Two weeks ago I embarked on an awesome road trip to TMC Connect and the Tesla Gigafactory Grand Opening party. My friend from Vancouver and I carpooled as usual but now he has a Model S P90D instead of that Model S 60 he used to. Since it was a road trip I quickly looked over the route to find any root beers that would need to be tested. The first was one I’d known about for awhile, the Portland Soda Works. They have a very awesome story about their creation. The condensed version is they started their company to provide high quality alternatives for those who enjoy eating at restaurants but don’t drink alcohol, something I can totally get behind. I can’t stand how we straight-edge folks get left out. They also wanted to make their sodas from whole ingredients, if they can’t get the the roots or leaves themselves, it isn’t going into their drinks. Such dedication is a rare find. Unfortunately that also means that they can’t use sassafras because of the FDA and their questionable research, so it’s a sarsaparilla base. They had actually known about me for awhile, so when I asked if I could drop by for a taste they were very accommodating. They showed me and my friend their entire operation in the old bakery in the sketchy neighborhood by the railroad tracks. They let us taste a lot of different syrups and flavors, but then it was on to business, their root beer.
The Body is very rich with sarsaparilla the dominant flavor and a complex blend of other spices and flavors including cloves, star anise, and vanilla. It’s very sweet as well. The Bite is solid and spicy but it finishes oh so smooth. The Head is tall and foamy. It lingers and tastes wonderful and silky smooth. The Aftertaste is a rich vanilla with a bit of sarsaparilla flavor.
Wow! It’s not your archetypal root beer flavor to be sure, but they still captured enough of that root beeriness to to have it fall on the side of the root beer line. I’ve had some mixed experience with those all natural sarsaparilla based brews before, but none of them have pulled it off like these guys. I am proud to give this my Seal of Approval!
Their syrups and some flavor experimentation.
The building that houses the Portland Soda Works and other businesses.
This past weekend the family and I went to the Children’s Museum in Everett. Before we left I thought I’d check Google to see if any new breweries had popped up. The closest one was At Large Brewing Company. I gave them a call and they said they did have their own root beer on tap. It was only a 15 minute walk away, and the weather was nice, so off we went to get some brew. At Large Brewing has only been open since Memorial Day, and doesn’t yet have a proper restaurant. Their root beer is from a custom made Cascade Beer Candi Syrup flavor, which they then mix and carbonate at the brewery and serve on tap. It’s called Designation Root Beer for some reason. I should have asked. Their tap room is kid friendly and had a bean bag toss game. They also serve hot dogs and pretzels with plans to expand to a full restaurant some day. 
I discovered the Ice Harbor Brewing Company several years ago when my younger sister returned from her mission. She flew into Pasco, WA and we all went to meet her. I did a google search and found that they had root beer but we didn’t have time to go there. I swore that the next time I was in the Tri-Cities, I would get that brew. And then my little brothers went off on their missions, and I didn’t have the brau. But then last week they came back, and I went to meet them at the airport, and finally we could all go out to eat and celebrate with my parents and my aunt and uncle. Ice Harbor Brewing Company has two locations in Kennewick, and they are only about five blocks apart. We went to their location at the marina on Clover Island in the Columbia River, which is more family friendly with better food. They don’t do any of the brewing there though, sadly. We all ordered root beer and they asked if we just wanted pitchers, to which I responded that I was a reviewer and I’d like my pint freshly filled from the tap with lots of foam if possible. They first brought it in a plastic soda cup which I said was unacceptable and to bring me a proper pint. Obviously they don’t get too many root beer snobs in there.
