Not Your Father's Root Beer Craze

You should give it a try, especially if you like root beer. Hell, even if you don't like root beer, try it. You might still like it. (Some people who don't like coffee, like coffee flavored beers after all.)

 

I don't personally like root beer but i would try it but definitely don't crave it or seek it.

 

So what wine drinkers say about beer drinkers and bourbon drinkers say about wine drinkers and what scotch drinkers say about bourbon drinkers. Let's get a bit more creative. There is more beer trying to imitate food and drinks than anything else on the market including vodka. Vodka. You are what you mock.

 

I look at products like this (and Twisted Tea, Hard Lemonade, etc.) from the perspective of a dad.

It scares me that products are on the market that cater to those who want to just drink large quantities as quickly as possible without noticing the alcohol they are consuming.

I'm sure that I sound like an old man but adult beverages should taste like adult beverages NOT soda, tea or candy.

 

I think its great....BUT with that being said...not sure its really a beer, should fall under the Smirnoff ice/hard cider/wine cooler/mikes hard lemonade category

 

I understand your point to an extent, but I personally believe that people need to take responsibility and drink responsibly. If a brewer puts out an incredible brew with a large ABV, but it's hardly noticeable...it's a work of art and should be enjoyed responsibly. It's not my fault if others want to binge, but why restrict what goes on the market based solely on the fact that others can't control themselves?

 

Absolutely agree with this, I am not at all a coffee drinker (love tea) but I am a big fan of coffee beers.

 

Totally agree with you here but I don't really feel the 6% is too sweet but the 10% & 20% versions are out standing. The 10% and 20% have been served around the area on tap for quite some time and in a snifter is an excellent desert cordial.

We occasionally make root beer floats with it, you know, just to take the edge off. I can't recall any add campaign promoting this but Small Town does have quite a cult like following in NW suburbs and for the 10% bomber release the only line longer at Binny's was Black Friday. I will say here that his Apple Pie version is insane, but that's a different desert.

 

As a huge root beer fan I think it is amazing. No homerism meant either. If you get the chance to try it I think most would agree.

 

I'm a fan of both root beer & cider, but alas the craze, especially w/the cider is LOST on me...I suppose if I were in my early 20's I'd be as gaga as a school girl.

 

EXACTLY, govern yourselves or expire from excess. STOP policing all for the ignorance of the few.

 

I've felt that way for a few years. At some point a beer stops being a beer and becomes a flavored malt beverage. How do you think BA's would be reacting to this beer if it was named Shock Top Root Beer? I doubt it would have a 97 rating.

 

It was pretty damn tasty I can't lie. I had a bottle of the 5.9% while taking a break from working on the house and watching my Lions last Sunday. Honestly it tasted like a well made root beer. I couldn't seem to find any ale like qualities to it. Body was fairly thin and carbonated much more like pop.
I guess I agree with some of the previous posts in that I really don't see the connection between a bottle of NYFRB and craft beer?

 

I like it - being in the south I won't get it as much so when I've been to bottle shares it's been a big hit. Just to find 10% and wait for grandfathers to come around and try to score one of those.

 

I am not at all suggesting that the market be restricted - clearly history indicates that prohibition breeds more social problems than it purports to solve.

I’m just saying that it is unethical to produce alcoholic beverages (particular high ABV beverages) that are marketed to young and vulnerable people. The producers of such products are aware that these products are going to get into the hands of underage drinkers (they can profess their commitment to “21 and over” all they want – they market to those younger than 21 with a wink and a nod).

At least most beers taste like something alcoholic and the volume of consumption is kept down (relatively) by taste and body alone.

 

Well now I want to try it, so thanks for contributing to the hype.

 

It's brewed and fermented like and ale with the right combination of spices to make it taste like a root beer. I don't see why there is so much backlash over this, when flavor adjunct brewing is all over in craft beer. There are lots of different coffee beers that essentially taste like coffee. Why don't people get this worked up over coffee bender? That being said, the fanbase of this beer seems to be very casual craft beer fans. Not the type that obsess over whales or spend time on this website. People that might try random craft beers like Sierra Nevada but also drink angry orchard or leinies summer shandy. Which that group outnumbers the crazy beer geeks heavily.

 

Well then boss, the parents should take responsibility for their underage drinking children and that should not dictate whether or not I and other responsible drinkers should or should not get to enjoy said hypothetical beer.

 

As I stated very clearly in my last post, I have no desire to have anything prohibited.

The makers of hard rootbeers and twisted teas are not marketing (primarily) to you and me. They are marketing to people who want to consume mass quantities of alcohol while barely noticing it. Also, they clearly market to people too young to legally purchase alcohol. This is unethical at the very least. I'm sorry if my pointing out unethical behavior on the part of mega-brewers upsets you.

I remember myself between the ages of 15-20. I was raised by responsible people but they were not with me 24/7. They equipped me with the ability to make good decisions but youth and a general feeling of indestructibility overtook my sensibility more than once. I'd imagine that's true for most of us. The last thing that I needed was further encouragement to drink myself into oblivion.