Not Your Father's Root Beer (5.9%)
Not Your Father's (NYF)

Not Your Father's Root Beer (5.9%)Not Your Father's Root Beer (5.9%)
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From:
Not Your Father's (NYF)
 
Illinois, United States
Style:
Herb and Spice Beer
Ranked #4
ABV:
5.9%
Score:
89
Ranked #10,509
Avg:
4 | pDev: 18.25%
Reviews:
612
Ratings:
2,809
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 01, 2023
Added:
Oct 29, 2012
Wants:
  212
Gots:
  1,312
Not Your Father’s Root Beer is a category-defining craft specialty ale brewed with unique spices. Brewer Tim Kovac’s creativity and painstaking commitment to flavor complexity results in an unmistakable offering that masterfully blends hints of sarsaparilla, wintergreen, anise, and vanilla. A smooth and balanced Ale, NYFRB has broad appeal – from discerning craft beer drinkers to non-beer drinkers.
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Ratings by NateMac13:
Photo of NateMac13
Rated by NateMac13 from Illinois

4.7/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Feb 13, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.66/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle from Albertsons. There’s a reason root beer has "beer" i n the name, and this is it. Deliciously sweet, but lurking in the background is the nugget of old school Brewing, hence the name. Not my father’s, but perhaps my Grandfathers.?
Jun 01, 2023
Photo of Dr_Gonzo
Reviewed by Dr_Gonzo from Kentucky

4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured into a tall clear pint glass. Appearance is a root beer brown/kind of a darker brown, with a dark head.

Aroma: just like root beer. Brown sugar/molasses, vanilla, licorice, spices.

Tastes just like the aroma, consistency of a root beer.
Apr 16, 2023
Photo of Whyteboar
Reviewed by Whyteboar from Michigan

4.1/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Found a box of these in the cellar.
Poured like a root beer that had been opened for a while; little carbonation.
The aroma is of root beer.
The taste is of root beer. Super sweet.
The feel is a little flat (see aforementioned carbonation issue)
OA, it’s meant to resemble root beer and it’s doing a bang up job.
Not sure if the Pabst version is any different, and likely won’t find out, what I have of these will last a very long while.
Feb 11, 2023
Photo of IvoryBilledWoodpecker
Reviewed by IvoryBilledWoodpecker from Florida

4.06/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Looks like a dark root beer soda. There is a decent dirty brown head that dies immediately. Lacing is absent. Nice root beer scents are immediately present, I’m a huge fan… unfortunately it also smells like a cheap soda. I would otherwise rate even higher. Flavor is good but strangely one dimensional. After taste is also just not good. I would also think going in I want that high sweetness from a quality root beer soda but I think I’d like something a little drier here. I like this but there must be better real root beers out there.
Nov 01, 2022
Photo of md3kcn
Reviewed by md3kcn from North Carolina

3.46/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Label reads "Small Town Brewery", so I'm putting the review here. Purchased as a single bottle from Ingles for $1.99. Poured into a tulip glass.

L - Root beer brown. Clear. A minimal dark brown head.
S - Like root beer, but very herbal. Anise, vanilla, and wet oak. Molasses.
T - Exactly the same as the nose. On the sweeter end of the spectrum.
F - Medium-bodied, and with plenty of carbonation. Pretty drinkable.
O - I've admittedly had this before, and it's about the same as the last time. Not quite like your typical non-alcoholic root beer; like a craft version of Barq's. Not too bad, but probably won't get it again. A good novelty.
Sep 13, 2022
Photo of SageFire
Reviewed by SageFire

4.05/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Tastes great, packaging a bit minimalistic, smells and tastes just like root beer. Only issue is a headache after imbibing. Perhaps ingredients are a factor, or just a specific trigger to me. Overall really great though!
Sep 02, 2022
Photo of MikeWard
Reviewed by MikeWard from Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Bottle says Small Town, so I'll put it here. Coding hard to figure out, but thinking the 'LX" means La Crosse.

Looks like cola.

Smells like root beer.

Tastes like root beer, and the abv of 5.9 is well nigh invisible.

Mouth above medium, finish a sweet strong sarsaparilla, and a little warming, the only sign of abv.

Overall, while no great fan of root beer, this is exactly what it set out to be. The missus, who enjoys the style, gave it a thumbs up.
Aug 28, 2022
 
 
Photo of EmperorBevis
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England

4.25/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Bottled and purchased from the Bottle shop in Altrincham town centre after bartering for it
Pours li my e classic root beer with a little more head retention
Smell is classic too sarsaparilla, dark sugar & vanilla
Tge flavour takes me back to the germolene oriented stuff
Oct 07, 2021
 
 
Rated: 4.25 by T66tah from Pennsylvania

Apr 23, 2021
 
Rated: 3.75 by Chipwells from Georgia

Feb 05, 2021
 
Rated: 1.5 by AndrewFord666 from Illinois

Feb 05, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by Velivolus1 from Vermont

Aug 05, 2020
 
Rated: 4.5 by Glen_ from Texas

Jul 28, 2020
Photo of Pegasus
Reviewed by Pegasus from Texas

4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Very deep amber in color, with a modest, quite fizzy off-white head, which collapses almost immediately.

Aroma: Classic root beer aroma of licorice, vanilla, sarsaparilla, and molasses. I detect a note of pink bubblegum as well, and not a hint of alcohol to be found.

Taste: Opens with classic root beer flavor, as root beer was in the distant past, with lots of sarsaparilla, vanilla, anise, dark caramel, and as in the aroma, pink bubblegum. There is no alcohol to be found in the taste, and no warmth from it, either. Throughout, the taste is sugary, of molasses and caramel flavors, quite unlike cheap, low quality modern root beers. Late in the taste, the spices really come into their own, with the sarsaparilla, anise, and vanilla hitting high notes that linger on, well past the end of the taste.

Mouth feel: Smooth and very full, quite pleasant, with just a hint of carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: Very pleasant and drinkable, reminiscent of the quality non-alcoholic root beers like St. Arnold's or Abita. Just excellent, and certainly a treat. It is quite the pity that Not Your Father's Root Beer and the Small Town Brewery are no more.

Presentation: Packaged in a standard twelve-ounce aluminum can, served in a Save the World Brewing teku.
Jul 15, 2020
 
Rated: 3.29 by Simiy9 from North Carolina

Jun 30, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by RiceOwls27 from Texas

Apr 07, 2020
Not Your Father's Root Beer (5.9%) from Not Your Father's (NYF)
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 2809 ratings