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Capt'n Eli's

Root Beer

Shipyard Brewing Co., 86 Newbury Street, Portland, Maine  04101

        These folks have a clever advertising campaign, complete with an online comic of the eponymous Captain Eli, who turns out to be a kid from outer space who has all kinds of cool adventures.  I love the marketing.  I also like the root beer.  In the interests of full disclosure, Shipyard sent me a complimentary 4-pack and comic book to review.

Review

        Rooty, wintergreen nose.  Bubbly, sugary lead, flattens into slight wintergreen aftertaste.   Very sweet but not cloyingly so.  Smooth, not too bubbly; the small bubbles burn slightly.  Complex taste changes over time on your tongue, interesting things are going on here.  Later in the bottle, the sips had a sugary finish that mellowed into that wintergreen aftertaste -- a little heavy on the wintergreen.  

    We had a second tasting in September 2004 in Maine, and we liked the full, thick, smooth brew with its sweet, round flavor.  Slightly heavy on the wintergreen in the mid-range and follow-through.  Our guest reviewers also liked this the best of the four brews we sampled: "slightly chewable," according to Gerry.  "Subtle carbonation and pleasant aftertaste," said Neale.  "Smells like root beer candy, cinnamony with burnt sugar taste.  More complex but still watery," said Nancy.

Luke's Numbers (3/13/04)

Ingredients:  Water, cane sugar, caramel coloring, natural and artificial flavors including wintergreen oil, anise, vanilla, spices, herbs, citric acid, sodium benzoate as a preservative.  12 oz. bottle, 165 calories.  40 g carbohydrates, 49g sugars [probably a typo on the bottle, I bet it is 39g sugars -- LC], 35 mg sodium.

Acquired:  Review bottles sent by Shipyard Brewing.

Available:   Portland, Maine, area and online (see below).  Also in Maine supermarkets like Hannaford.

Links:

        Capt'n Eli's homepage -- they have a daily cartoon featuring Capt'n Eli.  Cool!

Luke's Root Beer Homepage  +  Root Beer Rankings

2001 Root Beer Taste-off  +  2002 Root Beer Taste-off

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