tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54075546198804549542024-02-07T16:28:32.677-08:00Stark Raving (Root Beer) Blog!It's stark! It's raving! It's blogging! And it probably doesn't make any sense... Now with rooty tooty sugary beverages! But it still probably doesn't make any sense....Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.comBlogger217125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-42032635117241454642017-09-05T14:49:00.001-07:002017-09-05T14:49:26.302-07:00Stubborn Soda<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWu0IvaPvXi-4Kvo1jopOj2rcSl1ANO1DzQUQeXWUSO0pcZ1Uc0Hdz67PcQDLR0UCtxzN64kt6LX7JjErtlQk6HhIri32vRCCSucLp4A2UILKiASrmyClBfQORq-5_1VkwOVTvpoLTlVxK/s1600/Stubborn+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1171" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWu0IvaPvXi-4Kvo1jopOj2rcSl1ANO1DzQUQeXWUSO0pcZ1Uc0Hdz67PcQDLR0UCtxzN64kt6LX7JjErtlQk6HhIri32vRCCSucLp4A2UILKiASrmyClBfQORq-5_1VkwOVTvpoLTlVxK/s400/Stubborn+%25283%2529.JPG" width="292" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Pocket Pooj precipitously
ponders persistence.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(Spireworks, December 2016)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If we are to believe the marketing campaign, Stubborn Soda will
apply the same hipster treatment to soft drinks that hipsters have already
applied to beer and coffee. Depending on
your view of hipster beer/coffee, this could either mean a healthy dose of care
and craft or an unhealthy dose of lumberjack beards and pretension. We, of course, are not here to judge the
merits of the marketing (or beards, lumberjack or otherwise); only the relative
merits of root beer. Even so, the
Stubborn Soda website’s boasting of special glasses they created to highlight
the soda’s carbonation and a special tap to decant the soda from a fountain (though
I’m not sure what the tap adds to the experience) should give us some pause
(<a href="http://www.stubbornsoda.com/our-way.html" target="_blank">source</a>). Un-pause then, if you will, and you’ll notice
that Stubborn Soda’s parent company, The Concentrate Manufacturing Company of
Ireland, is actually a subsidiary of Pepsi, which perhaps indicates that Stubborn Soda is taking the Goose Island/InBev route of craft beverages, at least more so
than being an Irish craft product.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The tapped version (alas, decanted into a cheap paper cup
instead of the fancy snifter) produces a good head of foam (which may be the
purpose of the special tap) that’s almost red in color and stays for a decent
while. Despite this, the carbonation in
the beverage actually fades quickly. It has
a fruity birch flavor that’s otherwise pleasantly not too sweet, even though it
finishes with a very sweet, slightly menthol aftertaste. Were I more poetic, more cynical even, of
Stubborn’s marketing, I might regard this little package of paradoxes
intentionally ironic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to website data, the tap version is
sugar-sweetened*, whereas the bottled version adds Stevia. I do have a bottle in my possession, but have
not yet tried it, so it might be worth a side-by-side comparison at some point
(though I’m not sure how I would get a sufficiently cooled bottle into a
restaurant with a tap yet, since I’ve only seen it at one restaurant so far). Stay tuned, I guess. In the meanwhile, the tapped version of
Stubborn Root Beer gets a 3.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*Did anyone else hear this <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2017/07/06/business/soda-pop-gives-family-owned-grocery-store-new-life" target="_blank">NPR interview with John Nese</a> of
Galco’s? Anyone want to comment on the
veracity of his statements about “real” sugar versus “cane” sugar? </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-65025417263550784012016-11-04T12:01:00.001-07:002016-11-04T12:16:04.369-07:00Damn Fine Root Beer Road Trip, Part 2: The Root Beer Store<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0EOE56lPR0qRFYVEr_WJyiJm6HBLWvXl2w5jS3kI45VHpFbfLC-HgtOCT_gKt2_i_gQmRYFtVPK-2t4Byd2pjSqNyaVC9hvzqsbJSY5klMtfEzdX42s3VnPqGMrVlHEnaKlitpXoifIbI/s1600/The+Root+Beer+Store+1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0EOE56lPR0qRFYVEr_WJyiJm6HBLWvXl2w5jS3kI45VHpFbfLC-HgtOCT_gKt2_i_gQmRYFtVPK-2t4Byd2pjSqNyaVC9hvzqsbJSY5klMtfEzdX42s3VnPqGMrVlHEnaKlitpXoifIbI/s400/The+Root+Beer+Store+1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">One day those logs will have something to say about this.</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The store is actually to the right; straight ahead is a … um
… cemetery… </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Redmond, WA – September 2015)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In light of the recent news that The Root Beer Store is
moving all operations to Idaho – that, and the fact that it’s been well over a
year since I made this trek – it’s probably high time I finish writing this
post…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let us harken back, if you will, to oh-so-long ago when life was simpler (um ... not really) and the
Missus and I were in the Pacific Northwest for a wedding (yes, really).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As luck would have it, said wedding just happened
to put us on the path of a couple different root beer-related field trips that I’d
had my eye on for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve already
covered the first one (an exciting update on that one is coming soon!) (who am
I kidding; nothing happens “soon” any more around here) (let’s just say, “an exciting
update on that one is coming … eventually … before the sun supernovas and our
solar system collapses … hopefully … and if it doesn’t, we won’t be around to
worry about it anyways …”), and the second should be a required pilgrimage for all
who number themselves amongst the root-beer-inclined.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Corey Anderson first opened The Root Beer Store in Redmond,
WA in 2010.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the time, he was already
a successful small business owner, having spent the past 2 decades running
several enterprises including a janitorial service and a wholesale feather
duster distributor, the latter of which’s office would become the flagship Root
Beer Store (which is the one I visited) [<i>2016 Update</i>: Per Corey’s newsletter regarding
the impending move, that feather duster operation has actually been floating
the root beer operations for some time now, factoring largely into the decision
to move].<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having also grown up making
root beer at home with his family, Anderson had originally set out to create
his own root beer label.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During an
educational excursion down to California to learn from industry
professionals / to take a root beer making class, however, Anderson discovered
several dozen different root beer labels already in existence, and thus decided
to focus on bringing those already-varied brews to the public instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first Root Beer Store started with around
30 different root beers, and has since then expanded to offer, by their own
estimate, over 100 varieties in their brick-and-mortar stores and their online
operation (sources: <a href="https://northsoundlife.com/shop/the-rootbeer-store/" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://www.seattleweekly.com/voracious/2011/11/worlds_best-stocked_root_beer.php" target="_blank">2</a> this link might be dead,
<a href="http://archive.seattleweekly.com/home/909792-129/story.html" target="_blank">3</a>).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwHSvXTFg1vkAzqpHbKs4b6a2GxhXXrpx2DAT0XKE4pXUgdHHuxzUT9PGjYHYkY4d10kMIP_eMTxNKsfWmUqUC0xWu2rF1uD3m6P5I5u0cvSZSRtvvawR50RgC3h2PfFR8hgpH2V_9wdch/s1600/The+Root+Beer+Store+%2528Not+Used%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwHSvXTFg1vkAzqpHbKs4b6a2GxhXXrpx2DAT0XKE4pXUgdHHuxzUT9PGjYHYkY4d10kMIP_eMTxNKsfWmUqUC0xWu2rF1uD3m6P5I5u0cvSZSRtvvawR50RgC3h2PfFR8hgpH2V_9wdch/s400/The+Root+Beer+Store+%2528Not+Used%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Pocket Pooj ponders a plethora of pop.</i></span></div>
<br />
Some of the shelves were partially empty during my visit,
which was slightly disappointing since I was hoping to pick up a couple of the
out-of-stock labels that had been on my list for a while – not sure if this was
due to the fact that it was close to closing on a weekend, or that those items
just aren’t available any more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the
whole though, it was a very successful outing, the highlights definitely being a
very helpful “tour guide” finding a bottle of the 30<sup>th</sup> Anniversary special
edition Sprecher for me that wasn’t even on the shelves (!!!), and finding the can
of Hire’s that I already posted about. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was probably
somewhere around 50 different brands of root beer available, with probably 30 more non-root beer varietals, as well as an archival wall of maybe 60 labels
(root beer an non-root beer alike) that are out of production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Non-beverage items included root beer
flavored candies and BBQ sauce (no root beer themed feather dusters, to my
knowledge...).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXnlx-r4kGFTYcQ0rnZPiM7rZK44VvZIt57hyphenhyphentyXBDA2Zvf8sxwzjfYjuhzInagaRCvgustj4zFMAcuUMqM7TidH9NJrNwBkUNHkahqrjS1n24s6pIv_69GK4b0rGSL8pLa3WcafjxZJW/s1600/The+Root+Beer+Store+2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXnlx-r4kGFTYcQ0rnZPiM7rZK44VvZIt57hyphenhyphentyXBDA2Zvf8sxwzjfYjuhzInagaRCvgustj4zFMAcuUMqM7TidH9NJrNwBkUNHkahqrjS1n24s6pIv_69GK4b0rGSL8pLa3WcafjxZJW/s400/The+Root+Beer+Store+2.jpg" width="322" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Not quite 100 brands today, but still a heck of a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
And for the record, yes, I did ship more soda and glass back
to CA than a logical person should have, and yes, I did get a membership to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JoinARBE/" target="_blank">Association of Root Beer Enthusiasts</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Said membership
also came with root beer (naturally), a license plate frame (kind of random,
but still amusing), root beer barrel candy (always good), and root beer taffy
(very good, I might add).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, given
how late I’m posting this, said membership has also since expired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>…but at least I still have the license plate
frame …</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Best of luck with your move, Root Beer Store – see you
someday in Idaho…!</div>
Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-70104945626201536052016-08-25T10:49:00.001-07:002016-08-25T10:49:22.540-07:00The Melt<div dir="ltr">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nb19xmfqT0PcZlAZIiYJN4L5-Tf1tDCdUwo0bOaNHjXeeHL9IWFIYWM-ixgidfPhB7-GptBuwHSlyvCPcFzsXGeVuN2gkdaSzoaRtV-0vWizDYXIeIrZdRvvZC1dxEZGca3iYQnQ5tX9/s1600/The+Melt+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nb19xmfqT0PcZlAZIiYJN4L5-Tf1tDCdUwo0bOaNHjXeeHL9IWFIYWM-ixgidfPhB7-GptBuwHSlyvCPcFzsXGeVuN2gkdaSzoaRtV-0vWizDYXIeIrZdRvvZC1dxEZGca3iYQnQ5tX9/s400/The+Melt+%25283%2529.jpg" width="351" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Pocket Pooj ponders a pickup peddler.</i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(The Melt - South Coast Plaza, May 2016) </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Melt is part of a relatively recent trend of food
trucks setting down brick-and-mortar roots. More accurately, The Melt
started as a Bay Area brick-and-mortar fast-casual grilled cheese joint,
which then expanded into a fleet of food trucks (converted from retired
school buses), some of which then shuttled down to Southern California,
where they then [retired for good (the Southern California ones, at
least), and] once again became brick-and-mortar grilled-cheese (and
burger, and soup) joints (<a href="http://la.eater.com/2012/12/12/6508913/drop-by-the-melt-downtown-today" target="_blank">source</a>).
