Luke's Root Beer Reviews
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Luke Cole, 415-346-4179 x2, or luke@igc.org
10 BEST ROOT BEERS IN AMERICA IN 2004 NAMED
The "10 Best Root Beers in America" list for 2004 was issued today by San Francisco root beer connoisseur and critic Luke Cole, who reviews root beers for the website www.lukecole.com. "These are the finest root beers in the country last year, based on our reviews of over 140 root beers," Cole said in announcing the list. Because of a three-way tie for 10th place, the 2004 list actually includes 12 root beers.
"The best root beers in the country are made by Mom and Pop restaurants, specialty breweries and microbreweries, usually in that order," Cole explained, and that rule held true for this year’s Top 10 list, which featured six Mom-and-Pop brews, four specialty brewery root beers, and one microbrew. The number one root beer in the country for the second straight year was Gale’s, of Chicago, which was noted for its rootiness and spiciness.
Root beer is an American invention, as Native Americans and settlers alike used a variety of roots to produce medicinal beverages. Charles Hires is generally credited for popularizing and commercializing root beer in the late 19th century, and the non-alcoholic drink had a hey-day in the 1920s during prohibition, when many beer makers switched to root beer instead. Root beer drinking declined in the 1960s when a main ingredient in the sassafras root – sassafrol – was found to cause cancer. Brewers now use sassafrol-free ingredients, and more and more root beers are entering the market each year. While Mom and Pop restaurants have made home-made root beer for decades, there has been a renaissance in root beer lately with microbreweries and regional specialty breweries adding root beer to their products. "With the advent of the internet, you can buy root beers from across the country from your living room," Cole noted, and his web site reviews more than 140 brands from more than 30 states, ranging from home-made root beers only available in local restaurants to national brands. The 10 best root beers were from eight different states, with Washington state home to three of the brands; California and Indiana had two brews each. "I’m still finding excellent local brews all the time," Cole said. "Our local root beer makers are a national treasure, and we should support them."
The 10 Best Root Beers in America for 2004, in order, are:
1. Gale’s, Chicago, Illinois (8.94)
2. Fitz's Draft, St. Louis, Missouri (8.88)
3. Bulldog, Fresno, California (8.81)
3. 21st Street Drive_In, Paso Robles, California (8.81)
5. Gene's Root Beer, Anderson, Indiana (8.75)
5. Route 66 Malt Shop, Albuquerque, New Mexico (8.75)
5. Sycamore Drive_In, Bethel, Connecticut (8.75)
8. Americana, Redmond, Washington (8.69)
8. XXX, Issaquah, Washington (8.69)
10. Henry Weinhard, Tumwater, Washington (8.63)
10. Mug N' Bun, Indianapolis, Indiana (8.63)
10. Sprecher Breweries, Glendale, Wisconsin (8.63)
(The scores in parentheses are on a scale of one to ten, and reflect the average of eight different parameters Cole uses in reviewing the root beers.)
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Luke's Root Beer Homepage + Root Beer Rankings
2001 Root Beer Taste-off + 2002 Root Beer Taste-off