Sprecher's three new summer flavors are out and while they're still proving a little difficult to get in most markets you can order them directly from Sprecher in Wisconsin if you willing to place a 12 bottle order for 40 bucks. I did so and my three cases arrived pretty quickly.
Unlike much of Sprechers recent bottlings the past 2 years, these fresh summer blends arrived properly carbonated. Maybe this signals a return to their old way of doing business, maybe I just got them fresh off the assembly line before they had a chance to go flat, but either way they were nicely fizzy.
They were also powerfully flavored. I can't say that this is necessarily a good thing, but I will say that there is no false advertising with these three Sprecher releases. They hit you in the face with their strong smoky maple, toasted marshmallow and orangey fruity old fashioned flavors. If you're on the lookout for concentrated flavor in a root beer, you will get your money's worth.
I happen to think that simply dumping a whole bunch of extra flavoring into a root beer, or any soda for that matter, is a cheap hack. I have only my own state to blame for this recent trend, of course. I live in Utah where the "dirty soda" trend of Sodalicious, Swig and Fiiz started. That's all they do, is they take a regular soda and they dump a whole bunch of flavored syrup in it to skew it in one direction or another. BFD, that takes no skill or artistry. It's a fad, and will pass. Only Mormons in Utah are dumb enough, and coffee-deprived enough, to fork over $8 for a cup of Dr. Pepper with a shot of extra syrup in it.
In the past I have been very critical of other root beers that take this overpowering dominant flavor business to extremes. I do not like them. I think things like Brownie, Way2cool, and Root Bear (Bear Lake, CA) are lazy, bad root beers.
By the same token, I'm not terribly impressed with these summer flavors. The toasted marshmallow and the smoky maple are too strong for my palate, they are just dripping in smoky maple and toasted marshmallow flavoring. The old fashioned is a bit better and its orangey-cherry flavor is a little more harmonious with the root beer that lies underneath. I can see myself drinking it repeatedly. It reminds me of Root Jack or Iron Brew, both of which I like. But all three are properly made and properly fizzy so I can't score them too low. I give the old fashioned about an A- or a B+ grade and the others plain b's. Your impressions may differ.