Confused yet? Good. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All that, of course, is beside the point. Though I'm
generally not hip enough to know the latest news in the food truck
world, I at least try to Facebook-stalk the root beer world (you can
see, doing his own stalking in the background of the above photo, the reason why
even the latter has been lacking as of late). Which, long story short,
is why I happen to know that The Melt's menu is developed in part by
chef Michael Mina, whose restaurants have been rumored to serve a
house-made root beer (which I have been unable to verify; see the
aforementioned "not hip enough").</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I don't actually know if the sodas they serve at The Melt
are the same Michael Mina recipes, but they do advertise them as "all
natural." I also don't know with absolute certainty that the sodas are
house-made, since the four available flavors -- cola, lemon-lime, black
cherry, and root beer -- could be from any number of soda makers. All
four are actually pretty good, but my completely biased opinion is that
the root beer is the strongest.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">From the tap (and it's actually a tap, not just a soda
fountain) there's a respectable head, but it's gone before I make it
back to my table. Bubbles are pretty big, which may account for the
speed at which the head disappears, though the carbonation is only
mildly sharp. It tastes a little watered down, but I'm not sure if
that's by design or just an unbalanced mix from the tap. The sweetness
is balanced though; not too sweet, and if not watered down might
actually be a bit on the bitter side -- there's a little medicinal
aftertaste that goes up the sinus, as well as a little licorice.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Not bad; the flavors are all there, just a bit too watered
down for my liking. I'd still drink it again if I happen to be eating at
The Melt -- in fact, the food and beverage is good enough that I dare
say that I would prefer eating at The Melt over other
comparably-gimmicky mall restaurants, assuming there's one available.
But I still probably wouldn't make a special trip to eat here just for
the root beer. That's a high 3.<span class="HOEnZb"><span style="color: #888888;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-71545061682216490492015-12-03T10:26:00.000-08:002015-12-03T16:00:39.606-08:00Damn Fine Root Beer Road Trip, Part 1: Triple XXX Drive-In<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJi4rWzfM6Rkk0EnuMjaA0DG7GGGnIHawLlGeqGpdFTpiu_5ijtG6vZ9HARfidMZar_WHIKT6YLsY_B20FRTi6zNAPO9nFOCJQxMks_fpA_7tjWZ7OGFyFByJblbOz5cUc85t6gFVWKVqN/s1600/Triple+XXX-0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJi4rWzfM6Rkk0EnuMjaA0DG7GGGnIHawLlGeqGpdFTpiu_5ijtG6vZ9HARfidMZar_WHIKT6YLsY_B20FRTi6zNAPO9nFOCJQxMks_fpA_7tjWZ7OGFyFByJblbOz5cUc85t6gFVWKVqN/s400/Triple+XXX-0.jpg" width="285" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Behold: The largest lit Plexiglas sign in the Western United States (for reals).</span></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:TargetScreenSize>800x600</o:TargetScreenSize>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
</style>
<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Issaquah, September 2015)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So the Missus and I were ostensibly in the Seattle area for a wedding, but as you may have already gathered from my previous 2
posts, I had ulterior motives (well, I <i>did </i>want to go to the wedding, too. ...honest...).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having missed earlier opportunities
to ostensibly visit family in Lafayette, IN, home of one of the last 2
remaining Triple XXX establishments, we made sure to take a drive through the (fantastic,
big, majestic) woods (Douglas firs, Diane) to find the other one – which just
so happens to be the only one that still has the traditional root beer barrel
storefront.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first Triple XXX Drive-In in the Pacific Northwest actually
opened further southwest in 1930, but was demolished to make way for a car
dealership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its current home in Issaquah
was built in 1968, and had traditional car-hop service until 1996, when the
drive-up portion was demolished to make way for an office building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully, the restaurant portion still
remains, and its current owners – the Jose Enciso family – don’t seem to want
to remove anything else to make way for anything else (<a href="http://www.triplexrootbeer.com/History.htm" target="_blank">source</a>).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPX5Xl03lWr8ez9XQt-Sg8uTgWcnHY7qIg4sz8Ph5Q5i1U-syOSGyjNu1aaSYcBM8ceTKGj6iZZQNfCCKWmK5GUjDiscHwA0cCy58yUcrgtdHem8SkR_Gxnq16JFaBVza4sKbbUSclopQQ/s1600/Triple+XXX-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPX5Xl03lWr8ez9XQt-Sg8uTgWcnHY7qIg4sz8Ph5Q5i1U-syOSGyjNu1aaSYcBM8ceTKGj6iZZQNfCCKWmK5GUjDiscHwA0cCy58yUcrgtdHem8SkR_Gxnq16JFaBVza4sKbbUSclopQQ/s400/Triple+XXX-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">…and perhaps have a serious case of horror vacui…</span></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvu1QeyrqX0-EBrEL2PtmaUdLsOIbg-IWEsivtGF4tzy9Gu1wdmmzd9_-3g94_PLBtPjMAYeqTKQxfoj2AAMC-QM6Lt_vPGyZ1wwA7ZzfaK56YMfWHuzAsvfrQ-Q7RJC6736ARLq07K2a6/s1600/Triple+XXX-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvu1QeyrqX0-EBrEL2PtmaUdLsOIbg-IWEsivtGF4tzy9Gu1wdmmzd9_-3g94_PLBtPjMAYeqTKQxfoj2AAMC-QM6Lt_vPGyZ1wwA7ZzfaK56YMfWHuzAsvfrQ-Q7RJC6736ARLq07K2a6/s400/Triple+XXX-5.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Evidently we were seated in the Elvis corner.</span></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhfNoL5o0Pg9DOb1HzyqBj8jxgFhrXKc5K7cosrc_eMdFI7AKKJusfzCXEc8GzGfr2OSzaYLgewtdhA6RhBmgol_eT8Ti_2ilIiyARHpaoQGcZMmMlWKfan_tcY1g3RZqZaOFOgOoc-4Q/s1600/Triple+XXX-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhfNoL5o0Pg9DOb1HzyqBj8jxgFhrXKc5K7cosrc_eMdFI7AKKJusfzCXEc8GzGfr2OSzaYLgewtdhA6RhBmgol_eT8Ti_2ilIiyARHpaoQGcZMmMlWKfan_tcY1g3RZqZaOFOgOoc-4Q/s400/Triple+XXX-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">A fountain barrel from days gone by – with separate spigots for syrup
and soda.</span></i></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4fnml7rS5QasphLWJvbWELpnGJa8LfTEE_H_NcDr9Ht732qI_Uy_Z4dMIFcPXcHhmeTjrykf2f4pHWBNSqe_xSRGhZNSaOEOxu4uvGthGMMe3PgmgbNTbLpl5zgVjc3fIFy8NVjDA0OZ/s1600/Triple+XXX-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4fnml7rS5QasphLWJvbWELpnGJa8LfTEE_H_NcDr9Ht732qI_Uy_Z4dMIFcPXcHhmeTjrykf2f4pHWBNSqe_xSRGhZNSaOEOxu4uvGthGMMe3PgmgbNTbLpl5zgVjc3fIFy8NVjDA0OZ/s400/Triple+XXX-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Truth.</span></i></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJTWJ-2EGdTBCEdPWeJKSbTYMgLz6-1cK1OPdTMB51ob6e6hsauPuvxQ91GUh70yvwfCTtu3q3aWU41-MI9uXlbCsZKelDtfoO5k7JSqTaIKCxGA4qBAfqWV_1KSKRjRxqsTo4iwzH_3d/s1600/Triple+XXX-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJTWJ-2EGdTBCEdPWeJKSbTYMgLz6-1cK1OPdTMB51ob6e6hsauPuvxQ91GUh70yvwfCTtu3q3aWU41-MI9uXlbCsZKelDtfoO5k7JSqTaIKCxGA4qBAfqWV_1KSKRjRxqsTo4iwzH_3d/s400/Triple+XXX-6.jpg" width="301" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Triple the X, double the root beer, Porta the Pooj.</span></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These days, the Encisos get their root beer syrup from the
Coca-Cola Company, but I’m not entirely sure whether it’s Triple XXX syrup or just
Barq’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m inclined to think the
former, given that it has a more licorice-heavy flavor than Barq’s typically
has.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the whole, it has a
sarsaparilla-like taste, though less vegetal, and not much of an aftertaste
(although it’s a little hard to distinguish much past the lingering smell of
hot grease – not a bad thing, per se, but it does dull the senses a bit).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Texture is on the thinner side as well, so
it’s hard to tell whether its made with sugar or HFCS.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the end of the day, I have no complaints (just a very
full stomach).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I still like the
bottled Triple XXX better (and I really should still try the IN version at some
point for comparison), but I’m nevertheless enjoying the whole experience here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Triple XXX Drive-In gets a low 4.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1n0ZR4SsHRLpq7Hv_7xOZXI74OPSR7gq5Icmx1qmm9aTlPcIQfZqPUWZejo5VzKEgBuf0isQdEGqM0zDhyTUORq_vekNwP2WcAhDHLvoMzAC8TqDCbYb12o1PcIL6BAWZjfhEmaE4mpI7/s1600/Triple+XXX-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1n0ZR4SsHRLpq7Hv_7xOZXI74OPSR7gq5Icmx1qmm9aTlPcIQfZqPUWZejo5VzKEgBuf0isQdEGqM0zDhyTUORq_vekNwP2WcAhDHLvoMzAC8TqDCbYb12o1PcIL6BAWZjfhEmaE4mpI7/s400/Triple+XXX-7.jpg" width="263" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>...and bonus points for commitment
to the theme, </i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> even down to the picnic tables</i></span>…</i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-3489044983842648372015-10-23T10:35:00.002-07:002015-10-23T10:35:14.849-07:00Rogue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfy_fZMLcyZxIzBK-ZUhVFZNaB1eWa0df8ryFmo0uURKaaNTgO8GYYv1gEEzobx16UdGfyAoWrrREpaF4alowLnt0Ys-kmNd-AY_6v5nmuIEQ1xCTXF7pxVPGGp64pWHewS59Zvsjjgvfm/s1600/Rogue+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfy_fZMLcyZxIzBK-ZUhVFZNaB1eWa0df8ryFmo0uURKaaNTgO8GYYv1gEEzobx16UdGfyAoWrrREpaF4alowLnt0Ys-kmNd-AY_6v5nmuIEQ1xCTXF7pxVPGGp64pWHewS59Zvsjjgvfm/s400/Rogue+%25283%2529.JPG" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Porta-Pooj retreats from the herd.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(The Root Beer Store, September 2015)</span><br />
<br />
