Samuel Adams 1790 Root Beer Brew

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

This was a hard one to rate. Do I rate it as a beer? Do I rate it as a rootbeer? To start the aroma was very root beer like, with sweet notes, sassafrass and licorice being the most prominant. I like root beer, so I did like the nose. Appearance was a very dark brown, clear with a minimal sized head. Mouthfeel was a bit syrupy but nothing catastrophic. Flavors were vanilla, sassafrass, licorice with a small alcoholic kick. It really wasn’t entirely horrible IMO. I could drink one every now and again, but to put back more than one would be a struggle.

It is what it says it is. Smells like root beer, tastes like root beer. Only worse. Had a decent aroma of licorice and sasparilla. A nice reddish color on the pour with a thin head. The flavor starts with very strong root beer and ends in some sort of medicine/mint thing that I really didn’t care for. While I applaud the effort, I can’t say I enjoyed this at all.

One of the worst of the Traditional ale pack or whateva you call it. It tasted like rootbeer but kinda mixed with arse. Just had a funk to it that i’m not sure how to discribe. Pours a brown/copper with a thin off-white head. Rootbeer aroma and flavor with a very crisp finish. Lots of licorice and vanilla flavor. Kinda sinks in your stomach and feels like you just did a keg stand of sweet rootbeer or something, just overly sweet.

I’m leaving this on as a 2.5 for the simple reason, You need to taste this beer to judge it yourself. I will say that the beer has a STRONG licorice flavor. This is an odd, odd beer.

Red-orange with lots of yeast/spice floaties. Medium off-white head is mostly diminishing. Anise star, licorice, sasparilla, slightly medicinal aroma. Herbally, semi-sweet herbally (dare I say "rooty"?) flavor with anise freshness and clove spiciness. Hint of ginger in the finish. I wasn’t sure how I’d like this, but was pleasantly surprised.

The aroma is complex with herbs, honey, vanilla, licorice, sassafras, smoke, mint, and molasses. The appearance is amber-brown with lots of particulates and a small foamy head. The flavor is as complex and the aroma and has all the same elements. The finish is especially herbal with the mint and licorice peaking through the sassafras. The palate is smooth. I have to say this beer had me worried at first. It is a little odd, but it’s not bad! I was a little worried there would be to much going on here but thats not the case at all; These flavors work together. But, unless you are a big fan of spice/herbal beers (I am) you may find this one a little off.

A hazy amber beer with a fast disappearing beige head. The aroma is sweet with that unmistakable note of root beer - I must admit I didn’t know it was bark from the sassafras tree - but now I do. The flavor is sweet with notes of both citrus and root beer, as well as some fruits, and light notes of wood. I kind of like the spicyness. The end is OK bitter.

Certainly a different beer experience. Intruiging aroma, nice but very unusual taste, and interestig aftertaste. Drink it as the first ofthe Patriot Collection because the others are better. This is an interestingintroduction to that grouping though.