Bundaberg Root Beer (Australia)

I recently tried this root beer that hails from Australia.  I've seen this at BevMo, and the price is quite a bit more than other choices...so I suppose it could be considered delicacy in the world of U.S. root beer.  If you look close enough, at the top of label on the front of the bottle, there are instructions to "invert bottle before opening".  I really wan't sure what the point of this was, so I just assumed it was just an Australian thing, probably since they are below the equator and everything is upside down anyway.  Just kidding, but I did invert the bottle before opening just in case it would explode upon opening if I didn't.  I looked into this later and it turns out that some of the contents of this root beer tend to settle at the bottom, so inverting it will help the contents mix properly before consumption.

What was most memorable about this root beer was the unique cap, which was a combination of a pull top and traditional cap.  After popping the top, I poured the drink and observed that it had minimal head with a light amber color.

The taste of the root beer itself was very unique, I really have never had something like it.  It definitely has a strong sarsaparilla root flavor, in fact this is one of the main ingredients.  The flavor was complex enough, but I feel it was overpowered by the sarsaparilla.  This particular elixir was neither Sweet nor Bitter, and I had a hard time classifying it within the spectrum.  This root beer is what made me think that there could be other axes in the universe of root beer in addition to the Sweet-Bitter spectrum.  Overall, it really wasn't my favorite choice, but well worth the try to taste an authentic classic Australian root beer flavor of yesteryear.

Abita Root Beer (Louisiana)

So for Christmas a few weeks ago my cousin got me a few of these root beers called Abita Root Beer, which is made with Louisiana cane sugar and is brewed in Abita Springs, LA.  This root beer definitely falls on the Sweet side of the continuum, but it's not overly sweet.  It has more of a flat taste without much head when it's poured.  The ingredient list is simple and so it is a bit watery.  However, I think the Louisiana cane sugar does give it a distinct flavor separating it from the rest of the Sweet root beers.

If I had a choice between this and some other flavors, I may not go for this one right away.  But overall I'd say this is an above average Sweet type root beer, a nice entry level taste for the root beer novice.  Give this one a try if you get the chance, I think you'll like it.

My Root Beer Manifesto

Through my root beer experiences over the past few years, I've come to realize and believe in a spectrum of root beer flavor, or a root beer continuum if you will.  I picture this as a line, similar to the continuum of real numbers, stretching from negative infinity at the left to positive infinity at the right.  But instead of numbers there are two distinct flavors, Bitter on the left and Sweet on the right.  It seems that all root beers are either heavily weighted to the Bitter side or Sweet side of the spectrum, not many have a good balance between the two.  It also seems that most root beers fall on the Sweet side of the continuum, which I think is just the easier way out.  I feel that the most complex and interesting flavors are the more Bitter type.

The low quality root beers that you might find in a two liter or aluminum cans almost all fall to the Sweet side, but even those root beers are watered down with a juvenile flavor.  By the way I won't even bother discussing those root beers in this blog, only the high end elixirs!  At least the higher quality Sweet root beers have a more full bodied taste.  Going back to my two favorite drinks, Henry Weinhard's and Virgil's, these two without a doubt fall on opposite sides of the spectrum.  Virgil's is by far the most Bitter root beer I've had, with a strong licorice flavor, while Henry Weinhard's is Sweet and complex enough to offer a rich foamy experience.

However, lately I'm beginning to rethink my continuum theory...there seems to be a flavor that I'm seeing in some root beers that is neither Bitter nor Sweet.  It is rare, but there may be another axis to the world of root beer.  As opposed to a one dimensional line spanning from Bitter to Sweet, there may actually be a two dimensional space defined by two axes.  This second axis still needs to be explored, and hopefully I will learn more about it as I try more varieties out there.

This Manifesto may change as I discover more, but that's just a part of exploring the universe of root beer.

Background

I don't like beer.  Beer all tastes the same to me, but that's probably because I hardly ever drink the stuff.  Now root beer on the other hand is a whole different story.  The flavor of root beer has the potential to be much more complex than most of the drinks out there, and the variety among the different brands is impressive.

Over the past few years I've really delved into the world of root beer by trying all of the different brands and varieties out there.  I love trying a local brand when I'm traveling, it's sometimes hard to find those rare kinds in stores around Fresno, CA (where I live).  The best stores for root beer variety that I've seen in Fresno are BevMo and World Market.  The root beer inventory at both of the stores are always changing, so it's easy to go back every now and then and be able to find a new brand.

So I've started this blog to develop my theory of root beer and to provide my analysis and opinions on each root beer that I try.  I've tried so many that it would be hard to list them all here, so I'll have to try each one again and put down my thoughts in this blog.  Over the past few years, my top 2 favorite have never budged, those being Henry Weinhard's and Virgil's, both on opposite sides of the root beer spectrum (I'll explain that later).  But perhaps there is another taste out there that can make it to the top...only time will tell.