Demented Brewing Co Root Beer

so it has happened. after nearly two decades of both reviewing root beers, I have met the good doctor, my arch rival (not really), the root beer gourmet, Eric! i know, whaaaaaaat?!??! he has been located on the west coast for most of this time but is shortly moving to the middle, while i am on the eastern side. but he messaged me up on the book of faces as he was going to be about fifteen minutes away from me on business. luckily i was free, which is kind of a rare thing with kids and a job and all. also, luckily (and conveniently) there is a brewery I had never been to which was also about fifteen minutes from me who served up a root beer they called their own. i am sure you can guess what that brewery was as you are reading this review now and it is up there at the top in a rather large font.
the brewery was one of those that just had a tasting room, serving up their concoctions, no food or anything. so the good doctor and i saunter in and order up two of their finest root beers. we have a seat and sample, each taking notes in our own fashion, but also discussing our thoughts on the subject at hand.

my observations follow. the brew had a small head, which is kind of irrelevant to me, beyond aesthetics. sure, i might give an extra point or two for a creamy, frothy head, but on a scale of 1-100, a point or two does not mean a lot. the flavor profile tended towards the wintergreen, with a side not of anise. it does not take real chances but is fine for what it is. i wrote down that it is not generic, but it is rather standard. in that i mean it is kind of the standard taste for a "good" root beer, but not the generic taste you would have from store brand soda. the carbonation came off a little too sharp for my tongue. on the whole it is fine, it serves its purpose of an enjoyable, nonalcoholic drink for designated drivers or teetotalers to consume at their brewery. plus, the best part is, it is free! whoa! I left a good tip as they were all very kind there and even helpful as the one bartender told me of a lead on another new root beer. very cool.
in any case, getting to meet Eric at long last and review a new brew with him was the real highlight of the evening anyhow.

Anthony's Rating: 75
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NM Sarsaparilla Billy the Kid Sarsaparilla

now when you go to the website for this company you will see they seem to have three (3) sarsaparillas, this one, a Jesse James and a Hatfield & McCoy one. for my purposes I am assuming they are all the same, just different labels. if anyone can tell me differently I'd be super excited.
whatever the case may be, i like that they set out to make a great sarsaparilla first and foremost, before they expanded to other flavors. i highly doubt the fellow on the label has the slightest connection to the infamous Billy the Kid, in part because it is a very recent photo and in part because they also use him for their 'Hillbilly the Kid' soda flavors like grape and orange and so on.
when i popped open the top, this let out an excellent cloud of soda smoke and carbonation. yet the drink itself is virtual devoid of any carbonation at all. the flavor is very solid, if generic, although i don't mean generic like A&W or other mass market root beers. more i mean generic as in many very good microbrew root beers taste exactly like this. i suspect this may just be relabeled or at least run on the same line as at least one other soda I have reviewed. to be honest i do really like it. there is a great deep herbal, rooty taste along with a very solid level of sweetness from the cane sugar.
Ingredients:filtered carbonated water, cane sugar, natural and artificial flavors, caramel color, benzoate of soda (preservative), citric acid

Anthony's Rating: 92
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NM Sarsaparilla Pat Garrett Diet Sarsaparilla

I do believe, without checking, which would be easy enough to do of course, that the least represented variety of soda that I review is the diet sarsaparilla. i mean, there are many less sarsaparillas than either root beers or birch beers so of course there are less diets as well. ok, maybe diet spruce beers would be even less represented as I have never encountered one of those but spruce beer in general is an extreme rarity anyway so i don't count them. this company is quite admirable, they began as just a sarsaparilla making company and expanded from there. may as well start with a good thing, right? I am not sure why i started with their diet version instead of the regular, but so be it. it was cold. there is a tagline in the label of "a taste of New Mexico's past" which i will just take as sarsaparilla being that taste, not diet, especially with Nutrasweet. =)
so with many diet sodas, i take a swig, think "hhhm not half day!" then about 20 seconds later, the aftertaste hits and it is gross and vile. but the aftertaste on this one is not as bad. i mean, it is not good, but it is tolerable. the soda itself is decent too. not great, but it would do. reasonably creamy and smooth with some sarsaparilla notes in there although i'd prefer it to be more flavorful than it is even. i think sarsaparillas should be pretty "rooty" and strong tasting. i hope their non diet version is at least. this also has a very long lasting and quite large foamy head if you care for whatever reason for such aesthetic things. i do congratulate them on making one of the best diet sodas i have had. i'm not giving up sugar for this mind you, but if i was diabetic i would definitely partake in this drink when i craved such things.
Ingredients:filtered carbonated water, caramel color, aspartame, potassium benzoate (preservative), natural & artificial flavors, citric acid

Anthony's Rating: 51
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Bandit Beverage Root Beer

the track master general Sagi found this gem and was kind enough to share with me! i had never heard of this brand before so it is quite exciting to test it out. i see they also now have a sarsaparilla so i will be placing an order of my own soon i do believe. they seem like a nice bunch of people despite the 'Bandit' moniker. but perhaps they are just crafty bandits and that is all part of the banditry. i didn't realize 'banditry' was an actual word until now! exciting although i thought i made it up which would be a bit more exciting.
upon opening this bottle up, i get a great wafting smell of licorice, which is probably quite indicative of what is in store for me shortly. i enjoy the licorice flavor so i am not let down yet. looking at the ingredients it has cane molasses, that is a new one for me! interesting. my first swig is yummy, yes indeed, lots of licorice taste here. it overpowers the root beer flavor behind it. later drinks just intensify the licorice taste and mouth feel, i am starting to get that sort of cottony cheek/mouth sensation that happens to me (is it just me?) when i eat a bunch of licorice. about half way through it may just be too much, wow, this is really a licorice soda much more than a root beer. but if it says 'root beer' on the label, i must deem it so. plus would people really buy a licorice soda? someone should try that and find out. not me of course, i think it risky but perhaps the Rocket Fizz people should get on that, unless they have already. anyway, if taken slowly this soda is ok, just ok. even spacing out my drinks about 5-10 minutes apart it is overwhelming. this is from a guy who really does like licorice a lot as well.
Ingredients:carbonated water, cane sugar, cane molasses, natural & artificial flavors, caramel color, citric acid and sodium benzoate (preservative)

Anthony's Rating: 68
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