Oak Creek Blonde root beer

Background information: (from the website) "Through a decade long journey, the team of Master Soda Craftsmen at OAK CREEK cultivated a unique process in which traditional sodas can be delivered in multiple varietals through time honored barrel aging techniques. This passion project was inspired and influenced by the rise of the barrel aged culture of wine, beer, and spirits. For the soda connoisseur with an eye for innovation and a thirst for a unique drinking experience, OAK CREEK Barrel Aged Sodas represent the next evolution of craft soda.

OAK CREEK uber-premium Root Beers are hand-crafted in American Oak barrels with a medium char which increases the oak’s influence on the color, aroma, flavor, and overall style. Naturally flavored and made with real sugar, each small batch of OAK CREEK Root Beer spends no less than ONE YEAR aging in the oak so that the full benefits can be drawn out and delivered to your glass."

(from the bottle): "Barrel aged root beer is a traditional root beer turned upside down. Well, more like turned on its side and the aged in a medium-charred American Oak barrel. We're paying homage to the original soda fountains while elevating the process for the next Millenium. Share your vintage!"

I noticed on this most recent bottle that it shows it's being made by the Sprecher Brewing Co. I'm not sure if they bought out Oak Creek or are just a manufacturer for Oak Creek now. No mention was made of Sprecher when I reviewed the regular Oak Creek root beer last year. The Blonde bottle I'm reviewing here, however, lists Sprecher as the manufacturer on the label as well as Sprecher's website instead of the www.oakcreekbarrelagedsodas.com site that was on the non-blonde label.

The Oak Creek website is loading very, very slowly as of this writing (I thought it was non-funtional at first, but after a minute or two finally loaded - though with some broken headers/images). In spite of the bottle pointing you to the Sprecher site, they make no mention of this root beer that I could find.

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Sprecher Brewing Co. Glendale, WI 53209. 150 calories, 41g sugar. Glass bottle with pry off top. www.sprecherbrewery.com

Ingredients: Carbonated water, sugar, brown sugar, natural and artificial flavor, caramel color, phosphoric acid, sodium benzoate (as a preservative), potassium sorbate.


My thoughts: This is my second encounter with Oak Creek recently, with their last "regular" (non-blonde) root beer failing to impress. This one offers something a little different, however, with the label claiming "25% brown sugar/75% real sugar." I do like a well done, brown sugar sweetened root beer, so let's see if this gentleman [points to self with both thumbs] prefers blondes.

Much like its non-blonde counterpart, the flavor is a bit weaker than I usually like. Not too terribly so, but I wouldn't mind a slight boost in the sassafras strength. Still mirroring the other root beer offering, it has an interesting flavor profile. Maybe it's just the "barrel aged" moniker putting it into my mind, but it does have a slight woody hint to it, reminding me of the sensation of when I eat a popsicle and my tongue licks the wooden stick. I think I like it, though. It's certainly different. The aftertaste doesn't seem to have the wintergreen or anise I was sensing from the non-blonde version, as the "woody" sensation becomes a little more prominent as the fairly basic rooty flavor fades away. I will say, this root beer does make me take more of a pause (in a good way) to experience the taste profile, as there's something going on that I'm not used to and can't quite figure out what it is. Perhaps it's the vanilla and brown sugar coming together at the end.

The carbonation in this blonde version is pretty decent. It's not super aggressive, with a smaller bubble profile, but it seems to hold pretty consistent through the whole bottle. It doesn't have a foam or froth, so misses out on some of the finer creaminess points, coming in about average feeling. Interestingly, the brown sugar mix doesn't seem to add a ton to the flavor, but as noted above it might be adding a little flavor profile rather than beating me over the head with that taste. When it comes to the sweetness, I think it's dialed in fairly well, sweet, but not too cloyingly syrupy.

This one is a tough one to rate. It has a lighter flavor than I usually care for, but there are some really interesting flavors going on underneath that I think benefit from not being overwhelmed by a super strong sassafras flavor. With the different approach here, I think this is a root beer all aficionados should try, even if I hesitate to call it one of the best. This is definitely one I'll need to circle back to and try again.

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

Oak Creek root beer

Background information: (from the website) "Through a decade long journey, the team of Master Soda Craftsmen at OAK CREEK cultivated a unique process in which traditional sodas can be delivered in multiple varietals through time honored barrel aging techniques. This passion project was inspired and influenced by the rise of the barrel aged culture of wine, beer, and spirits. For the soda connoisseur with an eye for innovation and a thirst for a unique drinking experience, OAK CREEK Barrel Aged Sodas represent the next evolution of craft soda.

OAK CREEK uber-premium Root Beers are hand-crafted in American Oak barrels with a medium char which increases the oak’s influence on the color, aroma, flavor, and overall style. Naturally flavored and made with real sugar, each small batch of OAK CREEK Root Beer spends no less than ONE YEAR aging in the oak so that the full benefits can be drawn out and delivered to your glass."

(from the bottle): "Barrel aged root beer is a traditional root beer turned upside down. Well, more like turned on its side and the aged in a medium-charred American Oak barrel. We're paying homage to the original soda fountains while elevating the process for the next Millenium. Share your vintage!"

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Oak Creek Barrel Aged Sodas. 150 calories, 41g sugar. Glass bottle with pry off top. www.oakcreekbarrelagedsodas.com

Ingredients: Water, sugar, natural & artificial flavor, caramel color, phosphoric acid, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate.


My thoughts: Oak Creek's sodas are what they call "barrel aged." I'm not sure what exactly barrel aging is supposed to do to a soda, but I imagine it's supposed to impart a woody flavor to the drink. *Or are barrels made of plastic and metal these days? I'm hoping for a woody, earthy drink and am very curious what I'll find: pure marketing hype or something new and interesting?

First off, the flavor is a little weaker than I usually like. Not terribly so, but the sensation that there could be a bit more rooty sassafras flavor was the first thought in my head. This was followed by me noticing a flavor profile that I couldn't place. Not being a drinker of other "barrel aged" beverages, perhaps this is the note that wooden barrels impart upon their contents. I like it, as it gives a subtle taste that sets it apart from the usual root beers. In a blind taste test I wouldn't note it as a wood flavor, but it does have a "natural" sort of inclination rather than the synthetic. The aftertaste is just a slow fade of the passable, but not entirely exceptional, root beer flavor. There's a very tiny hint of wintergreen and maybe a little anise.

Moving on, the carbonation is a little disappointing. It's ever so slightly on the flat side, though not too detrimentally so. This might just be because I prefer more aggressive carbonation, as others may find it perfectly serviceable. As such, it's fairly smooth to drink, but lacks a certain creaminess that the finer root beers possess. Sweetness-wise, I thought it seemed to leave a little more of a sugary coating than usual, so I was surprised to look at the nutrition facts and see that it actually has a little less sugar than the average. It's not cloyingly sweet and, like the carbonation, would likely not even register to the casual root beer drinker that it was any different than normal.

As I look at each individual trait, it seems like a fairly disappointing root beer. But somehow the parts add up to one that exceeds the sum of the parts. I liked it pretty well. Perhaps it's the illogical part of me that enjoyed the novelty of the "barrel aged" flavor that is imparted to it, causing me to forgive the shortcomings in other areas. Whatever it is, while I wouldn't heartily recommend this as a top choice, it's one that I would recommend trying and one I wouldn't mind revisiting again in the near future.

Note: after drinking the root beer I read the label which reveals that the root beer is "aged in a medium-charred American Oak barrel."

Rating: B
flavor: B
aftertaste: B-
sweetness: C
smoothness: C
carbonation: C-