i never know what to expect from brewery root beers. on the whole they seem pretty predictable and tame. it is just something to have on the menu for the kids or young at heart so that the brewery can brag about having their own. nonetheless i always go into a new soda hoping for the best. this brewery has seven locations (at least right now) in New York City. i had planned on going to the Midtown or Times Square one, but on my NYC root beer quest, we ended up right next to the Seaport location so that is where we went. it seemed like a pretty fine establishment, a typical touristy brewpub restaurant type deal. lots of stuff hung on the walls, lots of people socializing and having a hearty probably grilled meal of some sort. my friends and i had planned to sit at the bar and do a live review but the bar was packed and we were not up for lunch yet so i just asked for a growler to go. the bartender was pretty excited about the prospect and asked me if i wanted to sample it. i said of course and he handed me a very tiny mug of the stuff. upon the first sip i knew they had done it right. i gave the thumbs up to my friends waiting by the entrance and waited for my growler while i finished my tiny mug. it was a shame to not drink more then but i did not have time really to review it right then and i did not want to ruin the carbonation for later so i put it in my bag and moved onwards.
that night though, i busted out the growler and hoped it was still good. and it was. not quite as good as fresh, which surprised me a little, i would think it would last 8 hours or so of being sealed. it lost some carbonation and general zip i think. it still was excellent though. there is a large element of licorice going on, something that i enjoy quite a but, especially lately. it is also very sweet, just treading that line of being a bit too sweet while still being safely on the “nope, not too sweet” side. it had a pretty good head which did not last, but who needs that really anyhow? this might be the best brewery root beer i have had. it makes me happy that they ventured from the normal, expected flavor and took a chance here. it paid off in my mind although i can see others not enjoying it as many people do not like licorice for some reason. i think this would work very well as a float, the licorice should compliment vanilla ice cream in a yumm-tastic way. if i am ever in the area of one of these i will be sure to stop back in.
Anthony’s Rating: 95
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| Type: | Root Beer | Comes In: | 64 oz glass growler, On Tap |
| Available: | NY | Obtained in: | at brewery in NYC |
| Head: | Large | Sweetener: | cane sugar |
| Caffeine: | No | ||
| Website: | http://www.heartlandbrewery.com/ | ||
To answer the question, I need a good head with my root beer :P.
Thanks, Anthony. There’s a Heartland in the Empire State Building, just a few doors away from my apartment. I’ve always wondered what their root beer is like; I’ll give them a try now.