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.
The Body is sweet with a strong wintergreen flavor that has some bitter notes. It’s like those standard dark/old fashioned root beers without any licorice. The Bite is sharp and spicy, from clove I think. There is not really any Head at all, but there is good carbonation. The Aftertaste is more wintergreen that ends a little bitter.
This is okay, but a little one dimensional. It’s like half a root beer, a good half to be sure, but there should be a strong vanilla flavor or a (very) light licorice flavor or something to go with that wintergreen and clove. It’d make a nice float though, which they also serve there, so I can see this being a hit in that combo, but I think I’ll pass on it plain next time I’m in the neighborhood.
The At Large Brewing Company’s Brewing Vats
The different taps. Root Beer is the far left.
Another winter themed brew to go along with Frostie and … uh … Frostie vanilla? I guess there’s only two winter themed brands. And Frostie is kind of Christmas themed. Anyhow, Sno-Cap is made by Titletown Brewing company in Green Bay, WI in an historic rail depot that was built in the late 1800’s. For those who aren’t from the area or don’t follow the NFL, Titletown is the nickname for Green Bay, as they’ve won (as of the time of writing) 13 NFL Championships including 4 Superbowls. The root beer itself uses the original recipe of the founders’ grandmother, Gladys. It has it’s own mascot, Clyde the Penguin. He’s named after Gladys’ husband which I’m not sure is a good thing. I guess it depends on how you feel about the personality traits of penguins as they apply to people. As there isn’t anyplace online that currently ships this I had to get it custom sent by the brewery. So thanks guys.
If you don’t like bad puns, you should probably leave now because this will be the wurst review ever. Indeed, the brau made by Hermann Wurst Haus is the wurst root beer I’ve ever had. They even put on the label that it is the “Best of the Wurst”, which I’ve actually seen before from an even wurst place in Leavenworth. These folks make a bunch of different types of sausages and other gourmet foods and craft beers and sodas. The label makes me feel blue and it really gets up in my grill. It’s one of the wurst I’ve ever seen. The knives, however, do make it look sharper than most others.
