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54
MY
ROUSES
EVERYDAY
MARCH | APRIL 2016
the
Seafood
issue
by
Nora D. McGunnigle
L
ocal brewery Abita has been
making non-alcoholic root beer for
many years using Louisiana cane
sugar. Then, over the past year or so, boozy
root beers have hit the market in full force,
followed by other flavors, and Abita realized
it was time to step up.
Abita brewmaster Mark Wilson says of the
trend and Abita’s foray into it with their
own version, that “the inspiration for Bayou
Bootlegger is our root beer that we have
been brewing since the early 90s. Local
bars have been making cocktails with our
root beer for some time and customers have
been asking for us to make a hard version.
It only seemed natural to give them what
they want!”
Consumers are definitely seeking out these
new hard soda “malternatives” (also known
as beer alternatives) in droves. Not Your
Father’s Root Beer was the first to get in
the game, followed by Boston Beer’s Coney
Island Hard Root Beer and AB-InBev’s Best
Damn Root Beer.These alcoholic root beers
range between 5 and 6% alcohol by volume
(ABV), though Not Your Father’s Root
Beer has released limited special editions
that are significantly higher in alcohol —
10.7 and 19.5% ABV. So check the bottle
before indulging. Abita’s version is the latest,
released around the 2015 holidays.
The root beer craze inspired the hardening
of another soda favorite, ginger ale. Both
Not Your Father’s and Coney Island
produced hard ginger ales, and MillerCoors
got on the hard soda train with a version of
their own, Henry’s Hard Ginger Ale. Hard
ginger ale seems like it would be the perfect
thing for people with upset stomachs that
want to nap soon.
It’s easy to see the play on words that
The Hard
Stuff