If you were to throw a Tillamook Baby Loaf in any given direction from any given location in Oregon, you would probably have a reasonably good chance of hitting a craft brewer. Of the glut of breweries that have cropped up during the Pacific Northwest’s micro-brew renaissance, however, you could also probably make a reasonably good argument that Rogue is one of the more successful. From their beginnings in Ashland in 1987, to their fortuitous relocation to Newport – their lease negotiated when one of their co-founders just happened to be stranded in Newport during a snowstorm – Rogue has since grown into a multi-award-winning producer of ales, porters, and stouts. Their vertically-integrated operation includes farming their own barley, hops, and rye, and their production has expanded to include non-beer items such as cheese, tuna (to which I must add <i>ehhhh???</i>), and, of course, root beer (<a href="http://www.rogue.com/rogueabout/" target="_blank">source</a>).<br />
<br />
Rogue Root Beer is also award-winning…well, sort of, at least technically-speaking. More accurately, their Root Beer bottle won a packaging design award last year (<a href="http://www.rogue.com/rogue_soda/root-beer/" target="_blank">source</a>). While we can probably all reasonably agree that the bottle is nice-looking on the outside, we wouldn’t want to seem superficial either, so let’s just say that it’s really what’s on the inside that counts, right? Yeah…? OK.<br />
<br />
What’s on the inside, when poured outside, has a decent head of soft bubbles; the bigger the pour, the bigger the head (the ingredients list “sparkling foam” as the foaming agent). The scent is heavily licorice, slightly medicinal, and the flavor is crisp, almost fruity, with some clove for good measure. As the fruity flavor fades, the honey flavor builds – light, like blossom honey, not like clover honey – and floats to the top of the mouth. Eventually the fruity flavor comes back in an apple cider-like finish, with a very slight amount of heat in the aftertaste.<br />
<br />
The honey – which is also produced at the Rogue farm, by the way – doesn’t really thicken the texture like I’ve come to expect from other honey-sweetened root beers, nor does it make the drink cloying, as I’ve experienced in the past (though don't always expect). Instead, the brown sugar actually adds some depth to the sweetness (and it’s definitely on the sweet side of the scale). Ultimately though, the fruity flavor comes back to dominate, and that imparts an overall tart taste to the whole thing that I’m not really sure I like.<br />
<br />
For all that Rogue does right as a company, I just don’t think their Root Beer really hits all the marks of a good, classic root beer. While I’d most certainly welcome trying some of their other sodas (except the Pumpkin Spice, because…why…never…pumpkin spice…eh), I didn’t particularly like the root beer. Rogue Root Beer gets a high 3.
Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-50416831795164453132015-10-14T12:32:00.000-07:002015-10-14T12:32:39.801-07:00Hires<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienVzhq2IGD_Z5-XroCQXDIuLupvAhYpn1Z0Qs_H3PldLX1YQEZctHPn0SVXJiI8WE7dXVhRvg1MZD6XuZ2vTQQrg_mhnMqyRDcCvzh34KClR4ISl6oqBWY6wL-iDQkEnimO7_uodTogMA/s1600/Hires+%25284.5%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienVzhq2IGD_Z5-XroCQXDIuLupvAhYpn1Z0Qs_H3PldLX1YQEZctHPn0SVXJiI8WE7dXVhRvg1MZD6XuZ2vTQQrg_mhnMqyRDcCvzh34KClR4ISl6oqBWY6wL-iDQkEnimO7_uodTogMA/s320/Hires+%25284.5%2529.JPG" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Pocket-Pooj is a patent-pending original.</i></span> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(The Root Beer Store, September 2015)</span><br />
<br />
If you’re reading this blog, there’s a pretty good chance that you already
know some of the history, significance, and unfortunate decline of Hires Root
Beer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much better-written and more detailed
accounts are available <a href="http://www.gourmetrootbeer.com/history.html#hires" target="_blank">here</a>
and <a href="http://stuffnobodycaresabout.com/2011/08/22/killing-a-product-why-you-cant-find-hires-root-beer/" target="_blank">here</a>,
but long story (relatively) short, Pennsylvania pharmacist Charles Hires first
brought root beer to the forefront of the American consciousness when he
introduced his version of the beverage to fair-goers at the 1876 Philadelphia US
Centennial Exposition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the origins
of the beverage are still up for debate – legend says that Hires discovered a
“root tea” years prior, during his honeymoon, while other sources suggest that he created it
at the behest of pre-Prohibition temperance movement leaders – its seemingly
meteoric rise in popularity can be fairly attributed to Hires himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hires first marketed solid concentrate and powdered
versions of root beer – claiming that it could purify the blood and bring color to
the cheeks, among other health benefits – before shifting production to kegs
and liquid concentrates for soda fountains as well as at-home mixing in your
very own Hires Automatic Munimaker (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hires_Root_Beer" target="_blank">additional source</a>).<br />
<br />
By 1890, Hires and his company, appropriately named the Charles E. Hires
Company, had started small-bottling operations for commercial sale, and sales
of these bottles and home-mix extracts would continue for close to another 100
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, Hires Root Beer’s slow
death stretched through the latter half of that century of production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hires handed over his company to his sons in
1925, and the company would continue to flourish under the family’s watch until
1960, when it was purchased by Consolidated Foods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just two years later, Consolidated Foods sold
the company again to Crush International, which was purchased in its entirety
by Proctor & Gamble in 1980 and sold again to Cadbury Schweppes in 1989 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hires_Root_Beer" target="_blank">source</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time Cadbury Schweppes divested its
soft drinks branch into the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group in 2008, Hires’ parent
company had already decided to slowly phase Hires out of production in order to
promote its own A&W line (<a href="http://stuffnobodycaresabout.com/2011/08/22/killing-a-product-why-you-cant-find-hires-root-beer/" target="_blank">source</a>).<br />
<br />
Lest you feel bad for Charles Hires himself, fret not, since he actually did
quite well for himself after leaving the company he started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would later become one of the world’s experts
on vanilla, writing a book on the subject from knowledge he gleaned in the
wholesale vanilla bean business (<a href="http://www.gourmetrootbeer.com/history.html#hires" target="_blank">source</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m inclined to believe that this expertise resulted
in Hires, however peripherally, continuing to influence the product that he made into a
household staple.<br />
<br />
Personally, I recall seeing Hires Root Beer around here and there as a kid,
and even remember drinking a fair amount of it during summer music camp in
elementary school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With production now scarce,
distribution limited to a handful of states of which California is not one, I don’t
think I had seen any Hires Root Beer in any form at all for at least a couple
decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thus very pleasantly
surprised to find a canned version in Washington during a recent foray into the
Pacific Northwest (more on that to come).<br />
<br />
Decanted into a glass, Hires has a satisfyingly thick head of foam that stays
on top of the pour for a while, then sticks around the edges for the remainder
of its time in said glass. Surprisingly, there isn’t much of a scent to speak
of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also surprisingly, it has a
relatively rich and smooth texture for a HFCS-sweetened soda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The flavor is a good balance of sweetness and
herbal, somewhere between A&W and Barqs, with a menthol finish (possibly some
wintergreen then) that lasts for a long time in the aftertaste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While there’s nothing that stands out in particular,
there’s a good mix of everything that I would typically refer to as a “generic”
root beer flavor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ordinarily that
“generic” label would relegate a root beer to the realm of mediocrity, but
considering that (1) Hires quite probably executes the “generic” root beer
flavor better than everyone else, and (2) Hires is quite probably the flavor that every other “generic” root beer flavor aims to emulate to begin with, I
tend to view that “generic” label very favorably in this case. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My only gripe is that it doesn’t use real
sugar, but I’m OK with that for the most part because it still tastes really
good.<br />
<br />
Am I perhaps giving the current Hires label the benefit of the doubt because
of what the original label has meant to the history of root beer?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, probably.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the fact of the matter is that I would
easily drink this again whenever the opportunity presents itself, and might
even consider having it shipped here so that the opportunity presents itself
more often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So by that rationale, Hires
