Small Town Brewery was founded by John Dopak and Tim Kovac in Wauconda in 2010. Kovac first started homebrewing in 1988. After three years of development, Not Your Father's Root Beer was released in Illinois in 2012. It was initially sold in its 19.5% abv incarnation in kegs at local bars and liquor stores. The brewery then did two small bottling runs of a 10.7% abv root beer in 22-ounce bottles, and in November 2014, they released 12-ounce bottles of a 5.9% abv version. In March 2015, Small Town partnered with Pabst Brewing Company to distribute the Not Your Father's brand nationally. Shortly thereafter, Pabst owners, including Pabst CEO Eugene Kashper, acquired a stake in the brand and the company. A new category in the alcoholic beverage industry was created due to the success of Not Your Father's Root Beer, referred to as "hard soda" or "flavored beer." The Small Town Brewery tap room in Wauconda was opened to the public on October 15, 2015. It serves a rotating cycle of 16 Small Town beers, with beer flavors including French Toast, Bourbon Pecan and Strawberry Rhubarb.
Products
Not Your Father's Root Beer is a traditionally-made beer brewed with botanicals, spices, and herbs such as wintergreen, sarsaparilla bark, anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla bean and honey, to give it the taste of an old-fashioned root beer. It is currently available nationally in two abv levels: 5.9% and 10.7%. Not Your Father's Root Beer 5.9% abv 6-pack bottles was the best-selling craft beer in the United States in 2015. Not Your Father's Ginger Ale was released in November 2015. Not Your Father's Vanilla Cream Ale, at 4.1% abv, was made available in 2016.
94 out of 100 rating by Beer Advocate for Not Your Father's Root Beer, 2014
Controversy
Michael Agnew, owner of A Perfect Pint, after visiting the brewery, argued that the equipment he saw could not produce such a high alcohol content using grain, and that therefore perhaps the root beer was spiked with neutral grain spirit, as opposed to fermented like other beer. Strange Brews host Andrew Gill speculated that perhaps it was not even beer but rather a flavored malt beverage. Kovac's claims that no sugar is added to the beverage, but that its sweetness comes solely from grains and spices, have also been questioned.
