Root Beer Road Trip: Las Vegas, Part 3

Speaking of Old Vegas… I was 6 years old the first time I ever visited Las Vegas, on a family road trip with my grandparents who were visiting from overseas. Back then, Vegas was just starting the whole “family friendly” casino concept, so what we now know as the Vegas Strip was pretty much only Circus Circus, Bally’s, and just-opened Caesar’s Palace. There was no lack of bright lights though; you just had to head into Downtown Las Vegas to see them, where casinos were still overtly predominantly serving their intended purpose (i.e., taking your money). As you’d expect in a city focused almost entirely on the superficial (that, and taking your money, of course), time had not been friendly to the old casinos in recent years, to a point that I'll bet even the iconic neon cowboy and cowgirl feared that they might breathe their last.

Enter The Jerde Partnership, commissioned in the mid 1990s by a cadre of casino owners led by Steve Wynn to design The Fremont Street Experience. Jerde added a huge barrel vault of even more twinkling lights, transforming old Glitter Gulch into a covered exterior plaza, once again making it a tourist destination. Again, as you might expect, crowds have waned in the years since its opening, yet The Fremont Street Experience still retains a steady stream of visitors here to see foundations of the Vegas casino empire like the Golden Nugget, Golden Gate, and Four Queens. We, or course, are here for the root beer.

The Pooj doubles down.

(Chicago Brewing Company, November 2011)

The Chicago Brewing Company has a stand-alone location elsewhere in the city, but I opted for the location inside Four Queens for a bit more Vegas flair. Expectations are a bit high since their root beer was voted best in Vegas in at least one recent poll. For the most part, Chicago Brewing Company’s root beer delivers the goods. It’s not too sweet, with a mild root-y flavor that’s a little thin for my preference, but tasty nonetheless. My senses may again be diminished by cigarette smoke haze lingering in the air (perhaps this is the real Vegas flair...), but despite that, the scent of the root beer is strong enough to cut through. Given that, I would have expected a bolder flavor; instead there’s a slightly fruity flavor that’s almost sour, but not quite. Still, the overall effect is smooth and the aftertaste is nice and herb-y. A second glass has more foam than the first, but the flavors are not particularly richer.

I probably should have picked up a growler for a more controlled test back at home, but I didn’t think of it at the time. Still, while Chicago Brewing Company’s root beer isn’t on my list of top root beers, it’s still a good one, and definitely worthy of being called the best in Las Vegas since it was the best one I had all week. That gets Chicago Brewing Company’s root beer a solid 3.5.