What you tried

We had four root beers in class

Mercury Brewing Company
- came in 12floz. glass bottles
- Made in Ipswitch, MA
- Sweetened with cane sugar
- Notable vanilla taste; would probably make good root beer float.
Sprecher
- came in 16floz. glass bottles
- Made in Milwaukee, WI
- Sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), malto-dextrin and honey
- definite honey taste
Virgil's
- came in 5L mini-keg
- Made by Reed's Inc in Los Angles, CA
- Sweetened with cane sugar
- Tastes sweeter than the other ones.
Shaw's
- came in 3L plastic bottle
- Made somewhere
- Sweetened with HFCS
- Tastes sweeter than above; not very complex flavour palette.

We passed around some spices to taste

Licorice root
- Naturally sweet, in a sweet-on-the-back-of-your-tongue way.
- Found in Licorice All Sorts candy and other candies as well. Often, anise seed is used in addition to pure licorice.
Anise seed
- Naturally sweet in a similar way to licorice. Has stronger flavour
- is used in biscotti.

Other ingredients commonly used in root beer

sarsaparilla root
- one of the main roots in root beer
- naturally bitter root
wintergreen
sassafras
- Used for its essential oil: safrole. Natural safrole oil hasn't been used in root beer since the 1970s, as it is mildly carcinogenic. Instead, synthesized safrole is used in food and beverages.
sweeteners
- There are a bunch of things that are used to make root beer sweet. As real sugar - or cane sugar - is more expensive in the U.S., most of the root beer you find in the store is made with corn syrup. honey is also used in some root beers for taste.
vanilla
cinnamon
cloves

Serving tips

Many people will say that the proper way to enjoy root beer is to serve it well-chilled in a frozen glass with no ice. This ensures that it is cold, but not watered down by melting ice. Others may enjoy it as a float, by adding vanilla ice cream. Floats are delicious and change the entire way the root beer tastes.

Where to buy craft root beers

Leo's Place
- location: 35 JFK St. Harvard Square
- They have a large variety of root beer
Formaggio Kitchen
- location: near Harvard Square
Cardullo's
- location: Harvard Square
Whole Foods
Trader Joe's

What you tried
==============

We had four root beers in class
-------------------------------

1. Mercury Brewing Company
      + came in 12floz. glass bottles
      + Made in Ipswitch, MA
      + Sweetened with cane sugar
      + Notable vanilla taste; would probably make good root beer float.
1. Sprecher
      + came in 16floz. glass bottles
      + Made in Milwaukee, WI
      + Sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), malto-dextrin and honey
      + definite honey taste
1. Virgil's
      + came in 5L mini-keg
      + Made by Reed's Inc in Los Angles, CA
      + Sweetened with cane sugar
      + Tastes sweeter than the other ones.
1. Shaw's
      + came in 3L plastic bottle
      + Made somewhere
      + Sweetened with HFCS
      + Tastes sweeter than above; not very complex flavour palette.

We passed around some spices to taste
-------------------------------------

+ Licorice root
      + Naturally sweet, in a sweet-on-the-back-of-your-tongue way.
      + Found in Licorice All Sorts candy and other candies as well. Often, anise seed is used in addition to pure licorice.
+ Anise seed
      + Naturally sweet in a similar way to licorice. Has stronger flavour
      + is used in biscotti.

Other ingredients commonly used in root beer
--------------------------------------------

+ sarsaparilla root
    + one of the main roots in root beer
    + naturally bitter root
+ wintergreen
+ sassafras
    + Used for its essential oil: safrole. Natural safrole oil hasn't been used in root beer since the 1970s, as it is mildly carcinogenic. Instead, synthesized safrole is used in food and beverages.
+ sweeteners
    + There are a bunch of things that are used to make root beer sweet. As real sugar - or cane sugar - is more expensive in the U.S., most of the root beer you find in the store is made with corn syrup. honey is also used in some root beers for taste.
+ vanilla
+ cinnamon
+ cloves

Serving tips
============
Many people will say that the proper way to enjoy root beer is to serve it well-chilled in a frozen glass with no ice. This ensures that it is cold, but not watered down by melting ice. Others may enjoy it as a float, by adding vanilla ice cream. Floats are delicious and change the entire way the root beer tastes.

Where to buy craft root beers
=============================
+ Leo's Place
    + location: 35 JFK St. Harvard Square
    + They have a large variety of root beer
+ [Formaggio Kitchen](http://www.formaggiokitchen.com/)
    + location: near Harvard Square
+ [Cardullo's](http://www.cardullos.com/)
    + location: Harvard Square
+ Whole Foods
+ Trader Joe's

Last modified by stevep on Nov. 18, 2007 at 02:59 p.m.