A root beer from last summer’s Ely road trip adventure. It was actually a serendipitous find as I had to stop unexpectedly in Beaver Bay and there I noticed an ice cream shop so I decided to check it out and low and behold, there was this root beer in a cooler. I’d never heard of it before which is crazy that there would be a bottled root beer hidden in my own state and hidden from the root beer community at large. The label said Ely Soda Works, a division of Basswood Trading Co. So, my last day in Ely, I dropped by Basswood to find out more. They said it’s a unique recipe soda line that is bottled for them in Michigan. Searching the web reveals at one time they also had a butterscotch root beer but that’s no longer made, sadly. The label is interesting. There’s a moose and a deer looking at the northern lights while wearing flannel pajamas. I mean, I guess that’s northern Minnesota for you. I’ve only visited but seems appropriate.
The Body is sweet with some vanilla and spice and a typical creamy root beer flavor. Albeit it does feel a little hollow. The Bite is okay from said spice, but doesn’t really have a smooth finish but it isn’t harsh. The Head is tall, but not too tall, with large bubbles. The Aftertaste is a little minty, but then gone.
So this is pretty decent, but a little hollow. I like it well enough to drink it with some food up in Ely if I were at a restaurant or something but not really Seal stuff. Really the only reason to seek it out is if you’re a collector like myself. Especially since it’s distribution is very limited. Still very cool that the small town of Ely, home to Dorthy’s Isle of Pines Root Beer also has this. See how it rates against other root beers.
