Friday, February 24, 2017

Gale’s - #70, 5.75 out of 12

Made by Chef Gale Gand, that’s what the bottle reads.  She is an acclaimed pastry chef, author, restaurateur, television personality, root beer maker, and mom.  She professes, “I can’t live without root beer.”

Her craft soda testing started years ago in England, where root beer was scarce.  She would get her root beer from McDonalds by sending others to the restaurant, as she and her staff could not be seen there.

Gale had a dog named Rootie, a Terrier. When she arrived in America, she made her own root beer containing cold-pressed Nielsen-Massey Vanilla. About 50,000 bottles of Gale’s Root Beer are produced every year. Rootie, and I assume a younger Gale, appears on the label.


Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, natural and artificial flavors, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla extract, Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, and Sodium Benzoate.


Nutrition 12 oz. serving (from the bottle)

160 Calories
40 mg Sodium.
41 g (14%) of Daily Carbohydrates
0 mg Caffeine

Aroma and Flavor – 1.0 out of 3 mugs

I was intrigued when I read “Cinnamon, Ginger, and Vanilla” on the bottle. It's a unique mix. Upon opening, there was a mild hint of cinnamon in the bottle. The vanilla was noted, yet the cinnamon-ginger infusion was with vanilla and cane sugar. My first sip was rather a letdown. I was not a fan of the cinnamon. It was a little hard to swallow. It also had a slight rancid taste.
.
Head – 1.5 out of 3 mugs

A very fizzy, small head that was fast dissipating.  A small ring remained long after the head disappeared. 

Zip – 1.75 out of 3 mugs

This brew is complex—a little too complex for my preference. The variety of flavors is an interesting blend. At no time did any one flavor dominate.

Post Consumption Impression – 1.5 out of 3 mugs

This is not the brew for me.  While I have reviewed many that score significantly lower scoring than Gale’s, there are also many I would suggest before Gale’s.
 
Would I recommend this at 5.75 out of 12 mugs?

This is more like a solid soda without a real identity than a root beer.

OTHER RATINGS

Derek Janiak –  4.6 out of 10 

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