Root Beer warrants a 4.5.Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-20686268275784151372015-09-03T11:24:00.000-07:002015-09-03T11:24:50.708-07:00Black Bear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wuGubKJP-_mhiA53oiWQfjbl1eeQflXSQ267hTu4_UvH_vVtKiULUSNxuhR9WfRriAkLo1fYfaDjBRaaNdNrmP_eG2q42Wnj0qKoXnWBQ2tY2oDgcVUy0BZ8FpX8jl1_RDO18re6Ow2p/s1600/Black+Bear+%25283.5%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wuGubKJP-_mhiA53oiWQfjbl1eeQflXSQ267hTu4_UvH_vVtKiULUSNxuhR9WfRriAkLo1fYfaDjBRaaNdNrmP_eG2q42Wnj0qKoXnWBQ2tY2oDgcVUy0BZ8FpX8jl1_RDO18re6Ow2p/s400/Black+Bear+%25283.5%2529.JPG" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I see a Pooj looking at me.</span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Real Soda in Real Bottles, December 2012)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So we know that Bulldog Root Beer is named for its owners’ Bulldogs, III Dachshunds Root Beer is named for its owners’ III Dachshunds, and Freaky Dog Root Beer is named for its owner’s Freaky Dog. Following that trend then, Black Bear Root Beer is named for its owner’s … Black Bear …? </span></span><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Really, it is… </span></span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Needless to say, Louis Patmont had to release his baby bear back into the wild when it became less baby, but named his business after it in remembrance of their good times together. Patmont had already been bottling spring water in Town of Lake, WI since 1920, but didn’t make the name change until 1924, and didn’t include flavored sodas in his repertoire until 1932. Thirty years later, in 1961, Peter and Esther Caruso bought the business and their family runs it to this day, moving production to Oak Creek, WI in 2001 where distribution would be easier (<a href="http://www.blackbearbottling.com/history-of-black-bear-bottling-oak-creek-wisconsin/black-bear-caruso-timeline" target="_blank">source</a>). </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There’s a nice scent coming from the bottle, with some vanilla that doesn't really end up factoring much in the flavor. Bubbles are small, and there’s no head at all – not even any bubbles rising to the top of a glass when poured. I don’t know if this is normal or more due to the fact that I have an old bottle – I’m easing back into this game slowly, evidenced by the smaller serving size for my first real post in oh-so-many months. Unfortunately, that means some of my stock of new-to-me root beers is much older than I’d care to admit. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Disclaimer aside, the taste is very sweet compared to other flavors present – your standard herbal flavor with some clove around the edges. Although Black Bear uses HFCS instead of real sugar, the texture is much improved over standard HFCS, which is typically thin. Black Bear coats the mouth more than HFCS usually does, which helps to leave a pleasant herbal aftertaste that is, again, pleasant, if not particularly distinctive. I’m going to give Black Bear a low 3.5 for now, but I might be inclined to give it another fair shot should the opportunity present itself, given that the bottle is so old. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Follow me down another rabbit hole (bear hole…?) for a second here </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(actually, I should recommend <i><b>not</b></i> <i><b>ever</b></i> following <i><b>anybody </b></i>down <i><b>any </b></i>bear hole, should anybody ever ask)</span></span>: III Dachshunds is produced by Black Bear, which was purchased by the Caruso family in 1961, for which Caruso’s Legacy Root Beer is named. All three of those labels are now owned by WIT Brewing Company of Redding, CA, which now also runs <a href="http://starkravingblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Goose%20Island" target="_blank">Goose Island</a>’s soda operation (though evidently not the beer operation), as well as another label called <a href="http://www.oakcreekbarrelagedsodas.com/" target="_blank">Oak Creek Barrel Aged</a>, also based in Redding (but named for a town in Wisconsin, with a Chicago phone number…?), that ages two root beer varieties in oak barrels for an entire year. I don’t know if any brewing or bottling occur in Redding, but I’d be interested to see what a side-by-side comparison of these labels would reveal. On paper, Caruso’s and Dachshunds have the exact same ingredients list, though the nutritional information indicates different quantities of sugar and therefore calories. Goose Island differs from both in the order that the natural/artificial flavor and citric acid are added, as well as an additional preservative. Black Bear already differs from everything else in its use of HFCS instead of sugar, so there should already be a noticeable difference in flavor. No ingredients are indicated for Oak Creek, but there are already enough differences in its production to suggest a very different experience (<a href="http://www.blackbearbottling.com/history-of-black-bear-bottling-oak-creek-wisconsin/" target="_blank">source</a>). </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have somewhat ready access to all the aforementioned labels except the Oak Creek varietals, so perhaps we can find some SCIENCE(!) down that rabbit hole sometime in the future. Meanwhile I need to sort through my stash to see which bottles have already become science experiments in their own right… …Stay tuned…
</span></span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-4867205148887676342015-08-06T14:38:00.001-07:002015-08-06T16:15:05.893-07:00Happy Root Beer Float Day!<div dir="ltr">
Hey Folks, it's been a while...</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Parental, educational, and vocational obligations are still relegating the pursuit of root beer (i.e., happiness -- not the sole definition of it, of course, but no small factor in its general definition either) to the back burner for the near future. I'll be back soon, I promise.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvOEJj3WOd6rN4WmHCW24HmaGHaPGGTuh14WaMKMEkPcFxXHJ8JrML5zW7e12bxjSkQSK6ZEoDQDDdu9ZcMHWFU8Ge8eRHSuuOYAFaCFP1tIk3zwh2XDMUkUa3ucANqeqJos1VJF2qyMs/s1600/IMG_20150806_142946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvOEJj3WOd6rN4WmHCW24HmaGHaPGGTuh14WaMKMEkPcFxXHJ8JrML5zW7e12bxjSkQSK6ZEoDQDDdu9ZcMHWFU8Ge8eRHSuuOYAFaCFP1tIk3zwh2XDMUkUa3ucANqeqJos1VJF2qyMs/s640/IMG_20150806_142946.jpg" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ahhh, cafeteria food. Note the whimsically speckled solid-surface table.</i></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Until then, this is unfortunately the best I can muster for today's festivities -- I am at least fortunate enough to be in a place where Barqs and soft serve are readily available.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Once again, celebrate accordingly and responsibly...!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-32256248015934816302015-02-06T20:49:00.001-08:002015-02-06T20:49:52.862-08:00Redeemer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjicb0M8_ULpP2eWI2TptQ_dqt7gzXlhWxN69a3idZMCuxYWUza_2R1D5Maj5-PQfrHwngvxC2GdRM34hiD6XuMS3Vc-NpQb2i_txTYloqJh0aoqNpckUYgIxQxGg6kI60AxdB61XS5JHFA/s1600/Absolution+Brewing+Co+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjicb0M8_ULpP2eWI2TptQ_dqt7gzXlhWxN69a3idZMCuxYWUza_2R1D5Maj5-PQfrHwngvxC2GdRM34hiD6XuMS3Vc-NpQb2i_txTYloqJh0aoqNpckUYgIxQxGg6kI60AxdB61XS5JHFA/s400/Absolution+Brewing+Co+2.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(Absolution Brewing Company, February 2015)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Absolution Brewing Company opened a little short of a year ago in the South Bay, Los Angeles’s up-and-coming center of craft brewing. Owners Steve Farguson and Nigel Heath, along with head brewer at the time Wes McCann, noticed an underserved market for microbrews in south LA County, observing that many in the region headed even further south to San Diego County for fresh beer. Since the City of Torrance had already been making efforts to attract craft brewers to the region, native-Angeleno Farguson drew on his experience as a brewing consultant to open his own shop closer to home (<a href="http://www.dailybreeze.com/business/20140227/hallelujah-torrances-newest-craft-brewery-absolution-brewing-opens-doors-saturday-to-the-converted" target="_blank">source</a>). The brewery and tap room are actually located in the back of a nondescript tilt-up office park, buried behind an oil refinery and bordered by train tracks, but that fact does little to hide Absolution from the relatively large group gathered here to drink at noon on a weekday. Maybe the repurposed church pews (previously purposed at Heath’s church, evidently) and religiously-themed brew names (which you might have already figured, given the name of the brewery) are adequate to assuage the guilt of a liquid lunch…. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Naturally, I chose one of their tea-totaling options…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQ7nEi7kFOoRKJoNd44eNEaoq2MFqyFEi8BYesLaHA-MxjskNeZ6SzOWhBTWKxbj3RAVezWl3NrU9LQ8Ku9px47xTOX6cmZMuOgM8Xom19iNnBbZ4EvyZr64XGngRoKGH2_70RTW6fo9y/s1600/Absolution+Brewing+Co+(3.5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQ7nEi7kFOoRKJoNd44eNEaoq2MFqyFEi8BYesLaHA-MxjskNeZ6SzOWhBTWKxbj3RAVezWl3NrU9LQ8Ku9px47xTOX6cmZMuOgM8Xom19iNnBbZ4EvyZr64XGngRoKGH2_70RTW6fo9y/s400/Absolution+Brewing+Co+(3.5).jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Pocket Pooj ponders a pardon.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Current head brewer Bart Bullington – who, it’s worth noting, was actively head brewing and shoveling grain out of a mash tun next to my pew during my visit – developed Absolution’s root beer recipe along with many of the, shall we say, <i>holier </i>brews. It’s heavy on the licorice and herbs, almost bordering on bitter, with a menthol finish. Nevertheless it’s quite refreshing, and the fact that it’s not too sweet actually makes it easier to drink. There’s no head at all and the bubbles are on the small side, the former being a little disappointing but the latter also making it easier to drink. Lest you be worried about the fate of the former head brewer, McCann was manning the bar, and he told me that they use nitrogen instead of carbon dioxide for the carbonation (assuming it’s still called carbonation if it’s not actually carbon…?). Unfortunately, the nitrogen limits Redeemer Root Beer’s availability to the tap house at the moment – it will not travel well in a growler, and will quickly go flat.