Samuel Adams 1790 Root Beer Brew

Brewed by Boston Beer Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Immediate medicinal and herbal aroma. I did notice a hint of anise/licorice. The flavor was simply overpowered by the aroma. Not at all what I expected and nothing like the description on the label. All I could taste was band-aid’s. The worst beer from Sam Adams that I’ve ever tried.

Holy crap. This beer almost made me sick. It starts out with a definite licorice/anise smell (hence the root beer) and gives way taste wise to a melee of combative, in the worst way, flavors. The litany of individually appealing flavors that is listed on the label all hit your mouth like some ill conceived dish whose goal is to throw as many unique flavors together in the hopes of ending up with something to appreciate and drool over. Mission failed. I could only finish drinking this because I paid 9 dollars for the four pack.

The aroma is of sassafrass reminiscent of the tea roots I used to dig and brew as a youth. That aroma in a beer is unique. That root is also prominent in the flavor. The wintergreen comes in underneath and sugar is ample. The first taste is an eye opener as the flavors really jump out. Unfortunately they don’t really fit well together. Weak effort by Sam Adams.

I wasn’t sure how to rate this, so I just rated each category based on how I felt about this, not comparing it to anything. Smells sweet and slightly herby. Fine foamy head that retains and reminds me of cream soda. Flavor very similar to root beer with a twinge of something "green" tasting, something plant like. Quite syrupy, one is enough.

Bottle. Poured a nice reddish amber with a minimal head. Some good lacing. Aromas of molasses and roasted malt. Taste at first was OK - herbally, sweet, malty but quickly diverted to toothpaste. Take out the wintergreen and this could be quite good or as a soda.

Bottle: Murkified red brown with a small tan head. Aromas of anise, gauz pads, and dental anesthesia. The taste makes you wanna jump -- yikes! Strong flavors of licorice, sweet spices, wintergreen. IMtheOptimator correctly notes that it is like "sucking on a root beer barrel and chewing a wintergreen lifesaver." If this is what Root Beer tasted like back in 1790, I feel sorry for those poor souls. It was hard enough fighting the Brits, but then to have to drink this stuff!

Bottle pours a murky light orange brown with no head. Coarse thin lacing. Aroma is a starting assault on the olfactory. Band-Aids, alcohol, orange zest, plastic, and some sweet spicy wintergreen. Flavor is very odd. Halls cough drops, wintergreen, licorice, honey, and a wierd, glue like bitter aftertaste. The palate however is a very rich smooth and moderately fizzy feel. I suppose that is the bright spot. Thanks Pinkzambia for letting me experiance this.

Poured a clear effervescent copperish amber with a large fizzy/frothy off-white head. Aroma of root beer, grass, mint, vanilla... a conglomorate of scents that appears to work at first sniff, but closer inspection reveals them to be battling each other. The flavor is sweet with the herbal notes coming out strong... flavors of sassafrass and wintergreen, mixed with some molasses. The flavors sort of come together but end up tasting like a Fisherman’s Friend cough drop. It’s like sucking on a root beer barrel and chewing a wintergreen lifesaver... and if that makes you think, "That doesn’t sound like it would taste good," then I would have to agree with you. Very bold and intense, but messy. I didn’t know how to rate this... for all I know, this is exactly what they were trying to achieve. This could be the best damn root beer ever brewed. But to me it just wasn’t that good. I appreciate its educational value, as I’m already sympathyzing with the colonists... those poor bastards.