Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer

A dark, old-guard birch beer that leans into the bark-and-wintergreen end of the family rather than the sweet, creamy one. The nose is rooty and resinous, with a cool wintergreen lift and a black-licorice shadow underneath; on the palate the woody, faintly medicinal birch sits front and center, rounded just enough by a thread of vanilla to keep it from turning austere. Carbonation starts as fine, soft bubbles and sharpens toward the finish, where the herbal bite lingers and the corn-syrup sweetness recedes. A bold, traditional benchmark for anyone who wants their birch beer to actually taste of birch.