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9s_puAcyCaqNWS2bNjswRZe6Yv2VhMqduS3jP1U2yyKk8qgTu0BiN87ISVTwQ_xAXZBYmrIHOhz0JDBJw1C7N2uSJPQoKKDouE4l3NJkimD3A2Fe2iEnm6SQ4QOHGutNA7uSk6fe5aoyH/s1600/Absolution+Brewing+Co+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9s_puAcyCaqNWS2bNjswRZe6Yv2VhMqduS3jP1U2yyKk8qgTu0BiN87ISVTwQ_xAXZBYmrIHOhz0JDBJw1C7N2uSJPQoKKDouE4l3NJkimD3A2Fe2iEnm6SQ4QOHGutNA7uSk6fe5aoyH/s400/Absolution+Brewing+Co+3.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Well, in that case...</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspired by the above exhortation, strategically placed on the restroom wall, I also had a glass of the Confession Cream Soda, which was actually a little spicy, too. Of course, I can't tell for sure whether that's intentional or just the root beer aftertaste talking. Either way, the Cream Soda does have a huge head of soft foam, and was also pleasantly not too sweet, with less vanilla than you'd typically expect in a cream soda.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back to Absolution’s root beer, though: I like it well enough, but it’s also a little on the bitter side for my every day tastes. On the other hand, that same bitterness would actually make Redeemer a good root beer to cook with – generally the stronger ones make better root beer sherbets and whatnot. As a drinking root beer however, I’ll give Redeemer Root Beer a high 3.5.</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-91507524604855547232014-11-25T14:59:00.000-08:002014-11-25T14:59:20.953-08:00dougieDOG Butterscotch Root Beer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OWRiDBfznepQxg9IrbNKv0-hs75OdSBn9hVFS486jpnbiXf4X9Zf1W0h-wDpGUvjQDKdjbIOKUEFdZjmcnFnBMIhwOUAKDQKyEXYyzHLBXNzwrWAyDCdZd7r0WfgtiptDGWYG5kEeX-2/s1600/Dougie+Dog+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OWRiDBfznepQxg9IrbNKv0-hs75OdSBn9hVFS486jpnbiXf4X9Zf1W0h-wDpGUvjQDKdjbIOKUEFdZjmcnFnBMIhwOUAKDQKyEXYyzHLBXNzwrWAyDCdZd7r0WfgtiptDGWYG5kEeX-2/s400/Dougie+Dog+(2).JPG" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>
The Pooj puts his arms out front, leans side to side.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(The Milkman at Granville Island Public Market, Vancouver - June 2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s been a lot of conflicting information floating around the internet in the past few months in regards to the World’s Most Expensive Hot Dog. As early as April of 2012, dougieDOG of Vancouver, home of the $100 Dragon Dog, had claimed ownership of the Guinness World Record (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/04/17/dragon-dog-most-expensive-hot-dog_n_1430832.html" target="_blank">source</a>). Relatively recently, dougieDOG made claims of the same of official Guinness recognition again (<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/introducing-world-expensive-hot-dog-article-1.1895160" target="_blank">source</a>). However, according to even more recent news on the Guinness World Records <a href="http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2014/8/worlds-most-expensive-hot-dog-unveiled-by-seattles-tokyo-dog-59598/" target="_blank">website itself</a>, someone else in Seattle now has claim to the title. Officially, I’m confused – this, of course, happens rather frequently regarding a wider array of subjects than cased meat, and probably means nothing in the long run except that it tangentially relates to root beer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the 2nd-and-a-half-ish anniversary of dougieDOG's supposed first (?) induction into the Guinness Book of World Records then </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(which is to say, not related in any way whatsoever...)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, we raise a commemorative bottle of root beer – dougieDOG Butterscotch Root Beer, to be exact. dougieDOG founder dougieluv (yes, that's really his name, and yes, that's really how he spells/capitalizes it) has a clear passion (ahem, ::luv::) for frankfurters, with the credentials to prove it. After touring the US to make a documentary about regional hot dog styles, dougie used his research to open a restaurant in Vancouver to serve these US-regional dogs alongside styles of his own creation (of which the Dragon Dog is but one). In addition to allegedly holding the World Record above, dougieDOG also claims to hold the record for serving the largest variety of root beers in Vancouver (</span><a href="http://dougiedog.com/about/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">source</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">). My own past experience with a supposedly-record-setting hot dog may have turned me off to participating in anything hot-dog-record-related again (I won't go into detail ... ever ...), but I can certainly get on board with anyone even attempting to make such a root beer claim. And while I didn't actually procure this bottle </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">at dougieluv's establishment (which is closed now according to Yelp, though several satellite locations and food trucks remain), I did get it in </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vancouver, so at least it's from dougie's home district (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Galco's has since started stocking it in </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the great brown south, FYI).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps dougieDOG Butterscotch Root Beer would have been better experienced in its natural habitat, whilst in a sausage-and-poutine-induced haze, because it’s not particularly noteworthy </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">on its own</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. The scent from the bottle starts generically root beer-ish (similar to most middle-of-the-road root beers), but quickly veers towards butterscotch. From then on, it’s essentially the butterscotch’s show. It tastes more like butterscotch pudding and less like a butterscotch disk – with an actual scotch-like flavor – but doesn't really taste like root beer at all. Aside from that, there's not much to add except that the texture is on the thinner side, with a clean aftertaste.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which isn't to say that there aren't a couple of positive notes: it has a nice amount of medium-sized bubbles (no foam though), and does in fact have a good butterscotch flavor. If you’re in the mood for a Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer but are not in the mood for the sugar shock that comes with the typical Flying Cauldron experience, dougieDog is the way to go. Just don’t go expecting root beer, that's all. That being the case then, dougieDOG Butterscotch Root Beer gets a 2.</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-58569562568762079362014-09-22T15:38:00.001-07:002014-09-22T15:38:33.404-07:00Mason's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4GuSKqDpbeU9ikZ0jFeuVV9ANCD6n7hye3ELk8koHoiocm8l9sO-yWWEcVzIHrwe-uOMKBnzM9VXgfZ3FhRoKPdsgnEf-THBVlnqtpa7R_EFWhBEi3IQO7rtwJYcoKeB3ndu2mvUAUnj/s1600/Mason's%2B(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4GuSKqDpbeU9ikZ0jFeuVV9ANCD6n7hye3ELk8koHoiocm8l9sO-yWWEcVzIHrwe-uOMKBnzM9VXgfZ3FhRoKPdsgnEf-THBVlnqtpa7R_EFWhBEi3IQO7rtwJYcoKeB3ndu2mvUAUnj/s400/Mason's%2B(3).JPG" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Pooj keeps the metric system down.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(BevMo Pasadena, June 2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mason's Root Beer has had a volatile history. Originally opened in 1947 by Mason & Mason Inc. in Chicago, it has since 1970 bounced around from big beverage companies to bigger beverage companies, eventually landing with PepsiCo after a hostile takeover. The FTC, however, decided Pepsi was too powerful, so forced its sale to Monarch Beverage Company in 1978, where Mason's has remained (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason's_Root_Beer" target="_blank">source</a>). While there also appears to have been a chain of midwestern drive-ins bearing the Mason's name and logo, I'm not sure how they were associated with Mason & Mason, if at all (similar to how the remaining <a href="http://starkravingblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/triple-xxx.html" target="_blank">Triple XXX</a> drive-ins are no longer part of the Triple XXX bottling operation). Unfortunately, I might never find out, given that there </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">only</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">appears to be one drive-in left and it's all the way over in Washington, IN.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the bottled Mason’s is any indication, however, I might not have to make the trip. While there is a nice amount of foam that forms at the initial pour (though it doesn’t stay very long) and a smooth texture with soft, small bubbles, the flavor isn't particularly remarkable. Not that it’s bad – there’s just nothing distinctive about it, so it’s rather generic. The scent suggests something slightly licorice-y and slightly fruity, but the dominant taste is sugar. Again, it’s not even that Mason’s is too sweet – it actually has a pleasant sweetness – it’s just that there’s nothing else to really speak of. Considering the smoothness, I would have expected there to be either honey or a foaming agent included, but neither are indicated in the ingredients list nor implied by the taste. Just as sugar is the dominant flavor, so it is with the aftertaste – mostly sweet with a very slight tartness and an even slighter menthol/cool feeling.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Were I to find myself in Indiana for any reason, with access to a car and a few hours of spare time, maybe I’d make an effort to see the remaining Mason’s drive-in for the sake of research, but I suppose if any of these factors did line up, I’d probably make the effort to see Triple XXX in Lafayette first (and seeing as Washington and Lafayette are 3 hours apart, I’m unlikely to get to see both unless I’m required to drive through western Indiana for whatever reason I’m required to be in Indiana to begin with…). But again, nothing compelling all on its own to make the effort, which may be the best way to describe Mason’s Root Beer: not bad, but not particularly special. That’ll get you a 3.
