Cooper's Cave Root Beer

I think this is the last one i have left from before this new order i just received. I believe i got it from the Root Beer Store, which it's probably safe to say most of my root beers will be coming from for the next little while. Cooper's Cave Root Beer is from Glens Falls, NY. The Cooper's Cave pub makes a variety of food and drinks, including ice cream/ice cream cakes, beer and soda, and a full menu of pub food. Although they call themselves a pub and focus on making English style ales and brews, the food seems mostly American. The website doesn't have a lot of info about how long they have been in operation or any back story about the owner. I don't have a lot to go on other than what i have already mentioned. So i think i'll just leave it at that.

The label on the 12 oz brown glass bottle is fairly simple, eye catching and original. The main portrait portrayed is that of a sketched dog. I'm not a dog person, so i don't know what breed that is. It just looks slobbery. I'm impressed with the sketch though. It's one of those ones that looks simple enough for anyone to do, but probably difficult to reproduce if you're an untrained illustrator. The color scheme of red, white and blue is classy without being patriotic or overly British or American. I think they have been in business a while because the current logo on the website looks nothing like the label. Not sure if the label is specific to the root beer or if it comes on all their sodas or ales. But overall, even though a dog has nothing really to do with root beer, i think it's a nice label. I was wondering if the dog's name was Cooper and why he owned a cave, but the website was silent about those matters. I guess it will have to remain a mystery. And if you know, keep it to yourself. It maintains the atmosphere of intrigue, and besides, no one like a know-it-all.

The taste is a bit hard to nail down. I will just get it right out front by saying it's not a great root beer, and really it's only average at best. The taste is very fleeting and has a molasses undertone that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The root beer flavor is extremely subtle and overall i think the flavor lacks the sweetness needed to balance out the total experience. It's not a very memorable root beer. Not one i will likely revisit. But for all that being said, i didn't hate this root beer. It was just kinda… meh.

My official review is that Cooper's Cave Root Beer gets 5 (five) IBCs. It's a reasonably fine root beer. Truth be told, i'm a bit of an Anglophile, and the ties this pub claims to have to Britain and English style  brewing made me have high hopes for this root beer. Unfortunately, it just doesn't stack up to some of the greats. Maybe if you're in Glens Falls, NY you should stop by the pub for some food. You might find that the root beer compliments the food, or vice versa. But for me, it didn't really do anything special.