Jul 222015
 

Hummingbird Hill Rootbeer BottleI’m bugged when people write root beer as rootbeer. I don’t like it. These people have clearly done it on their bottle, and so that’s what their soda is named. So that’s what I have to put. I wish they hadn’t. Okay, I’m done. Funny story about this root beer. It’s made in Silverdale and sold in that area including the Port Orchard farmers market. So why didn’t I find it when I went to both of those places on my quest for the Silver City Root Beer? I’m not sure. I didn’t spend much time at the farmer’s market because my wife wanted to leave, but I’m not going to blame her. I blame myself. My New Root Beer Sense was tingling and I thought it was only for the Silver City stuff. I’ll need to pay closer attention to my Sense on future journeys. A few months later I learned about this and contacted them but they didn’t seem interested in shipping it. I let the people at The Root Beer Store know about it, and told them they should really support the local brews by carrying it, so I wouldn’t have to wait until I found myself over there again. Thankfully The Root Beer Store came through and I was able to save some gas. This soda is made by a retired couple who couldn’t find a better way to spend their golden years than making root beer. Considering that the only thing better than making root beer is drinking root beer, I don’t blame them.

The Body isn’t very sweet and is rather hollow. There’s a strong wintergreen and spice flavor, but it feels like there’s a big gaping hole in the flavor profile. Something is missing. It’s also a little bitter. The Bite is strong with wintergreen and cloves featuring prominently in the burn. The Head is short yet lingers. The Aftertaste is the fading traces of the Bite which ends bitter.

This brew is unique. However, it’s missing a lot and I don’t like it. I wish I liked it, you know, support the local root beers and all, but it just isn’t something I’d drink again ever. See how it rates against other root beers.

2 out of 5 root beer kegs




Jan 222014
 

A pint of Silver City Brewery Root Beer Across the Puget Sound from my home is the city of Silverdale and the Silver City Brewery. They’re unique from the other breweries that also do root beer in that they use it in their cooking and are proud of it. They make a root beer barbeque sauce and use it on their baby back ribs and their pulled pork sandwich for example. But that’s not all, they also have a “BBQ Root Beer Burger” on the menu, which has bacon, onion rings, lettuce, tomato, and lots of the root beer BBQ sauce. Now that’s what I like to see. Name your burger after the root beer. There should be more of that. Back in June, on a nice sunny Saturday, my family and I took the 1 hour ferry (our first time) across the Sound to Bremerton to try out this brew and the food made with it.

The Body has a sweet honey and sarsaparilla flavor that’s a little weaker than I prefer. It isn’t really creamy either and is almost fruity. There’s is a good carbonation fizz in the Bite but not a lot of spice. It’s very smooth going down. There is almost no Head, sadly, which always surprises me from a draft brew. The Aftertaste is more honey with sarsaparilla that lasts the right amount of time.

Not bad at all, in fact, it’s pretty decent. It’s not my preferred flavors though and I wish it were a little stronger. Plus it losses some points on the Head, but it’s drinkable and goes really well with the BBQ Root Beer Burger. That burger is delicious! One of the best brewery burgers I’ve ever had. I LOVE their root beer barbeque sauce. So sweet and tangy and spicy. The ribs are really good too and the portions are large. You’ll definitely leave feeling satisfied, unless you really just wanted a Seal of Approval brew. Otherwise, if you’re in the Seattle area, the trip, with the wonderful views on the ferry and food, is well worth it.

Three kegs

The Silver City Brewery BBQ Root Beer Burger

The Silver City Brewery BBQ Root Beer Burger

Baby back ribs with root beer barbecue sauce.

Baby back ribs with root beer barbecue sauce.

Ferrying through the Puget Sound on a quest for root beer!

Ferrying through the Puget Sound on a quest for root beer!