</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-73621592443632018122014-09-17T14:59:00.000-07:002014-09-17T14:59:28.461-07:00Honest Fizz<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Whole Foods, June 2014)</span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Sorry folks, no photo this time.
I had briefly considered Photoshop-ing something together, but then considered the irony – indeed, hypocrisy – of presenting something called <i>Honest
</i>Fizz with a completely fabricated image.
You’ll have to settle for the photos and description on the </span>company website (<a href="http://www.honesttea.com/fizz/organic_root_beer/" target="_blank">link here</a>)<span style="color: #222222;"> for reference.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you can already see, this is the root beer offering from Honest
Tea’s relatively-recent foray into non-tea beverages. In addition to being a root beer fanatic, I
am somewhat of a brewed-tea fiend, and Honest Tea is one of only a couple
bottled teas that I’ll resort to in the absence of the fresh-brewed whole-leaf
varietal. Given that, I’m willing to
give their root beer a fair shake at winning me over.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having said that, I think that they would have been more honest if
they called it “root beer <i>flavored </i>soda” instead of "root beer." My first warning should have been its
advertisement as “zero calorie,” but since it’s made with stevia instead of an
artificial chemical sweetener, I’m willing to give it a chance because I have
had at least one decent stevia-sweetened root beer. Unfortunately, Honest Fizz reminds me less of
<a href="http://starkravingblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Zevia" target="_blank">Zevia</a>, which I thought was drinkable, and more of <a href="http://starkravingblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/santa-cruz-organic.html" target="_blank">Santa Cruz Organic</a>, which I
did not. It has a golden tan color,
much like <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Santa Cruz</st1:place></st1:city>,
with a scent and flavor reminiscent of Extra Dessert Delights’ root beer
float-flavored chewing gum and Cracker Barrel’s root beer-flavored licorice
vines. Thankfully stevia does not leave
the throat-stinging aftertaste that artificial sweeteners often do, though the
aftertaste is thin, tart, and vaguely fruity.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">I
suppose if you are desperate for a no-calorie, organic, non-GMO soda</span><span style="color: #222222;">, this could work – I’m willing to
bet that Honest Fizz’s fruit-flavored sodas are much better </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(there is also a non-organic version of the root beer which I have not seen or tried, but I doubt that there is a significant taste difference)</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The carbonation is a little sharp, but an otherwise
pleasant drinking experience for a canned soda, with small bubbles, a
blink-and-you’ll-miss-it amount of foam, and an oddly tea-like texture (that
is, rich and light at the same time, like a dark oolong).</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But good root beer needs more than good
bubbles and good intentions.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Honest Fizz
Root Beer gets a 2.</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-1323521620981489562014-08-18T17:28:00.000-07:002014-08-18T17:29:54.108-07:00Mammoth Imperial<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKW9jFyQ_otcMX0MdUYcOl2102JNvsdoMfQtAUsN9sK2-k0Az9KJj9bZePQM5lM_MmGul1A0oqbt5eN-cSZJUgKHrdnmYQTGpdz3SOFQ3QP-9rZxvLhynDI_pw_6iV2GuQsw6g0j8TWWIb/s1600/Mammoth+Brewing+Company+(3.5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKW9jFyQ_otcMX0MdUYcOl2102JNvsdoMfQtAUsN9sK2-k0Az9KJj9bZePQM5lM_MmGul1A0oqbt5eN-cSZJUgKHrdnmYQTGpdz3SOFQ3QP-9rZxvLhynDI_pw_6iV2GuQsw6g0j8TWWIb/s400/Mammoth+Brewing+Company+(3.5).JPG" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Pooj feels a little woozy.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(Mammoth Brewing Company, July 2014)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">High in the Eastern Sierras, near the Owens Valley where we of Southern California steal most of our water, sits Mammoth Mountain. While most people know already know Mammoth as a hiking and skiing destination, fewer know that it is home to the purported highest brewery on the west coast (which may be a generous assessment, given that Mammoth is some 200 miles from the ocean, on the non-coast-facing side of a massive mountain range, but we’ll just go with what they say for now…). Since 1995, the Mammoth Brewing Company has crafted their wares hereabouts, 8,000 feet above sea level. They've even recently expanded their capacity to produce an apropos 8,000 barrels of brew each year, of which </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">some</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">are presumably their Mammoth Imperial Root Beer (</span><a href="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth_Brewing_Company" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">source</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It certainly helps to have friends in high altitudes, seeing as this growler of happiness was gifted to me by a local, but I will have to add a disclaimer to everything else I’m about to write: high altitudes also means long distances and infrequent visits, so at the time of sampling, this growler of happiness had already been happy-ing (??) in said local's fridge for a month. Although I’ve managed to keep fresh root beer fairly well maintained in the fridge for several weeks, a recent bad experience with some good stuff that I had forgotten about in the fridge for a little (actually, a lot…) too long suggests that even something so sugary has a definite shelf life. My point in saying this, then, is that I will need to do another test in the future, closer to the source (or at least closer to the time of purchase) before any real conclusions can be formed or preliminary conclusions verified.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On with the show then, shall we?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The good news is that the carbonation has held up – the bubbles are on the small end of medium and get smaller after the initial head dissipation. Since the head itself doesn’t actually stay for more than a couple seconds, the medium bubbles give way to smaller bubbles fairly quickly. From the growler and from the glass, the scent is heavily herbal and menthol, leaning towards licorice as well. Not surprisingly then, the flavor is also heavy on the menthol and herbs, with a hit of licorice as well. It’s not too sweet – it probably could have used a little more sugar to balance the bitterness of the herbs, which tends to skew the flavors sour – with a sarsaparilla-like aftertaste. Again, the menthol is also strong in the aftertaste, leaving a cool feeling on the tongue.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For now, in its current iteration, I like </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mammoth Imperial Root Beer well enough. P</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">erhaps a fresher batch would actually taste sweeter (the aforementioned spoiled stuff became much more bitter with time, like over-extracted tea or coffee), thereby counteracting some of the mild bitterness </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">– </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the only thing I didn't really like about it. Either way, I would happily give it a second go for the sake of being thorough in my research. Mammoth Imperial Root Beer gets a high 3.5.
</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-87580494902095037702014-08-12T20:30:00.001-07:002014-08-12T20:30:30.160-07:00Root Beer Field Trip: Galco’s Summer Soda Tasting 4 – The Great Root Beer Taste-Off<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECnNLekZn1eZquhCrl9Z9y1pxONoeRT1q_OqcpUJxm3ADl54G7gLt30w9KpaQVol2uA2UQqMrKgj89_PEtoM0J9AZhiMSzufFVZwvKhQoK807gAqg1qdiaGCdDIE2uVqSYMhKeiRjtO6b/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECnNLekZn1eZquhCrl9Z9y1pxONoeRT1q_OqcpUJxm3ADl54G7gLt30w9KpaQVol2uA2UQqMrKgj89_PEtoM0J9AZhiMSzufFVZwvKhQoK807gAqg1qdiaGCdDIE2uVqSYMhKeiRjtO6b/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B0.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(July 20, 2014)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As one of Southern California’s few root beer-dedicated bloggers**, I regarded it as nothing less than my solemn duty to attend Galco’s Summer Soda Tasting 4 a couple weeks ago, so advertised as The Great Root Beer Taste-Off. Were the sunny weather and free-pouring sugary beverages of a typical Galco’s Summer Soda Tasting not already reason enough to draw the masses, certainly the soda inspiring (possibly) the most variation and (possibly) the most polarizing opinions amongst the pop-pantheon would be sufficient motivation to party hearty, wouldn’t you think? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**<span style="font-size: xx-small;">a position that is, admittedly, self-bestowed and simply based on the fact that most of the other root beer blogs that I personally follow are based elsewhere in this great nation – that having been said, if you are also one of Southern California’s root beer-dedicated bloggers, I’m really not trying to take any more credit than I’m due, so please leave me a message in the comments so that maybe we can start a Southern California Root Beer Meet-Up Group, or something like that, or at least compare notes and run-on sentences.