Long known for their signature hard Root Beer, Small Town Brewery followed up the wild success of the soda-licious brew with NYF Ginger Ale.
The root beer was the best hard root beer I'd had in a while. The ginger ale, however, didn't impress me as much. Personally, I don't care for ginger beers, but I expected it to follow suit with the root beer, and taste like soda. But, it didn't really taste like ginger ale, either.
So when the subject of NYF Vanilla Cream Ale came up at one of our recent Beer Club gatherings, we were asked to give it a try & report back.
This past weekend our friend (and long-time Frank About Beer fan), John, invited me over for a sampling of beers he'd recently acquired. Among those being a bottle of NYF Vanilla Cream Ale.
Out of the bottle, this 4.1% ABV ale pours a dark gold color with good carbonation. And, really, you want this out of the bottle because there is a BIG aroma of vanilla.
That big vanilla continues to the flavor, which fills your mouth with an abundance of sweet, fizzy flavor. The aftertaste is slightly bitter.
Oddly, we both noticed there's a slightly odd flavor that appears on the sides of your tongue. My guess was black licorice, but it's an off flavor that showed up in the root beer, too. We've since come across a few other beer aficionados who agreed with us, but none of us can put a finger on it.
If you're a fan of cream soda (or vanilla), you'll likely appreciate this one. It's fun to try, but it's rich enough that you probably wouldn't drink more than one at a sitting. In fact, you might appreciate a glass of water as a chaser.
So - what do you think of the Not Your Father's line? Let us know in the comments below.
