Last week I was in Toronto for work, doing the things I do when I go off to travel for work. I’d been there in the summer, for less than a day, and had been frustrated that the Mill Street Brewery pub in the airport was in a different terminal than the one I flew out of, so I couldn’t get any root beer. This time I had many a evening free, but I was determined to get it my first night, just in case. Though Mill Street Brewery has expanded to several locations, their original, in the Distillery District, is where I went. The whole district is in a 19th century whiskey distillery, and it all arts and crafty now, the sort of place you’d hope to find a craft brewery with their own root beer.
The Body is nice and sweet and rich and creamy. Definitely my favorite flavor profile. The Bite is rather mild, however, and the Head is pretty dismal, though it is there, it’s short and gone by the time the glass reaches the table. The Aftertaste is a nice vanilla with hints of caramelized sugar.
Yum, it’s tasty for sure, but doe lack some depth in the Bite and Head department. I think it’s the best root beer I’ve gotten in Canada. The best draft root beer I’ve gotten in Canada at least, though, now that I think about it, maybe the only draft root beer I’ve gotten in Canada so far. The food there was amazing. I didn’t get a picture of my burger, but I did for my double smoked poutine, with bacon and a root beer reduction, it was divine. This place is definitely worth a visit.
My heavenly Double Smoked Poutine
Some of the brewery vats. I always try to get a picture of these.
Last week I was in Baltimore on business (at the time of writing this post and it’s going live, I’m back in Baltimore, but more on that next week?). There was of course, one thing I had to get, crab cakes! Ha, you thought I’d say root beer, which is also true, but, you know, nice lump Maryland crab cakes are kind of a must. I’d diligently searched for root beer but not found anything. So, after an early dinner, gorging myself on crab cakes and seafood, I settled into my hotel room, brushed my teeth, got in my PJs and was setting to watch some Anime and YouTube, and then I figured I should browse for root beer just a little longer. I noticed in one of the comments on one of the breweries the line “for a place that makes their own root beer” and realized my early evening of relaxing was over. There were brews to be had! Since I’d already brushed my teeth, I’d need to eat again so the root beer wouldn’t taste nasty, which resulted in my having a rather hobbitish evening of getting a supper after my dinner. The place in question is Pub Dog, a draft house/pizza joint with two locations in the Baltimore area. They give you all your drinks in pairs, which was interesting and led to a rather humorous happening of me saying I’d like a water too, getting two mugs of water, which made me try to clarify that I meant I wanted a water also, to which they responded by bringing me another two mugs of water. But they also brought me two mugs of root beer so after a few pizza slices, I was ready to get to reviewing.
My 400th Root Beer! I wanted it to be special, and 1919 was the most widely distributed, iconic root beer left that I hadn’t tried. They don’t distribute to the West Coast, but it’s found all across the northern Mid West. Once I found myself in Minnesota, not only was it all over, but the Schell’s Brewery that makes it was only an hour and a half away. Schell’s is the 2nd oldest family run brewery in America. It’s in New Ulm, Minnesota, a town founded by German Immigrants. The brewery offers guided tours of their historic operations (pics below). They also have a large garden with peacocks wandering about and a deer pen. It’s a perfect place for a day trip with the family. The 1919 root beer was their response to prohibition, which put many a brewery under. They’ve been making 1919 continuously ever since. The only way to get it on glass is to buy one of their commemorative mugs, which I did after the tour. 
