Sprecher gave me more than I bargained for on this one. I’m going to be completely honest, I bought this thinking it was a 12oz soda. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the truth: the bottle contains 16oz of soda. I figured the bottle was just extra beefy, but in reality, it contained more liquid than I expected. It seemed like maybe the bottle was a 12oz bottle, but…. it’s actually 16oz. Am I mad about this? Nope!
All that aside, this is apparently an old fashioned soda that uses pure Wisconin honey! The bottle details the process, and Sprecher’s website goes into further detail on their process, mentioning a gas-fired brew kettle. I don’t know *exactly* what that is, but I can take a guess, and I like the sound of it. Do I like the sound of their root beer? Let’s find out…
Place of Acquirement: Kroger, Gahanna, OH
Drinking Vessel/Portion: 16oz dark bottle, glass
AROMATICS: 9/10
EXCELLENT aromatics. Could be a bit stronger, but other than that, delightful.
FIRST SIP: 8/10
First sip is intriguing. This soda definitely seems sweet, I feel like it’s going to have some depth, but we’ll see…
TASTE: 8/10
Taste profile, it’s like an elevated version of MUG Root Beer. Much better, though, to be fair. It’s enjoyable and has no real bad notes, just goodness.
AFTERTASTE: 7.5/10
Sweet, herbal-y aftertaste.
MOUTHFEEL: 7/10
Nothing too out of the ordinary on the mouthfeel. Maybe a tad imperfect on the tail end, but otherwise fine. A little creamier than standard root beer!
DEPTH OF FLAVOR: 8.5/10
Definitely get some good, unpinnable herbal taste, a bit more than a standard “root beer” taste.
SWEETNESS: 9/10
I knew from the calorie count that this was gonna be a sweet soda, but suffice to say: this is a sweet soda. Not sickly sweet, still balances alright!
FLAVOR(S) TASTED: “root beer”, herbal-y goodness, maybe a hint of vanilla
LAST SIP: 7.5/10
Loses some carbonation, but still good.
OVERALL RATING: 8/10
Sprecher has a super solid soda going here. It takes a rather traditional root beer and brings it up a notch. While I couldn’t immediately tell that it was made with honey from Wisconsin (should it have tasted cheesy? not sure), I could tell that it was actually made with real life ingredients as opposed to, y’know, HFCS and “natural flavors”.
While the soda is not the single most unique, bespoke, incredibly different and artful soda in existence, it’s still a success in my book. Sprecher’s Root Beer scratches an itch! It is readily available in my area, tasty, and definitely enjoyable by *all* who like root beer. What’s not to like about that?
