Brownie Caramel Cream Root Beer

Alright... so i have been majorly slacking this year and for that i apologize. But i intend to make it up to you before the end of the year (within reason of course).
So it should come as no surprise that i like BBQ. I think that's obvious from my writings, and if you didn't infer that from my love of root beer then i guess that means you're just a dummy. Anyway, i went to eat at a place called 4 Rivers BBQ in Orlando a while back. It was decent food i suppose, but i much prefer Bubbalou's. If you want some real good BBQ, that's the place you need to go. But while i was at 4 Rivers i saw a bottle of Brownie Caramel Cream Root Beer and i figured i had to try it (turns out i also had a bottle of this at home in my fridge, i just hadn't reviewed it yet). I was unable to dig up reliable and credible history on this brand, but i did read some posts on a root beer forum (they have those?) where someone claimed to be the grandchild of the owner of Brownie Root Beer Co. brewed in Minneapolis in the 1930s, but they had no info on the history of the company and wanted to inquire if anyone else did. The label says this brand has been around since 1929, making it a legacy root beer in some circles, and it's currently brewed and distributed by our friends over at Orca Beverages in WA. And although i know everything of relevance there is to know about root beers, i didn't care to waste my time learning about this one. So there you have it. Some hearsay. What do you expect? I've only posted one other time this whole year.

Both bottles i had were the traditionally 12 oz brown glass bottles, but the caps were different. The cap in this picture is just a solid orange color while the bottle i got from 4 Rivers actually has the Brownie logo printed on it. Pretty nice addition to my bottle cap collection. You never know, those things might become our currency some day. I like the label. It's a big time throw back to old school advertising. From what i read on the afore mentioned forum post this may not be the original logo, but it features a little cartoon "sprite" and some basic colors (red, white, blue, orange) as you can clearly see. I don't know why i even try describing these labels. Just look at the picture i posted. Unless you're blind and listening to this blog through some sort of text-to-talk device in which i feel the piss poor description i gave is just going to have to suffice. Some people have told me i've lost my passion for this job. Well...

So let's get to the taste portion of this thing. In a nutshell, it tastes just like caramel corn jelly bellies. Do you like caramel corn jelly bellies? If so, then you'll probably like this "root beer" a lot. But as for me and my house, we are pretty indifferent towards caramel corn jelly bellies. I could take them or leave them, but i certainly wouldn't intentionally buy a soda that tastes like these and that's why i don't much care for Brownie root beer. It's barely a root beer. I don't really taste anything outside the jelly bellies. And i'm a fan of jelly bellies. I think they are doing terrific things with juicy pair and buttered popcorn. I just can't get behind the caramel corn flavor and therefore don't care about this root beer which happens to taste identical. All other factors (i.e. cane sugar, carbonation, etc.) take a back seat to this overwhelmingly sweet dessert root beer. It's a one note drink, and i am just not buying a ticket to the concert.

My official review is that Brownie Caramel Cream Root Beer gets 3 (three) IBCs. Let it be known that i don't find this stuff undrinkable or even gross, it's simply not to my taste. It's really sweet and doesn't satisfy my root beer itch. I wouldn't go out of my way for one. But i also concede that others may like the flavor and actually find this root beer enjoyable. And that's why those people aren't allowed to read my blog anymore.