sprecher's beer

Oh my god! Another day of Sprecher? Well, I figured yesterday's post might have been a little long, with the sob story about our traveling woes, and worth breaking up Sprecher's into two days.

Sprecher's also offers a wide variety of beers, a few of which we sampled at their brewery. I tried the Special Amber, and Michael partook of the Pub Ale. We had a sizable tour group, it being Memorial Day Weekend and all, so the bar had pre-poured our samples. Luckily, they were both tasty.

Afterwards, Michael and I perused the gift shop. We bought one of every soda that we hadn't tried (see yesterday's post) as well as a Premium Reserve Triple Abbey Ale and their year round Hefe Weiss.

The interesting thing (I feel) about Sprecher is for all of the fun that they have with their soda bottle caps, they are pretty boring with their beer crowns. All of the beers, be they seasonal or regular, either just have the Griffon Crest (the griffon, by the way, is named Rooty) or no design at all. I noticed quite a few colored beer crowns, but with nothing on them! The premium reserve crown has the crest smaller, and with Premium Reserve on it, but there's no differentiation between beer lines. Sprecher, I am disappointed!

sprecher's soda

You may remember my mini-rant a few weeks ago against those who went to Milwaukee without me. And I promised that if I ever made it there, it would be beer and cheese galore. Well, shortly thereafter, Michael found some cheap tickets to the land of Wisconsin over Memorial Day weekend, and off we went.

It started off rocky. The bus to the airport didn't come for over an hour, and we barely squeezed on (the bus driver tried to tell us to wait for the next bus). Then we got off at the wrong terminal (the D instead of the B terminal! Damn you MTA and your scratchy PA systems. "D" should be distinguishable from "B" if at all possible). Then, we sat on the runway for an hour after having already lounged in the narrow terminal beforehand for hours. Finally, shortly before midnight, we arrived in Milwaukee. But then we strolled to the Enterprise desk and were told that they had underestimated their reservations for the weekend. We ended up having to wait for an additional hour while they called in cars from some mystical off-site land. Sigh. There were numerous calls to the hotel to make sure we would still have a room when we finally did arrive. But arrive we did, and we quickly went to sleep in anticipation of a big day of breweries and sightseeing for Saturday.

One of the breweries that I was really excited about seeing was Sprecher. I've already blogged about their caps in the past, and so far the sodas I've tried have been pretty good (thumbs up for the root beer... sideways thumb for the cream soda). I love their bottle caps and really wanted to see where, as they say, the magic happens.

It turns out that when Randy Sprecher started the company in 1985, he brewed only beer. Many of his visitors then were children, and he wanted something to give them at the end of the tour. So he started making root beer as well. Now they output more root beer than all of their other beverages combined.  Michael and I tried some beer at the end of the tour -- amber ales, which was delicious -- but we were more excited by the prospect of trying their Red Apple Soda, Cherry Cola, Ginger Ale, and Lo Cal Root Beer. None of them disappointed. (Well, maybe the Red Apple Soda -- it was too sweet.) The best part is that I've found a new favorite Cherry Cola. (I've been a Cherry Coke Zero drinker for quite some time.  But man! If I could find a local deli or store in NYC that sells Sprecher Cherry Cola, it would be all over for me.)

These soda crowns are fun: each with a unique color and font. The fonts are both retro and sincere -- a tough combination, to be sure. Their seasonal sodas have plain colored crowns... disappointing, to be honest. Think about the possibilities for Red Apple or Raspberry!

Another thing to note: I'm sorry to report that Sprecher is slowly switching over from their awesome 16oz bottles to 12oz. Stock up on 16oz's while you still can!

16 oz bottles! They're goin' fast! 

Root Beer and Red Apple Soda. The Red Apple Soda was really sweet, so I went back for some Cherry Cola. YUM.

cooperstown brewing

It's almost Memorial Day!  In honor of the unofficial start to the summer, I offer the Cooperstown Brewing bottle cap. Michael and I have our work cut out for us. All totaled, I think we're going to five major league stadiums (and a few minor leagues thrown in for good measure) over the next three months. Technically, Michael already started his baseball season (in ATL) but it is MY official start this weekend. And on that note, next week's posts will be a day late. So, have a great Memorial Day weekend, drink some brews for me ...and save the bottle caps!

leinenkugel big butt

Leinenkugel does come up with a good name, don't they? Leinie's Summer Shandy...Big Butt Dopplebock....Ummm, ok, maybe just those two.