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Believe you me, with an infant in the house, the complications that merely getting out of the house entails needs some serious incentive to make worthwhile, so I don’t say this lightly. Clear</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ly, infant-ed and non-infant-ed alike shared my sentiment (the former, not the latter)(well, probably the latter, too) – a volunteer at Galco’s pointed out that this was the highest turn-out to date for one of the Summer Soda Tastings. Observe:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLhpB0fxtD33COaE-Mlj8PJtTzZyOIXahVCyJhEQQa_soLWqorVHhWfh-ow551-Pwc4TL1gPgKRxeMdHZBmuUrS76pl-KIGGqhfxZRFahLjXq_-3ppamEPRO2ROelK1nbngHNPfU8TSwa/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLhpB0fxtD33COaE-Mlj8PJtTzZyOIXahVCyJhEQQa_soLWqorVHhWfh-ow551-Pwc4TL1gPgKRxeMdHZBmuUrS76pl-KIGGqhfxZRFahLjXq_-3ppamEPRO2ROelK1nbngHNPfU8TSwa/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B1.jpg" height="80" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With no fewer than 49 root beers represented – not including 6 birch beers, 7 sarsaparillas, and a sad, lonely table of 9 diet root beers (and a table inside the store serving up Jones Peanut Butter and Jelly Soda…) – it was indeed a good time. …not to mention a serious sugar high... Had even a single hot dog vendor had the foresight to set up shop on the sidewalk outside, he/she would have made a killing. As is, we needed to head into the store to grab some salty snacks, where I ran into John Nese’s doppelganger.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT2F0OIIcDDtIfhuxmxAoK0GfPpWgv8Jkb2RdBRVDlzqD1xhxV55XpIxSHR_8HQKCQhwjWppOcM9VAPUgLI8emMms8ENnDamWRbfZSjQ-8oVr-FEeuG77fR_k71LFNWNvXvEczAyACWCAq/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT2F0OIIcDDtIfhuxmxAoK0GfPpWgv8Jkb2RdBRVDlzqD1xhxV55XpIxSHR_8HQKCQhwjWppOcM9VAPUgLI8emMms8ENnDamWRbfZSjQ-8oVr-FEeuG77fR_k71LFNWNvXvEczAyACWCAq/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B5.jpg" height="320" width="146" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Nese was actually around, but understandably quite occupied, keeping order inside the store as well as keeping tasting stations stocked outside. Since there was no particular order in which we were directed to hit up the tasting stations, we decided to start with Galco’s/Highland Park’s very own White Rose.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipyGDWdFSBvO57XtBonRucIS_obWVTeWyqtoaj6VoPwKs7KIeJ9l6ZzA7Gu2Xf-IlBdAoI5_CIIWq_trjVmZyuhulp_beZA8cGGrHBq15N5JnMPzyzsq78xct2VxnLcbCNe24uXoQ7-82b/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipyGDWdFSBvO57XtBonRucIS_obWVTeWyqtoaj6VoPwKs7KIeJ9l6ZzA7Gu2Xf-IlBdAoI5_CIIWq_trjVmZyuhulp_beZA8cGGrHBq15N5JnMPzyzsq78xct2VxnLcbCNe24uXoQ7-82b/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B2.jpg" height="250" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From there, we flittered about, eventually camping out in front of the “Flavored Root Beer” table, which may or may not have had something to do with the fact that it was in the shade.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oW7eOwo9b8RP0APrJXZYQfKHucNE7p6RIVGFMKU-I99cip1mKhEyXfWw1LX0OXk_Yz0z7hUjFW_3GF84_dt1e_MWWalAPAjvWtstRQJM9dOdAri7OrkRIfMwpWxd0ioiHQtiPygI6yHJ/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oW7eOwo9b8RP0APrJXZYQfKHucNE7p6RIVGFMKU-I99cip1mKhEyXfWw1LX0OXk_Yz0z7hUjFW_3GF84_dt1e_MWWalAPAjvWtstRQJM9dOdAri7OrkRIfMwpWxd0ioiHQtiPygI6yHJ/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B3.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Consequently, we also ended up spending a considerable amount of time partaking of the sarsaparilla and birch beer stations immediately adjacent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHYf17bWT6Y0JqROKSHxwS1mgHN_04O6DyWS7bKPOi5CfxpZjFO9ok36XbQmF-sMqZKM7ralz3NAI9_mL8x5IdKw5S01TTQHjTlzEr4zOLZOYhyphenhyphendMS7fPCbG2Xdmi2e904Wq2ffU4ChkQ/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHYf17bWT6Y0JqROKSHxwS1mgHN_04O6DyWS7bKPOi5CfxpZjFO9ok36XbQmF-sMqZKM7ralz3NAI9_mL8x5IdKw5S01TTQHjTlzEr4zOLZOYhyphenhyphendMS7fPCbG2Xdmi2e904Wq2ffU4ChkQ/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B4.jpg" height="249" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Otherwise we kept it respectable, each downing probably the equivalent of 2-3 bottles of soda, one 1.5 oz shot at a time. Here’s the full lineup:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1fBs708SzaoMX1Se-q-iJBKQGQ1CX_TWoocdV6HXmq1UWHSlQTuEx9ck9fpyfIooES4nAHa4zpH5E7toamvbAXFImRhSbu5ZPhrWE6zx3hilN0nMoISrxOtMGWmyJJgdQmVCG2em6-zat/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1fBs708SzaoMX1Se-q-iJBKQGQ1CX_TWoocdV6HXmq1UWHSlQTuEx9ck9fpyfIooES4nAHa4zpH5E7toamvbAXFImRhSbu5ZPhrWE6zx3hilN0nMoISrxOtMGWmyJJgdQmVCG2em6-zat/s1600/Galco's%2BSST%2B6.jpg" height="320" width="244" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did I mention that this was all for a good cause (besides keeping local dentists in business)? The entire event was a fundraiser for the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition, who are trying to get the nearby Southwest Museum reopened on a more regular basis. Currently, the museum is operated by the Autry Museum and is only open one day a week </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">–</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and only for a few hours, at that. You’ll recall that this is the same Southwest Museum that a portion of the proceeds from White Rose soda sales goes towards (there’s a little more information in my </span><a href="http://starkravingblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/root-beer-field-trip-galcos-white-rose.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">White Rose post</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> from way back when). So even if we didn't</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> feel so good afterwards about ingesting so much sugar, we could at least feel better that it was for the greater good of our community.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until next year, then…
</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-85399877934144673602014-08-06T22:53:00.001-07:002014-08-06T22:53:47.573-07:00Happy National Root Beer Float Day!<p dir=ltr>It says "National," so that means it's our patriotic duty to celebrate.</p>
<p dir=ltr>...God bless America...</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXmd_HzmgrzI7_8hEI6ku74tgq6yZhhNMh-F-T3IGKk2MeLM-dehHXY0b76Qs77m7NUteAYq6-x_G7dX-utQ79ibFtO3B87Oh5MjF-nnrGBooExcDBjaP2idEWHTNfPFR4z4que2KrJw7/s1600/IMG_20140806_224740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXmd_HzmgrzI7_8hEI6ku74tgq6yZhhNMh-F-T3IGKk2MeLM-dehHXY0b76Qs77m7NUteAYq6-x_G7dX-utQ79ibFtO3B87Oh5MjF-nnrGBooExcDBjaP2idEWHTNfPFR4z4que2KrJw7/s640/IMG_20140806_224740.jpg"> </a> </div>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-41847535748929271822014-07-18T19:52:00.000-07:002014-07-18T19:52:03.989-07:00Starbucks Fizzio<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7zdnNX61T6pS26MqfWTYAQkZHkZTcwwmKAEzzqGgCuAgCWQphyphenhyphenT_rxeKIsfF19J6xlBS01KF-CZmRcen_53uykuYxQ8spQL2h3Gii0vTSFY3l1TgfwU4fLznEZ2kkmZ8mCM-TZfdSNoY/s1600/Starbucks+Fizzio+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7zdnNX61T6pS26MqfWTYAQkZHkZTcwwmKAEzzqGgCuAgCWQphyphenhyphenT_rxeKIsfF19J6xlBS01KF-CZmRcen_53uykuYxQ8spQL2h3Gii0vTSFY3l1TgfwU4fLznEZ2kkmZ8mCM-TZfdSNoY/s400/Starbucks+Fizzio+(1).jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Call me </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Porta-Pooj.</span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(Starbucks, July 2014)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I’m assuming you don’t need me to give you the background story for Starbucks, right? OK, good.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nearly everybody has an opinion about Starbucks’ coffee, so I’ll spare you from going into detail about mine. Suffice to say, when I heard that they were rolling out a line of “handcrafted” sodas this summer, I wasn’t all that enthusiastic. Don’t get me wrong, I think Starbucks is actually a great organization – they treat their employees very well, and they teach them to really know and love their product. For the most part, this results in a very good customer experience, so no complaints there, either. It's just that I don’t typically think “coffee shop” when I want a soda (and for that matter, I don’t typically think “Starbucks” when I want a cup of coffee, but that's a different story…). But, of course, root beer is a great motivator, so I visited my local Mermaid to give their “new twist” on a “beloved classic” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(their words in quotation marks, not mine…) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a whirl .</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The problem is that this “new twist” barely acknowledges any of what is beloved about the “beloved classic.” At first, it tastes a little fruity and a little floral, so there’s probably a healthy dose of birch syrup – that’s where the similarities to actual root beer end. I can’t really taste anything else aside from nutmeg and clove – A LOT of nutmeg and clove (otherwise, it’s rather tart). Now they do advertise it as "spiced," so it certainly meets that criteria – just too much for my liking. Were there ever a time to say something tastes like Christmas, this is it – the aftertaste even tastes like a gingerbread cookie.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At least I had a gift card, so I didn't really have to pay for it. In fact, I didn't even finish it. Given its “handcrafted” nature, I suppose that there’s a chance that it might be better if a different barista mixed it next time. But is that enough for me to want to try it again? To borrow from another Starbuck, “No frakking way.” Sorry Starbucks Fizzio, that’ll only get you a 1.
