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Welcome to the Root Beer Rundown. Over the last few years, I've had a lot of fun drinking a lot of root beer and posting my root beer reviews for your reading pleasure. Use the tools on the right to see the complete history of my reviews, find all the brews within a given scoring range, or simply search for your favorite brew to see if it's one I've reviewed. I always like to hear what other root beer lovers like and dislike about different brews, so feel free to sound off in the comments of the reviews. I've also provided some links to a few other great root beer resources. Let me know if I've missed any so I can add them to the list. Enjoy the site!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Capt'n Eli's

Who Made This Stuff?     Shipyard Brewing Co., LLC, Portland, ME

Website:                            www.shipyard.com

Where’d It Come From?  MooTime Creamery, Coronado, CA

Review Date:                    11/15/11

Commentary:  I was fortunate to find this brew in an ice cream shop in Coronado, CA on a recent business trip.  They actually had about 6-7 different kinds of root beer in the cooler, only one of which I had tried before.  Since it was my last night in town I only bought two bottles.  This review is for the first of those two bottles.

This brew had a nice traditional root beer aroma when I first opened the bottle.  A nice sweet and spicy smell.  It produced a decent head when I poured it, considering I was having to make due with one of the glasses in my hotel room rather than a pint glass or a mug.  I was able to chill the glass though, so that definitely helped.  The head was a nice dark color, and the remnants hung around for a good while around the edge of the glass.  That's worth a few points in my book.

The first sip was a pleasure.  This brew has a nice bite but it makes a quick transition to smoooooooth.  There is a little bit of spice to start but it dissipates nicely, giving way to a creamy, sweet finish.  I really like this one.  Really.  Nothing too complicated or fancy here.  Just a great root beer.

The carbonation is just about right.  The medium-sized bubbles linger for quite a while.  After several minutes, when I poured the remainder of the bottle into my glass, it produced another head.  I don't know about you, but to me,that's a sign of good carbonation.

I have to throw in a few extra points for the cool label, too.

Originally, I hadn't planned to drink the whole bottle since I have that other brew to drink this evening as well.  This was too good, though.  I had to drink the whole thing.  I think you would do the same thing if you ever found yourself in the same position.

Did I mention that I really like this one?  Well, I did.  A lot.  Therefore, I'm pleased to grant this one a score of.....................................91.

Now, what about you?  Have you ever tried Capt'n Eli's?  What did you think?