Capt’n Eli’s Root Beer

Capt'n Eli's Root Beer

Bottle and Label: Brown bottle with a cool looking label featuring a kid dressed like a pirate and holding a parrot on his arm. It looks classy and different and it is easy to spot in a crowded cooler

Ingredients: Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Natural and Artificial Flavors including Wintergreen Oil, Anise, Vanilla, Spices, Herbs, Citric Acid, and Sodium Benzoate (A Preservative)

Smell: Strong wintergreen smell from bottle with light hints of licorice and ginger. The licorice smell gets much stronger after being poured and become the dominant smell. This brew has one of the stronger licorice smells of any I have encountered

Carbonation: Medium level of carbonation that is mostly felt on the tip of the tongue and the back of the mouth. The brew feels smooth and strikes that nice balance between being overly carbonated or too flat

Color: The color is very dark and actually appears black from most angles

Head: Very tall head. I had to stop pouring or it would have overflowed from my tall frosty mug. The head is also very long lasting and very foamy

Flavor:  The licorice smell in the brew carries over into the flavor. This is a brew with a robust licorice flavor that is nice and sweet but avoids tasting or feeling syrupy. It also some very light vanilla hints that I think adds to the smoothness. The brew is very pleasant from start to finish with just a slightly bitter aftertaste that I would attribute to the licorice flavor. The aftertaste does not detract from the enjoyment of the beverage and actually seems like it should be present because of the dominant licorice flavor.

Conclusion: Capt’n Eli’s Root Beer is a very good brew. It has an excellent head, great smell, nice carbonation, and a strong flavor. This root beer is one that just about anyone should like. The only people that I can see being displeased with this brew are those who like more wintergreen elements in their root beer or who simply dislike licorice. That said, I think this would be a great party root beer with its great flavor, outstanding head, and very cool label. If you stumble upon this root beer somewhere in your travels be sure to pick it up and give it a try because I think it will be worth your time.

RBR’s Grade- B+