I Think I've Finally Found My Two Favorite Root Beers...

And they're not even root beer!  

As many of you know I've been a connoisseur of Root Beer and other soda's for quite some time.  I've had my favorites before but as my palate had become more refined I'm starting to realize that my two categories of flavor profile which leads me to lean toward certain favorites. Many Root Beers have a really molasses flavor or have a pronounced anise taste, neither of which I enjoy.  The other predominate styles are honey sweetened Root Beers or Root Beers with a honey flavor and   Root Beer with a strong minty bite which can only be compared to the flavor of Pepto Bismol.  Side note: I love that shit even if I don't have nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach or diarrhea.

In my quest to seek out a Root Beer that has these qualities in them I've landed on two top contenders which ironically, aren't even technically Root Beer. 

One day at Bevmo I took a chance on something I never considered, but I'd tried all the Root Beer's they had available that day and something called Birch Beer  caught my eye.  Birch Beer?  Birch is wood, wood comes from trees, trees have roots... So I figured it was Root Beer-adjacent so I gave it a shot.  Instantly I knew this was something special.  It embodies that wintergreen bite that I like about certain root beers, and of course Pepto Bismol.  My Girlfriend isn't a big soda drinker but likes to try my Root Beer discoveries.  She tends to like the anise flavors more.  When I tried the Creamy Red Birch Beer I leaned over and said "you wanna try this one?" she lit up and put out her hand "It tastes just like Pepto Bismol you'll hate it!"  She recoiled and said "ew gross"  She hates the taste of most over the counter liquid medicine so I knew she'd react.  It's red, it's creamy and it tastes nothing like the name suggests.   I don't know what makes it red but unlike other Birch Beers that can be too minty to the point that it's almost medicinal or chemical tasting, the Creamy Red gets the best of the Birch Beer flavor with that hint of creaminess that smooths it out and reminds me of Root Beer.  Unfortunately I haven't seen this in the stores around here for quite some time and from what I'm learning it's a little bit hard to find.  You can order it on the internet but you have to buy a whole case at a time.  I might just end up doing that.

And on the honey flavor side I've always liked a couple Root Beers that had a hint of honey.  I recently discovered Sprecher Root Beer which has a pretty good mix of minty and honey with other notes mixed in and for a while there it was my new #1.  But one night the store I usually got Sprecher from was out of the Root Beer. Usually I'd go for a Ginger Beer or Ginger Ale but this place only had the Ginger Beer brand I really dont care for, and the Sprecher Ginger Ale tastes like soap to me for some reason.  Even tho I have absolutely hated cream soda most of my life I picked up the Sprecher Cream Soda bottle to consider it. There was a
cartoon bee buzzing front and center on the logo so I went for it.  This was like no other cream soda I'd had before.  Usually to me cream soda tastes like carbonated sugar water but this was sweetened with honey and natural vanilla.   It was flipping all the switches for me.  This was the flavor that I was looking for in Root Beer! Finally!

So now, my new favorite Root Beers are Boylan's Creamy Red Birch Beer and Sprecher Cream Soda.   I would have never thought I'd like Cream Soda and I'd never even heard of Birch Beer before but there it is.   If you, like me have an affinity towards honey sweetened beverages or the minty pepto taste of some root beers, give these two a shot.  If you cant find the Creamy Red Birch Beer, many other companies make a Birch Beer which arent horrible if you like that type of flavor.

Happy Root Beering!

EDIT: while writing this I completely forgot about this
The Best Root Beer I Ever Had