Doug's Turbo Sarsaparilla
Fort Street Brewery

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From:
Fort Street Brewery
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
Herb and Spice Beer
ABV:
4.25%
Score:
75
Avg:
2.79 | pDev: 32.62%
Reviews:
5
Ratings:
13
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 28, 2015
Added:
May 28, 2006
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by tectactoe:
Photo of tectactoe
Reviewed by tectactoe from Michigan

3.59/5  rDev +28.7%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
On tap at Fort Street Brewery... A beer that's flavored like root beer. In other words, my favorite alcoholic drink flavored like my favorite non-alcoholic drink. I'm sold. I was expecting a darker, deep brown and almost black beer, I guess from the "root beer" essence, but it was more of a dingy, shit brown, foggy and opaque with no head. This thing certainly wont be winning any beauty pageants any time soon.

Mmmmm... root beer flavored Bottle Cap candies. Or, like those little barrel-shaped root beer hard candies. Or just root beer. It smells similar to fucking root beer. As it should. That's what they were aiming for, right? Well then I'd say they pretty much hit the mark. The finish has some grains (the only sign of anything "beer", here) and faint vanilla, but this thing is nearly 100% amped to the ceiling with root beer on the nose.

The taste isn't quite as root beer-centric as the nose, but it's still largely supreme. It's about 60% root beer flavor and 40% musty, damp grains. Yeah, the root beer is a little toned down from the nose and a bit more muted than I'd like, but it's still hitting that soda-pop sweet tooth of mine (though don't take that literally, this beer really isn't that "sweet"). Very, very, very faint citric hops mesh on the back, but make no mistake - root beer and grains are the kings of the castle.

Not much to say about the body... kind of thin, crisp, and a little wispy on the palate, but it's a sub-5% ABV beer that's spiced like root beer, what can I say? This would be a better rendition as a stout or porter, methinks, but I definitely enjoyed this. It's not something you could drink pint after pint, as things would get a bit boring and repetitive. But remember - you're getting a root beer flavored beer... it's gonna taste like root beer, dammit.
Aug 27, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.9 by Krisss from Michigan

Apr 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by rjcoy06 from Michigan

Sep 15, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by Rayek from Colorado

Apr 30, 2014
 
Rated: 1.5 by leprechaunandfatman from Ohio

Mar 18, 2014
 
Rated: 1 by leadahmer from Michigan

Dec 11, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by SpongeRuiner from Michigan

Aug 14, 2013
 
Rated: 1.5 by jaidenjb from Ohio

Aug 24, 2012
 
Rated: 2 by cynical1027 from Ohio

Feb 21, 2012
Photo of WoodBrew
Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio

3.89/5  rDev +39.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
In Detroit area for a Mite Hockey Tourny and my Sis and Bro-in-Law cam to the game. My Bro found Fort Street Brewing on line and so we went to have dinner. The Doug's Turbo Sarsaparilla was a really neat beer. The colore was a tanish yellow color with a thin white head with no lace. The smell was root beer and some sweet/caramel malt, it was the best part about the beer. The taste started great but was a little to weak on the finish. The root beer is present at the start and then the taste and body weaken at the end. The mouthfeel was light in body, minumal carbonation. Overall it is a very interesting beer and worth a taste. I think the brewer hit his mark...whether is was a joke or not...This beer put the beer in root beer.
Nov 12, 2011
Photo of DrJay
Reviewed by DrJay from Texas

3.47/5  rDev +24.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Cloudy, tawny amber with a very thin white cap of fine bubbles. Some lacing. Very herbal aroma, lots of wintergreen, sarsaparilla, mint, almost like smelling toothpaste or scope. Pretty intense. Low bitterness with the same herbal character as in the aroma. There was also a bit of caramel sweetness that tied things together nicely. Light bodied with low carbonation, smooth. This was very interesting. I thought it was tasty and better than my initial expectations, but I can see this being a love it or hate it kind of beer.
Dec 25, 2008
Photo of Gaisgeil
Reviewed by Gaisgeil from Michigan

3.4/5  rDev +21.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
This is a difficult brew to review, it's certainly technically beer, but somehow it really is overpowered by the flavoring (I'm assuming sassafras?) so it almost resembles an alco-pop or something similar.

Pours a crystal clear gold in color with a fizzy short lived white head. Nose is markedly root beer like along with some more typical beer notes, malt etc. Taste is heavily spiced, with a thin malt profile as a backbone. Very little bitterness to speak.

An interesting little brew for the masses, and might make a good gateway drink into better beer for some. For me however, I found it freshing and light, but not the most interesting of beverages.

Slàinte!
Jun 06, 2006
Photo of Frozensoul327
Reviewed by Frozensoul327 from Michigan

2.97/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
An odd flavored brew from Fort St. Brewery. I've heard alot of talk about it, so I decided to give it a try. Pours out to a typical lager-like yellow color with a small head of white foam. No lace. Aroma of sarsaparilla, malt and some sweet sugar cane. Quite nice. Unfortunately, that's where the praise stops. Taste is unappealing, with sour grain, weak hops and watery malt mashing together to build a wreck of flavors on the palate. Something also made me think of licking an envelope when I was drinking this. Ugh. No sweetness was detected, as the smell led the drinker to beleive. Mouthfeel was fair but unimpressive. Drinkability is mediocre at best. This isn't up to par, but apparenty many are into this flavored beer as it's created quite a stir in the area.
May 28, 2006
Doug's Turbo Sarsaparilla from Fort Street Brewery
Beer rating: 75 out of 100 with 13 ratings