Beehive root beer

Background information: (from the website) "The Beehive Pub & Grill is proud to serve Logan with crave-worthy comfort food, signature cocktails, and a place to gather. Come hungry, leave happy — Always Good Eats."

Product details: 24 fl. oz.  Made by The Beehive Pub and Grill, Logan, UT 84321. On tap. Paper fountain cup and plastic lid (as reviewed). https://thebeehivegrill.com/

Ingredients: N/A

My thoughts: This is another less traditional root beer review from me, as this is one only available at a small pub and sold as a fountain style drink, though you can buy an unsealed 64oz glass bottled "growler" and get it filled/refilled. Either way, I was excited to see a new root beer to try while out of town, so here are my thoughts.

The initial flavor is excellent, with a very strong rooty sassafras taste that is one of the boldest root beer flavors I've tried. It's not especially complex, with the usual vanilla notes and a very subtle wintergreen, but it is a really good one. The aftertaste didn't reveal any additional spices or flavors I was detecting in my initial impression, but it's such a pleasing taste that I don't mind.

Carbonation is decent, with bubbles that stick around through the whole 24 oz cup (a decent chunk of that was ice, as most fountain drinks tend to be). The bubbles aren't especially strong and I would have liked a little more aggressiveness from them, but it never felt flat. I thought the sweetness was dialed in and didn't leave me felling overly syrupy feeling. It does have a heavy creaminess to it, so felt smooth going down.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this. The bold, up front flavor was very pleasing, even if it did lack some complexity. The carbonation was only a moderate letdown, though was never outright disappointing. It's too bad they don't offer this bottled for people to take home and enjoy at their leisure (though you can get it in that large, unsealed bottle I mentioned earlier) and they do also offer it in kegs. If you ever find yourself in Logan, UT, I think it's worth a stop to try out.

Rating: B+
flavor: A-
aftertaste: B+
sweetness: A
smoothness: A-

carbonation: C+