Back in October I went to Delaware, before which all I could think of when I heard of Delaware was that bit from Wayne’s World “Hi, I’m in Delaware”. After visiting, I kind of agree with them. Thankfully, I flew in and out of Philadelphia, which, unlike Delaware, has loads of things for people to get excited about, like the Liberty Bell, Independence All, and other national historic sites and monuments all of which were closed, because the government was shut down. Remember that? Wasn’t it fun? Anyways, I don’t politic here I root beer and before I tried to visit any of those places I tried to find root beer. Philadelphia is the birthplace of root beer and you’d think there’d be some historic Hire’s Drug Store selling Hires or something. Well, my 10 minutes of googling didn’t happen to reveal anything about that but it did find The Franklin Fountain, designed to be exactly like a 1915 vintage ice cream parlor and soda fountain. They also make all of their in-house soda syrups so the expedition was saved and root beer could be had! They really nailed the recreation, even down to the old fashioned telephone which they rigged up to receive calls but can’t dial out.
The Body is dark and complex with an old fashioned flavor profile that’s very similar to those root beer barrel candies. There’s a bit of vanilla and a bitter wintergreen like a birch beer as well but thankfully light on the licorice. It’s very unique. The Bite is incredibly sharp and spicy with cinnamon and clove and other spices that mix well with the Body giving a very nice experience. The Head is tall but lacks any staying power, sadly. The Aftertaste is sweet spice that builds over time.
This is quite a unique soda that’s definitely a sipping root beer. I can’t say I give it a Seal of Approval but it’s definitely worth trying, especially because the fountain is so cool. They really nailed the recreation, even down to the old fashioned telephone which they rigged up to receive calls but can’t dial out. The soda jerks were very friendly as well, so if you find yourself in Franklin Square, try this unique root beer.
