Diamond Knot Brewering Company Root Beer

 Draft and Keg Root Beers  No Responses »
Oct 052016
 

diamondknot_bigEvery Labor Day weekend my parents come up to visit and I always have to find something new and exciting to do. Several months ago I had discovered Diamond Knot Brewing Company in Mukilteo on the waterfront. I figured that would be a good place to go on Saturday. Luckily there was also a very low tide so we went to the lighthouse park and wandered through the tide pools and fed sea worms to sea anemones because nature is twice as much fun when it’s eating other nature. The Brewery is right by the ferry terminal in a lovely old wood and stone building. Each table has a diamond knot epoxied to it. While you might think it’s some form of sailor knot, it’s actually just decorative. Go figure. I told them to bring us root beer with lots and lots of foamy Head on it and we ordered some appetizers as well.

The Body is rich and creamy with a classic root beer flavor. There’s a bit of vanilla and some nice spices and the whole thing is beautifully proportioned. The Bite is solid from a bit of spice and good carbonation, yet it’s still smooth in your mouth. The Head is the one failing. It is non-existent. Despite two attempts to get anything, in the time it took them to pour it and bring it to me it was gone. The Aftertaste is nice caramel and sassafras with a bit of wintergreen that lingers for quite awhile, which is a very good thing.

Oh yum. This is without a doubt the best tasting brew I’ve had in from a brewery in Washington to date. But the Head, where did it go. The server tried twice to get me some with some foam, any foam, but their tap wouldn’t allow it I guess. Sad day. No Seal of Approval. Their food was really delicious and their main courses looked truly epic. This place is one worth going back to.

Three and a half kegs


Onion rings, chicken wings, and artichoke crab dip. All of them amazing.

Onion rings, chicken wings, and artichoke crab dip. All of them amazing.




Thunder Beast Black Label Root Beer

 Bottled Root Beers  No Responses »
Sep 282016
 

Thunder Beast Black Label Root Beer Bottle This the fanciest root beer that I’ve encountered so far. It comes in a wine bottle (rumored to be recycled) with a cork and a wire cage. Then it’s all wrapped in gold foil on the top. Talk about classy. This is the premium offering of the most metal root beer brewers, Thunder Beast. It makes me extremely happy to see the root beer world head in this direction, as it means that we are finally getting the respect we deserve. My lovely wife gave this to me on Valentine’s Day because what could be more romantic? Now the actual reviewing of this is problematic. Thunder Beast Black Label is a seasonal root beer, using seasonal ingredients. Which means that it could be different every time. I could probably buy several bottles over the course of several years and average them out, but that gets expensive. So I’m just going to review my gift and leave it at that with the caveat that it could be better or worse depending on when you buy it.

The Body has nice honey and maple flavors but is missing something in its core. The Bite is mild, it’s a very smooth brew. The Head is practically perfect. The Aftertaste is vanilla and maple.

I like this more than the regular Thunder Beast, but not a lot more. I really want to love this stuff since it’s so fancy, but it just doesn’t quite have all it needs in the Body and Bite departments. Add some more sassafras and some spices and then they’ll have a brew worthy of the container. As it, though, it’s still worth getting for a special occasion or to put in a gift basket. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three and a half kegs




Rookie of the Year Root Beer

 Draft and Keg Root Beers  No Responses »
Sep 212016
 

A pint of Rookie of the Year Root BeerThe second root beer of my Idaho road trip, and the last of the summer road trips. This is made by the Yakima Craft Brewing Company. It’s only 2 1/2 hours from my house but only open after 4 pm. This made it quite a pain to get as the several times in the past I’d driven through Yakima, it was earlier in the day. This time, I was coming back from Boise, so I figured as long as I slept in I’d be fine. But then the GPS was saying I’d arrive in Seattle at 3:30. Clearly I needed to slow down. So I stopped at every rest stop and even a museum and so we were able to arrive at the taproom around 4:30. I don’t know why this is called Rookie of the Year, I should have asked but I didn’t. I did learn that the root beer is brewed in the original copper kettle system that the brewery used when they first started. So that’s pretty cool. They even gave me a tour of the facility. The taproom itself is just that, a taproom, no food. But they do allow kids to come in so the family was able to share a pint of root beer while I reviewed mine in peace at the bar.

The Body is rich and creamy with lots of wintergreen; a little too much wintergreen. There’s also lots of vanilla in there. The Bite is solid with nice spiciness and carbonation while still having a smooth and rich finish. The Head is short and without much staying power, unfortunately. The Aftertaste is wintergreen and vanilla that ends a little bitter.

Pretty good. I wish the Head were better but this is a nice solid brew. It’s not quite a Seal of Approval, but better than the average and good enough to grab a growler or a keg for your party if you live down there.

Three and a half kegs


The copper brew kettle where the root beer is made.

The copper brew kettle where the root beer is made.

The Yakima Craft Brewing Company Taproom

The taproom. You wouldn’t know that it’s right by a bunch of fruit packing plants from this photo.




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