Root beer.
I don't drink soda all that often... usually only at family gatherings and such. But, I'm a big fan of root beer, and lately I've had the desire to try a lot of the different root beers out there for fun (and have been thinking about making my own, too).
So the other day I bought a pack of Boylan's, which is sweetened with cane sugar. On the box they say they try to make it taste "authentic" and "traditional" instead of "super-creamy" like the stuff "now being bottled". It was good, and unique. Not my favorite, but good.
Today I bought a pack of Appalachian root beer, and also a pack of Hank's. I'm drinking the Appalachian bottle right now. Not a huge fan of the taste. It's sweetened with honey, and in this RB at least it tastes kinda weird (to me at least). I don't think I'd buy it again.
Anyone recommend some good root beers to try out? I've heard that Henry Weinhard's, Bulldog, and Boylan's All Natural (apparently the "All Natural" stuff is way way better than the regular Boylan's I tried) are all really good, but AFAIK they're not sold around here, so I'll probably have to order them online.
So the other day I bought a pack of Boylan's, which is sweetened with cane sugar. On the box they say they try to make it taste "authentic" and "traditional" instead of "super-creamy" like the stuff "now being bottled". It was good, and unique. Not my favorite, but good.
Today I bought a pack of Appalachian root beer, and also a pack of Hank's. I'm drinking the Appalachian bottle right now. Not a huge fan of the taste. It's sweetened with honey, and in this RB at least it tastes kinda weird (to me at least). I don't think I'd buy it again.
Anyone recommend some good root beers to try out? I've heard that Henry Weinhard's, Bulldog, and Boylan's All Natural (apparently the "All Natural" stuff is way way better than the regular Boylan's I tried) are all really good, but AFAIK they're not sold around here, so I'll probably have to order them online.
Comments
We've been down this road before, my answer then was Filberts Old Time Draft Rootbeer, which was made at a brewery about a block away from the bakery where I worked back then, and a half a block from the bar I hung out at. The bar served Filberts in bottles, and the owner was a close personal friend of mine, so whenever she ordered soda from them, she'd get a case for me to buy off her.
Of course this goes back years, and I just now looked for it online and it seems the brewery moved a few blocks away to 35th and Ashland in Chicago and is now called chicago rootbeer. I wonder if it tastes the same... altho $20 a case for local pickup is kinda steep given one can find A&W for half that price.
If you have a local "natural foods" co-op, you might go there and try some of the specialty brands.
Many of my friends who are always careful to not get caught missing out on the latest fad, all claim that Jones' sodas are the rad. http://www.jonessoda.com/files_4/products-glass.php
Lowe's distributes a brand of premium rootbeers and Creame Ales that are supposed to be worth the premium price, but taste like window cleaner to me.
The root beer I make is no slouch either. But I'm a little biased. ;-P
Yes, if you open it it most likely will not carbonate completely if you put the lid back on. Also, once they're ready to go it helps to throw them in the fridge overnight. Liquids take on co2 more easily when they're cooler. This will help the root beer take up the remaining co2 in the dead space near the lid.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/gnome-soda-extracts-draft-style-root-beer.html
You can let them sit for a few weeks to see if things balance out. It won't hurt anything to let them sit longer.
I've always used champagne yeast in root beers. Give this one a shot, it won't add a lot of flavor to your root beer:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/red-star-wine-yeasts-5-grams-pasteur-champagne.html