customer, max. Even then, we went through three kegs of the stuff in one weekend.
This isn’t to grant the products of Small Town Brewery any extra credit in terms of quality — customers go for the lowest cost/highest ABV option all the time. But it does show that there’s certainly a market for alcoholic root beer.
Why wouldn’t there be? Root beer — the standard, alcohol-free soda style — has been popular for more than a century. As is the case with many beer styles, the origins of the drink are ambiguous, but most historians believe it was developed in the 1870s by pharmacists. These crackpots, eager to invent a tonic that would cure any ailment, cooked up solutions spiked with juniper, dog grass, birch bark, or whatever roots and berries they could easily dig up. One of these pharmacists, Charles Hires, developed an
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Sounds nasty. For beer the more sour the better. In fact the very best is sour beer but it’s expensive because it is aged for two years in used wine, bourbon or what have you barrels.
I would LOVE to try Root Beer with alcohol. I am 100% sure it is not the same as spiking a non-alcoholic one.
Had some at my daughter’s pool party the other night.
Too strong for me.
I’m old and wimpy.
The millenials seemed to love it.
Some of us were talking about this just the other day...like to give it a whirl sometime.
I can attest to the awesomeness of this beverage, it has a 9% alcohol rate higher than beer, and it goes great with a scoop of ice cream. Unfortunately, I’m on a diet right now, so I have to wait for Sunday to roll around to crack open one of those babies.
It's an easy DIY project...
I’ve tried one; it was cloyingly sweet. Couldn’t finish it.
Had some on the Forth with ice cream, delicious!
At 19.5 percent ABV, one would kick my tea-totaling butt.
>>I’ve tried one; it was cloyingly sweet. Couldn’t finish it.<<
Thanks for the heads up. I can’t stand sweet drinks.
>>It’s an easy DIY project..<<
Looks like my evening is booked with a crossover of Food Network and HGTV :)
PFL
I love this stuff! It makes a killer root beer float!
It tastes like root beer, which is my favorite soda. I love this stuff, especially with a scoop of ice cream!
Sprechers makes a Hard root beer at around 5% and also make a hard ginger ale. I’ve had smalltowns stuff. They have a 5.9%, 10.7% and then the 19.5%
Yes, root beer is too sweet...
Time to go for the next thing.. alcoholic GINGER BEER.
Already sold in the UK and imported to specialty stores here...
Well that is a name from the past “Hires” Root beer. Do they still sell under that name?
>>Time to go for the next thing.. alcoholic GINGER BEER.<<
They have it at the Centurion Club at DFW — I liked it.
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