Sparky’s - #88, 5 out of 12

It all started in the 80s with a beer brewing kit in Pacific Grove, California. Kevin Knox got hooked on home brewing, and his beers won many local, state, and national awards.  He also wanted to make soda to give away to friends and family. After experimenting unsuccessfully with various soda flavors, he began developing a recipe for his boyhood favorite, root beer. It took many years and many five-gallon batches before the recipe became fine-tuned. Throughout that time, Sparky’s was hand bottled in the same type, 22 oz bottles used for his beer, and gave both away as gifts, especially at Christmas.  After much encouragement from friends and family to offer Sparky’s Root Beer to the public, on April 1, 2000, this brew was born and debuted in Pacific Grove, California, at the annual Good Old Days Celebration.

To make Sparky’s, a small commercial kitchen was rented and converted into a root beer brewery. The original plan was to produce Sparky’s on draft only, in 5-gallon kegs, for use in restaurants, private parties, and other special events.  Now, in bottles and distributed, I have this to review.

Click here for the rating criteria and a summary table of all the root beers tested.

Ingredients:

Carbonated Filtered Water, Pure Cane Sugar, Honey, Caramel Color, Natural and Imitation Flavorings, Spices, Sodium Benzoate as a Preservative, Phosphoric Acid and Caramel Color.

Nutrition 12 oz. serving (from the bottle)

 160 Calories

 45 mg Sodium.

 42g ( %) of Daily Carbohydrates

 0 mg Caffeine

Aroma and Flavor – 1 out of 3 mugs

Immediately upon opening, the aroma was cough syrup or overly fermented. I have long questioned if soda can just go bad. I will need to try this again, just like Sassy Lil’lass, which I tried three times and found very disliked by me. The taste had a strong birch, wintergreen, and honey Flavor that really was not to my liking. I am not much of a birch flavor lover.

Head – 1 out of 3 mugs

The head was relatively small, and what appeared was gone just as quickly. 

Zip – 2 out of 3 mugs

The carbonation was on the lower side, and the Flavor was an interesting mix.  Although I was not pleased with the flavors, it scored high for the combination and zip.

Post Consumption Impression – 1 out of 3 mugs

I will try this again if I need a different bottle. However, I hesitated based on this experience, as it was not one I enjoyed at all.

Would I recommend this at 5 out of 12 mugs?

If you like birch flavor and high sweetness, try it. It should be a 4 total score, yet the zip was unique and prominent, just not to my liking.

OTHER REVIEWS

• Anthony’s Root Beer Barrel – 95 out of 100
• Brad’s Brew Review – 10 out of 10
• Cosmo’s Root Beer Review – 2 out of 10
• Eat Like No One Else – 4 of 5 stars
• Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer – 4 of 5 barrels
• Kyle’s Root Beer Galacticus C+
• Root Beer Respect – 6 of 10
• Reviews for the rest of us – B+
• Saw-Whet Root Beer – 9 out of 10
• Steve’s Root Beer – 8 out of 10
• The Root Beer Review – 1 of 10
• Thirsty Dudes – 5 out of 5
• 5 Star Soda – 4 of 5 stars