In my last post, almost two years ago, I was ready to begin ratings. COVID did not take me out, but work nearly did. We have significant turnover as 66% of the staff have been in their position less than six months. For the past two years, I have had less than 30 days off (including weekends and Holidays) and average work weeks of about 60 hours. Things are finally getting stable. Therefore, the reviews will start again.
I was visiting my son in Cary, North Carolina when I found Uncle Scott’s All Natural Root Beer. The brew is created nearby in Mooresville, NC, just southwest of the Research Triangle and only a few miles from my son’s home.
Scott and Suzanne Ramsey created the brew in 2007. Root beer is part of an old tradition of making beverages from natural things, like the roots and bark of the sassafras tree and the bark of birch and cherry trees. Suzanne and Scott tweaked an old-time recipe from Pennsylvania to develop this robust brew made with cane sugar and natural flavors. It only contains ingredients you can pronounce.
Suzanne says, “We really wanted to return to an old-fashioned flavor.” For me, it was an instant taste flashback to my grandfather’s home-brewed root brew from childhood.
The Ramseys didn’t intend to make a living from root beer. Suzanne Scott and Jeff Fleenor launched Carolina Country Provisions as a hobby to make wine from organically grown grapes. They planted a specialty grape vineyard of French and Spanish grapes. Root beer would be a side project until the wine was ready. But a freeze wiped out all 700 of their vines. Scott loved making root beer as a child. So they refocused their efforts on root beer, and it took off. Scott explains, “You cook it like you’re making beer. It’s as complex as making wine.
The root beer’s name came from the reaction of one of Suzanne’s nieces when Scott and Suzanne took some of their root beer on a visit to her family in New Mexico. Her niece took a first swallow and declared, “Uncle Scott! This is the best root beer I ever tasted!” Suzanne says. “I said, ‘There’s our name.’” It’s incredible, she says, how many people have an Uncle Scott. “Sometimes you have these magic moments.”
So, it is time for the review. (Click here for information on the rating criteria and a table of all the root beers tested or to be tested.)
Ingredients:
Filtered carbonated water, pure cane sugar, vanilla, cinnamon oil, natural caramel, birch and cherry extract, licorice root oil, anise oil, and natural gum arabic. NO CORN SYRUP, ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, OR PRESERVATIVES.
Nutrition 12 oz. serving (from the bottle)
180 Calories
15 mg Sodium.
41g - 14% of Daily Carbohydrates
0 mg Caffeine
Aroma and Flavor – 2.7 out of 3 mugs
The aroma was not strong, yet it was a basic aroma from the bottle. The first sip was beautiful, with well-balanced carbonation and a smooth taste. Nothing was overpowering, yet there was a discernable root aftertaste. Some may not like that, but it was unique and pleasant.
Head – 1.8 out of 3 mugs
The head is small, which makes for an easy pour. Essential natural ingredients and little carbonation typically result in reduced foam.
Zip – 2.00 out of 3 mugs
There is nothing I would call zip, although the blend of flavors warrants the score. Nothing is overpowering. Just a smooth brew that goes down well.
Post Consumption Impression – 2.8 out of 3 mugs
I enjoyed the beverage, which had a unique taste and flavor I had yet to experience. I loved the woody aftertaste, which is the Birch extract.
I recommend this at 9.3 out of 12 mugs.
Try the brew if you enjoy a fundamental flavor that leaves a smooth, woody aftertaste. Since it is a local brew, finding it nationally may take much work.
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