Forbidden Root
Forbidden Root - Chicago

2014 vintage; drank 6/6/14 @ Fischman's.

Ruddy brown hue.

Minimal cream head; almost no lace.

Root beer & ginger nose.

Medium thin mouthfeel.

Root beer & fresh ginger up front; a dry, ESB-like finish.

Interesting enough.

From the tap in the restaurant...
After not having root beer soda for at least this entire century, I am glad I finally had alcoholic root beer. Very complex flavors, mostly generated by many different spices backed up by malt. Glad this was not too sweet, mostly herbal. This much more of a personalized interpretation of the traditional drink than a syrupy, mass market product.

3/7/17 re-taste, slightly reduced in re-rating
From the bottle in a bar... Tonight, this really Looks more like cola. Smells are mostly herbs. In the Taste, I'm finding less malt than I really want right now and this really should be paired with strong foods and I'm done eating. Overall I like Forbidden Root and its experimentation with botanicals to bring them back into brewing tradition. But like all experiments, the conditions (and pairings) need to be right. They were not tonight.

 

 

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass.
Cloudy brown body with no head is a little disappointing. There are some rising tiny bubbles but low carbonation seems wrong. I am unfamiliar with the original root beer, but my flavour experience (A&W, Dad's, and Schweppe's) are way higher in carbonation.
Aroma is a very fresh and forward spice that favorably reminds me of a root beer. The flavor matches and some additional, and unfortunately medicinal, flavor is present.
Mouthfeel is an expected, and pleasant, medium thickness.

Looks like a root beer. No head nor any lace. The liquid is neutral brown and clear.

Smells like a straight up root beer -- lots of vanilla and "root" (birch & sassafras?) aromas.

Creamier than a typical root beer and much richer as well. The finish is closer to the traditional, with perhaps a little more spice bite. I think this is a cross between a novelty and an actual new and viable beer style. Leans sweet, naturally. Overall, I think it is true to its roots (pun intended). The brewer had produced what was intended and has done it well.

12 oz. bottle, no bottled on date present. Acquired a single bottle of this stuff at the local bottle shop; my second beer from Forbidden Root, their flagship take on traditional old world style root beer. "Oak-aged beer brewed with vanilla & natural flavors" per the label. Forbidden Root has an intriguing premise to taking on this style, I'm excited to try it.

Poured into a miniature snifter.

A - A thin light brown pour with hints of red when held to the light. About one finger of thin fizzy tan head that falls to a ring. A bit of a thin looking appearance; semi-translucent. Leaves no real lacing to speak of.

S - A pleasant and intriguing aroma: notes of vanilla, sassafras, and wintergreen all come through very nicely and authentically. Notes of licorice, anise, cinnamon, but there are many other herbs and spices that don't make it through on the nose.

T - Very unique and interesting, I will say that. Definitely deviates from the nose, however - not so much vanilla / mint forward, more of an earthy, herbal, leafy, twiggy flavor. Notes of vanilla, licorice, caramel, mild black pepper, and twigs & leaves. The botanicals / roots used here are definitely on unique display, but there are plenty of ingredients that don't make the cut. Flavors from the oak only come through very faintly on the finish.

M - Feel is smooth & creamy, fluid and easy-drinking, with good carbonation. Not sticky or overly sweet / sugary like other cheap hard root beers, and for that I applaud this effort.

Overall, a unique and interesting take on the hard root beer style, and a very interesting brew from Forbidden Root. I definitely look forward to trying more from this brewery, and perhaps further examples of this innovative take on hard root beer. Perhaps an Imperial Forbidden Root would be in order?

Forbidden Root -----3.5/5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Served in a pint glass.

I dig the notion behind Forbidden Root, what with the emphasis on novel botanical additions and whatnot, so I figured I'd finally dip my toe into their catalog with their "root beer". It pours a dark sienna topped by a three-quarter-finger cap of tan foam. The nose is a waft of old-fashioned root beer, highlighting mint, light molasses, rich caramel, light black pepper, and licorice. The taste, sadly, does not follow through on this early promise, instead leaning toward notes of slightly watery-cola, licorice, light rye bread, mild nutmeg, and a bit of wet twig. This ain't like any root beer I've ever had, and any "beer" character beyond that is also muddled at best, lost at worst. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a rather liquid feel. Overall, this take on the root beer formula just fell flat for me. I will admit my predilection for sweetness in my root beers, but it isn't just an inherent lack of sweetness that torpedoes this particular beer. The flavors that are present seem out of whack and watered-down (certainly not helped by the thin-ish body), and the otherwise welcome "natural" feel of the flavors and ingredients take away from any notion of root beer likely to be held these days. Perhaps this is a decent version of an old-style recipe, but it's also possible that such recipes fell out of favor for a reason.

Smells like root beer. Taste is dry overall with strong notes of licorice and vanilla. Very herbal. Malty feel, dry finish. No hop character. Not bad. At least a breathe of fresh air from the sweet hard root beers.