Berghoff’s Root Beer makes a bold promise or two straight off the bat. It claims not only to be “Old-Fashioned” but also “Chicago Style”. A truly “Old-Fashioned” Root Beer would be one that is brewed and made with sassafras and other various roots/herbs/etc. As for what defines a “Chicago Style” root beer, I couldn’t find a sturdy source. One source says that it contains caramel and wintergreen, but almost everywhere brings up the days of prohibition.
Apparently, in lieu of alcoholic beverages, breweries in Chicago would brew root beer or root beer-like beverages. Which, to be honest, sounds like a dream. Can we bring back prohibition so that all the cool microbreweries are just brewing root beer instead? It’d be worth the rampant organized crime, tbh.
Place of Acquirement: Ingles Grocery Store, Swananoa, NC
Drinking Vessel/Portion: 12oz glass bottle, dark
AROMATICS: 7/10
Pretty standard Root Beer smell, nothing out of this world.
FIRST SIP: 7/10
OK! This reminds me of the kangaroo from Kangaroo Jack: It’s got a nice body. Good taste so far!
TASTE: 7/10
First sip was pretty spot on, honestly. This soda tastes good, it’s got a nice body. That being said, it’s not an ambitious soda. No sense of intrigue from this root beer.
AFTERTASTE: 8/10
Lingers in a good way! Still sweet, nothing bitter about the aftertaste.
MOUTHFEEL: 7/10
A little more acidic than regular, but still feels good.
DEPTH OF FLAVOR: 6/10
Not a ton of depth, I was a little underwhelmed considering it says it has Yucca Root in it. I suppose I expected a bit more of an herbal/”natural” taste from it, but mostly it’s the standard “root beer” taste.
SWEETNESS: 7.5/10
Pretty nicely sweet, right in the range of where I like my sodas to be.
FLAVOR(S) TASTED: Standard “root beer” flavor palette.
LAST SIP: 6.5/10
Lost a liiiitle bit of flavor, nothing major. Still decently carbonated.
OVERALL RATING: 7/10
This is a pretty standard root beer, honestly. Your taste buds will be very pleased with it, it’s good. There’s not much depth, but it’s still tasty. Would I have appreciated a more ambitious root beer? Absolutely. Did drinking this soda make me depressed, angry, and ready to fight the closest NRA member to me? Not in the least. And I was in North Carolina, there were plenty of those around.
It does feel slightly strange having gone to North Carolina to get a soda made in Chicago, but hey, I had to work with what I was given. The grocery store we went to, Ingles, was a pretty standard grocery store. Their craft soda selection was limited, but I knew I needed another soda for review and I don’t believe I’d ever seen Berghoff before. The next soda review will be for a real North Carolina legend, though; don’t worry!
