Hank’s Beverages offers several types of drinks, including birch, root, and ginger beers, plus fruity sodas and zero-calorie flavors.
This review will focus on Hank’s gourmet root beer.
Branding
Hank’s uses a raised (almost embossed) sticker for its label, which helps it stand out on the shelf. It’s very shiny and eye-catching, with the drink name easy to read.
You might get tripped up if they line up several of their dark drinks next to each other, but otherwise I don’t think you’d have any trouble finding it.
Taste and Ingredients
Hank’s is one of the few bottled brands that has a twist-off cap, which is nice if you don’t have a bottle opener handy.
The initial sniff reveals a root beer with a fairly heavy vanilla scent. The first taste also has a strong vanilla flavor mixed into the root beer, along with something else that makes the profile more complex. I suspect that ingredient may be yucca extract, since I don’t see it in many root beers, and it is described as a mild, earthy flavor. Interestingly, the ingredient list doesn't explicitly call out vanilla.
Hank’s goes down nice and smooth. I didn’t feel like it was over-carbonated like Barq’s or A&W tends to be.
The Wrap Up
I really enjoyed Hank’s Root Beer. I thought the flavor profile was good and fuller than the usual mainstream brands, without going so far afield that it doesn’t taste like root beer at all.
I also liked that Hank went with a small list of ingredients that didn’t feel as artificial as some brands do. I found my bottle at a Hy-Vee in the Des Moines, IA, area. Hank’s can also be purchased on Amazon. If you get a chance, you should check it out.