After Dark Review: Coney Island Brewing Co. Hard Root Beer

For the second in the "After Dark" series, we've got a much stronger contender.

First criteria, does it taste like a Root Beer? Kind of... As I was drinking this, I was almost thinking it tasted more like a Cola than an actual Root Beer. I don't necessarily want to be comparing them against each other, but it certainly tasted more like a Root Beer than Sprechers. It wasn't as smooth, definitely felt more like drinking a soda than a heavy beer.

Second criteria, was it good? Yes, actually. If you're looking for something that wants to taste like a Cola/Root Beer. In that case these are all going to fall under that umbrella, because obviously there's probably a limited audience for Hard Root Beers. But out of all the Hard Root Beers I've had in the past, I'd put this high on the list.

Purchased from: Meijer

Ramblin' Root Beer

Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Sugar, Caramel Color, Potassium Benzoate (as a preservative), Natural & Artificial Flavor, Gum Acaia, Quillaia Extract, Phosphoric Acid.

Smell: A good, not overly sweet Sassafras scent. Not real hints of anything hidden.

Head: Tell me that that doesn't look great. Nice and tall, lasted the entire drink.

Flavor: This is a good example of nothing wrong, but nothing great. It is a solid flavor, no hints of vanilla, not strong anise flavors. Not bitter, not overly sweet. Just a simple solid Root Beer.

Overall: I did like it, I'm going to give it a C, because it really was basically an average Root Beer, but I'd call it a high C. If you're going for something standard, you can't go wrong with this. Apparently this used to be a Coca-Cola brand Root Beer before they bought Barqs. They've since expanded to include more diverse flavors as well, and I can't wait to try them.

Purchased from Alsip Home & Nurse

After Dark Review: Sprecher Fire Brewed Hard Root Beer

So, these "After Dark" reviews will be a little different. Hard Root Beer isn't actually Root Beer in the strict sense. For the most part they're usually malt liquor with spices to  make the flavor resemble a real Root Beer. Because of this, I didn't think it would be fair to grade them on the same scale as a normal Root Beer. So, these reviews will be a bit simpler.

The first of two criteria's I'm going to look at is; does it actually taste similar to a Root Beer. In the case of Sprecher it definitely does not. It feels more like an actual beer that's been candied? It's sort of hard to explain. It has more akin to a Guiness than any Root Beer I've ever had. It is very smooth, but sort of heavy. Almost feels like a meal just to finish a single bottle.

The second criteria is; is it good? And I have to say, no. Every drink left me with a sour look on my face. I really could not stand this stuff, and had to toss out half the glass. Perhaps in another state of mind, I'd actually find this good, but when looking for a Hard Root Beer that actually simulates the flavor of Root Beer, avoid this.

Purchased from: Mariano's

Boom Chugga Lugga Cherry Root Bear

Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Beet Sugar, Cherry Juice Concentrate, Natural and Artificial Flavors, and Sodium Benzoate as Preservative.

Smell: Honestly, I was hoping to maybe be a hit a little bit harder by the smell of cherry, but all I really got was the sweet smell of a creamy Root Beer.

Head: Usually I don't bring up the color of the Root Beer, because for the most part it's always that same brown color. But this one had a deep red color to it. As for the head itself, it barely existed.

Flavor: This is a solid Root Beer, in my opinion. The head had me worried that perhaps I'd gotten a flat bottle, but luckily it was not. The thing is, that the more I drank, the more I was disappointed by the lack of cherry flavor. I moved it around, really trying to see if I could coax it out, but nothing. I actually wonder if the cherry is what gives it its very delicious sweetness. But then as I was cleaning my glass, I noticed that the aftertaste was almost completely cherry. It was actually a nice surprise.

Overall: I was prepared to give this one a B. It had a lot of the things I liked, but it wasn't necessarily anything special either. But that hint of cherry that hits a bit after you're done with the drink really put it over the top for me.

Purchased from: Gift from family.

Cicero Beverage Co. Salted Caramel Root Beer

Indredients: Carbonated Water, Sugar, Caramel Color, Natural & Artificial Flavor, Salt (Sodium Chloride), Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), and Citric Acid.

Smell: At first you just get a pretty normal sweet Root Beer scent, but there is this after-scent of the almost smokey caramel that hits just a bit later.

Head: Comparable to the regular Cicero Breveage Co. Root Beer. Nothing exceptional, but not bad either.

Flavor: This is another one of those situations where "it sounds good on paper". I gave the other brew from this company an "A", so of course I'm thinking that adding the delicious flavor of caramel would only make it better. But instead of the caramel, you get a much bigger hit of the salt. The caramel is more like the aftertaste, but the salt hits you first, and the Root Beer itself is almost completely lost other than the sweetness it gives the drink.

Overall: The description of the flavor should really say it all. I was disappointed. It's not bad, but it's even hard to call it a Root Beer. It's actually very unique. It's one of the few drinks I've ever had that I can honestly describe as "smokey".

Purchased from Alsip Home & Nurse