When I first saw this crown on the Crowncap Kidd's website, I knew I had to have it. I emailed him and asked if he was willing to do a trade, and also asked if he had any knowledge of where the name came from. He sent me this story:

Well, rumor has it that a specific woman patron of the Leinenkugels’s taproom, Molly Phillips, had an affinity toward their seasonal (Autumn/Winter) bock beer (actually a double bock). This woman also had an incredibly large backside, so big in fact that she often saddled up two bar stools next to each other so that she could enjoy the bock during happy hour when she visited the taproom. The other patrons took notice along with the bartenders, management, and brewers. For a while (prior to bottling) their bock in the tap room was designated "Double-Stool Bock" on the white board. Upon the decision to bottle, however, they decided to make a name change since marketing wanted to steer away from the possible potty-minded folks and assure everyone that there was no possibility sales would be hurt from drinkers who feared getting the runs from the consumption of their strong double-bock beer. Wanting to still honor/razz Molly, they changed directions and simply stated the obvious. Thus, Big Butt Bock was born for the marketing push of the bottled product. Crazy, huh? 

Ok, Ok. It's not true. But Crowncap Kidd, as I said in the email, you spin a good yarn.  I don't think I could have come up with a better one!

topo sabores & barrilitos

Target is good for many things.  Bizarre Mexican Sodas can now be added to that list.

I found Topo Sabores and Barrilitos in the very back of the soda aisle in Target. They were heavily discounted -- both bottles were less than $.70.

Topo Sabores was a strawberry soda that tasted, well, sticky. I had one sip before I needed to chase it with some seltzer. Even Michael couldn't finish this one for me!

The Barrilitos fared much better.  Usually apple is a good way to go with international sodas, and this one was no different. It basically tasted like a sparking cider.

I'm not sure what to do about these Mexican sodas. They're really turning into another version of Malta for me. I know they're good for the whole "international" aspect of this blog, but really, I just don't know if I can take many more of them! I might have to stick to apple varieties only.

As for the crowns, they're pretty fun. Topo Sabores is the more unusual one, with the florid font -- usually Mexican sodas stick with bolder fonts, such as the one on Barrilitos.

In any case, hopefully this means no more strawberry soda for me for a while. I can focus on root beers, regular beers, and other tasty drinks.  Wish me luck!

saranac

A few weeks ago, I was invited to a birthday party in Williamsburg, aka hipster central. Home of the skinny tie, ironic moustache, NYC food truck scene, and trucker hats (are those still popular?), Brooklyn also has its fair share of micro brew sodas and beers.

Saranac, an Upstate NY brewery does a bit of both: beer and soda, that is. And soda is what I found on that fated day in Williamsburg. An Orange Cream, to be precise. Tasting a bit like an orangicle, it was way too sweet for me, so I handed it over to Michael to finish.

But Saranac also makes beer! I think I've mostly had Saranac beer on tap in finer establishments across the city, but thankfully, due to a recent shipment of admittedly awesome bottle caps by the Crowncap Kidd, I also have a bottle cap for the beer (thanks!).

So, readers, lets compare and contrast.

Personally, I am leaning toward the beer crown. Classic and simple in design, the beer crown doesn't need to fuss with bells and whistles. It is here, and it is making a statement. The soda crown, however, is slightly easier to read from a distance, and also offers a bit of history (established in 1888? Well done!).  They also kindly state that you are about to have a soft drink. No alcohol to be found in this bottle. (thumbs down!)

Thoughts?

sparky's and frostop

I love a good root beer.  There are some days (few, admittedly) when I don't want a beer, I don't want wine, I don't want a mixed drink -- I just want a crisp, refreshing, and delicious root beer. After a shipment arrived from Old52 full of sodas with awesome crowns (I hope the folks in my office didn't hear me screaming with delight when that box arrived!), I figured I'd take home two bottles at a time and do a few taste-tests.

Sparky's (reviewed here at rootbeerreviews) had a lot of bite and not a lot of honey flavor, which I appreciate (that Sprecher's Creme Soda with the honey was all wrong!).

The bottle cap is a lot of fun.  Sparky's gives off an old-fashioned-but-hip vibe, with upper and lowercase letters and a funky red and white swirl design in the background, which doesn't take away from the name, but offers a kind of pharmacist feel. I know it hasn't been around that long, but it has a fun, old-timey feel.

The other root beer that I brought home was Frostop. This one is a diet root beer, and was sweeter (but not too sweet) and less bitter than the Sparky's. I know I shouldn't really be putting a diet up against a regular, but surprisingly, I liked the diet better. (I always like regular... )

The Frostop crown is also fun. Loopy fonts dominate the crown, which also boasts the brew year (in this case, 1926).  It also reminds us that more often than not, root beer is caffeine free -- which is quite nice for someone who can really drink caffeine only in the morning...

Over the next few weeks, I'll be reviewing a few more of the crowns gotten from Old52, and I'll be sure to note it in the tags.