Root beer

Hank's Gourmet Root Beer

Hank's Beverage Company · Philadelphia-recipe craft root beer

Southampton, Pennsylvania, USA

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A smooth, cream-forward Philadelphia-style root beer that leans sweet and rounds out with a generous swell of vanilla on the back of the palate. Cane sugar gives it a clean, soft sweetness, and the creaminess is pronounced enough that some tasters file it closer to a cream soda than a hard-rooted brew. The rooty-herbal spice and a light caramel-molasses note sit underneath rather than up front, with a tall foamy head and a steady, unaggressive carbonation bite. It sits in the comfortable, crowd-pleasing middle of the category: polished and easy-drinking rather than bold or bark-bitter.

Taste profile
Flavor fingerprint for Hank's Gourmet Root BeerSweetness 4 of 5, Carbonation 3 of 5, Body 3 of 5, Creaminess 4 of 5, Bitterness 1 of 5, Spice-heat 2 of 5, Aroma intensity 3 of 5, Finish 3 of 5SweetnessCarbonationBodyCreaminessBitternessSpice-heatAromaFinish

Objective sensory intensities (how it tastes) — not a liking score.

Flavor wheel
Flavor wheel for Hank's Gourmet Root BeerHighlighted: Root & sassafras, Spice (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg), Vanilla & cream, Caramel & molasses.RootWintergreenAniseSpiceVanillaCaramelWoodyHerbalOff-notes

Our editorial notes.

Scores

Our score
42/50
What drinkers think
8/9
early estimate
Critics vs. the crowd
-4
A crowd favorite

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The maker

Hank's Beverage Company is a family-run craft soda maker based in Southampton, Pennsylvania, in the Philadelphia area, with roots in the beverage business going back decades. Its root beer, first introduced in 1995, was developed from an old Philadelphia recipe and is sweetened with pure cane sugar for a rich, creamy body. Hank's gourmet sodas are now distributed across more than 40 states.

Ingredients & nutrition

Filtered carbonated water, cane sugar, caramel color, natural and artificial flavor, sodium benzoate (to protect flavor), quillaia and yucca extracts, citric acid, acacia.

12 fl oz · 180 cal · 44 g sugar(per serving, as labeled)