</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-37346673603524540412014-07-02T18:28:00.000-07:002014-07-02T18:28:04.359-07:00Dorothy's Isle of Pines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYg5mb2VWFa3QQDRrjTBUny5VU8smrjTIDXY2MW10X9yVvPIke8fQx13aEmTV2tEgw5dA7MLLH0ZoS6H7Y69-5Q-nCWeHRMmm_eU5Fo0S-EobZfGbGoqafUjswtIfScSFDDOxM_e3bOfig/s1600/Dorothy's+Isle+of+Pines.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYg5mb2VWFa3QQDRrjTBUny5VU8smrjTIDXY2MW10X9yVvPIke8fQx13aEmTV2tEgw5dA7MLLH0ZoS6H7Y69-5Q-nCWeHRMmm_eU5Fo0S-EobZfGbGoqafUjswtIfScSFDDOxM_e3bOfig/s400/Dorothy's+Isle+of+Pines.JPG" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Pooj feels a rumbly in his tumbly.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Old Town House of Jerky & Root Beer, May 2012)</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So…evidently I’m not as “back” as I thought… When there’s an infant in the house, you become much more cognizant of the fact that there are only so many waking hours in a day, and only so many of those hours in which the child is also awake, and only so many of those hours in which the child is in a good mood. During the first of the three, you try to get as much of the stuff done that you can’t do during the second; during the confluence of the latter two, all you really want to do is hang out with the child. It’s not that you don’t want to do anything else, like say, drink tasty beverages, take goofy photos of a stuffed giraffe (but don’t tell the Pooj that I referred to him as “stuffed”), and blogging – you would just much rather enjoy the fact that the child is awake and in a good mood. But enough excuses; moving right along…</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s probably fair to assume from the that fact I’m writing this and the fact that you’re reading this that root beer is the one drink you and I would choose to have with us were you or I ever stuck on a deserted island (OK, maybe water would be more conducive to, well, staying alive, but I’m assuming the deserted island is akin to the spring-filled one from <i>Lost</i>, except, you know, with fewer magic corks and polar bears). Dorothy Louise Molter was perhaps the only person who could say that she actually lived that claim. Called “Knife Lake Dorothy” and “Nightingale of the Wilderness,” Ms. Molter first visited the Isle of Pines Resort in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness bordering the US and Canada during a fishing trip in 1930, and decided to stay there as a nurse for the resort’s owner and visitors. She ended up staying in the 2 million-acre collection of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes for the rest of her life – 56 years in total – becoming the last non-indigenous person to live in the area.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Feds actually tried to remove Dorothy on several occasions – first in 1948, when roads and buildings were demolished and seaplane traffic banned in order to return the developed areas to wilderness; then again in 1964, when the Federal Wilderness Act prohibited habitation in the BWCAW. Public outcry on Dorothy’s behalf caused the Government to relent, and she was allowed to stay until 1975, at which point the National Forest Service appointed her as a volunteer and let her stay permanently. When motorboats and snowmobiles were banned in 1978, access to the Isle of Pines (willed to Dorothy by its original owner, and no longer a resort) was limited to canoe traffic, and Dorothy became well known as the “Root Beer Lady” for serving homemade root beer, cooled in an old-fashioned ice house with ice cut from the frozen lake, to passing canoeists. Here Dorothy stayed, 36 miles away from the closest town, until her death in 1986 (Sources: <a href="http://rootbeerlady.com/dorothys-story/" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Molter" target="_blank">2</a>)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzeerW_JCpYv1GtY6xLzmya05DrNGFvmB7CpaJlfWR5HcSsXFKChpmSk9J2Nuyn1x3MuTxYK9zdWapr2bSa2eBTjBOLl3liJBA4ljv2uFhfTYlEHa6WyM8czpJdQCfot6rqQT5LmPJ5Ms/s1600/Dorothy's+Isle+of+Pines+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzeerW_JCpYv1GtY6xLzmya05DrNGFvmB7CpaJlfWR5HcSsXFKChpmSk9J2Nuyn1x3MuTxYK9zdWapr2bSa2eBTjBOLl3liJBA4ljv2uFhfTYlEHa6WyM8czpJdQCfot6rqQT5LmPJ5Ms/s1600/Dorothy's+Isle+of+Pines+2.jpg" height="266" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dorothy’s 1986 obituary (</span><a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=70916723&PIpi=44938827" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">source</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dorothy’s Isle of Pines Root Beer initially smells like root beer candy and vanilla in the bottle, though there isn’t much of a scent once it’s poured into a glass. It has a hard carbonation, with larger bubbles and no real head (the bubbles only stay for a couple seconds). While it’s not too sweet, the sweetness build as you drink it, finishing with a pleasant sweet aftertaste. The flavor is not remarkable (I’m not sure if they use Dorothy's recipe), but does have a nice little bite – it doesn't taste vegetal enough to be birch, but I can’t quite place it otherwise (I might be out of practice). As far as I can tell, there’s no anise or licorice of any sort, and the aforementioned vanilla is more apparent in scent than in taste.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still, I liked it well enough, and I think it’s a fitting tribute to a unique individual who furthered the cause of root beer. All proceeds from the sale of Dorothy’s Isle of Pines Root Beer go back to funding a museum in Dorothy’s honor in Ely, MN, which is nice, too. I’ll give it a high 3.5.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In other news, this is happening:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJeYuRN66CRDDDJsn2eZbUGuMbEW6SWjJI5VLZw5q5PyYmJMKmestCEnYfGuEaOwR0IiBqPWwYN63z3iFKY6Qs0Rwj8-N_1AJwtToYDtFWA6o_A4V5a6V32FbOYhquSVPwZb_Lr_fUyMs/s1600/GRBTO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJeYuRN66CRDDDJsn2eZbUGuMbEW6SWjJI5VLZw5q5PyYmJMKmestCEnYfGuEaOwR0IiBqPWwYN63z3iFKY6Qs0Rwj8-N_1AJwtToYDtFWA6o_A4V5a6V32FbOYhquSVPwZb_Lr_fUyMs/s1600/GRBTO.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Any fellow root beer fanatics/root beer bloggers/root beer blog readers in the Greater LA area interested in joining me for the festivities? It’s at a great place and it’s for a good cause. Leave me a message in the comments if you want to meet up – let’s put our “skills”/obsession (/cavities…) to good use…!</span></div>
Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-73513054729569971352014-05-05T15:19:00.000-07:002014-05-05T15:19:07.164-07:00Root Beer Field Trip: BrewBakers & Surf City<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTOC_OUqZMXmhW_c-chkcLvTLmA2s1bdtbutNod-894CRqeaOk1Wp6BW8IjOc1ze8GJK9qNsIiwUXhrCKpoU3-X2JGdq71OwlcXtH39ek7jj6vBFzxcsX43Z5yT6z_2mpl_c6NYcLo1Ckn/s1600/BrewBakers+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTOC_OUqZMXmhW_c-chkcLvTLmA2s1bdtbutNod-894CRqeaOk1Wp6BW8IjOc1ze8GJK9qNsIiwUXhrCKpoU3-X2JGdq71OwlcXtH39ek7jj6vBFzxcsX43Z5yT6z_2mpl_c6NYcLo1Ckn/s1600/BrewBakers+1.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(BrewBakers Huntington Beach, September 2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aaaaaaaaand we’re back…! …for the time being, at least… There’s a pretty big back-log of root beer sitting around the house right now that needs drinking, but having an infant doesn't really allow much time for any real hobbies, even those as simple as drinking and cataloging root beer. Not that I’m complaining, of course, since the little guys is pretty entertaining all on his own. Besides, one of these days, when he’s older, he and I can head down to BrewBakers to make root beer together and thus make root beer a multi-generational/family kind of thing instead of just dad’s weird obsession (not that root beer is weird; only the obsessive levels at which I regard it). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Baker-by-training and food-broker-by-trade Dennis Midden got caught up in the budding craft brewing movement of the 90s and decided to open a unique kind of brewery where customers could bud their own brewing craft. Not satisfied with just that, Midden also decided that he would utilize his expertise with wheat and barley to convert the freshly spent grains in the brewing process – otherwise discarded and wasted – to bake bread at the same time the tipple is brewing. From the merging of Midden's passions, BrewBakers was born in 1996.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9rW9g5PLVG9pe_4os6z6DJnUP_mhct2bgTVW28lcvGbY7arrzdUq8cHSQwng2HEVDmDk63JzCqjF4w9pA5HmG8_cTodXc6T5qiOq5EKOOaNqtQ2gXJvOM5mx2EjQvcl5sC0165Hs_V8v/s1600/BrewBakers+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9rW9g5PLVG9pe_4os6z6DJnUP_mhct2bgTVW28lcvGbY7arrzdUq8cHSQwng2HEVDmDk63JzCqjF4w9pA5HmG8_cTodXc6T5qiOq5EKOOaNqtQ2gXJvOM5mx2EjQvcl5sC0165Hs_V8v/s1600/BrewBakers+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Gets you where you wanna go.</i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here, customers can choose from anywhere between 80 to 100 craft beer formulations, or develop their own, and cook it all up in one of BrewBakers 6 26-gallon brew kettles, each named for one of Midden's 6 brothers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqd1gM97JMpaHTudk63OvrY3n-Sgl2HNXaS-xVwqqnYg4js8DN62exOnh-uL-3iMUOX0sBMs9u6vQHg_xS4XQWFAbvjeeI8xDyS0RBrWOeFawLI3YkqBmDnXf6B8YK7wHYIgiNu2tFSLye/s1600/BrewBakers+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqd1gM97JMpaHTudk63OvrY3n-Sgl2HNXaS-xVwqqnYg4js8DN62exOnh-uL-3iMUOX0sBMs9u6vQHg_xS4XQWFAbvjeeI8xDyS0RBrWOeFawLI3YkqBmDnXf6B8YK7wHYIgiNu2tFSLye/s1600/BrewBakers+3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The got a party growin'</i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two weeks of fermentation later, customers return to complete the sugar-carbonation process (in the meantime, they get to take home a loaf of bread made from their own brew's spent grains) and bottle their concoctions at one of BrewBakers' 4 bottling stations (each named for one of Midden's 3 sisters and his wife Linda), which they'll leave for another week to carbonate before coming back to custom label their bottles. All the while Midden makes somewhere around 15 varieties of bread (pretzel rolls!) which he'll either sell in his shop or deliver to local businesses (along with their custom brews) in his restored vintage Helm's Bakery coach (sources: <a href="http://calbizjournal.com/human/somethings-brewing/" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://modern-baking.com/foodservice/brewbakers-turns-customers-artisans" target="_blank">2</a>).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZb0bX0cBLJhZ00rTsmLyZOUu2SE62jA_tqf-KZfk7RCw6a5urSOp_VYsa3uw3Nvgm0kq5kFh7HzQzVXkoODaJ2u5Pyu-2gQNlfBInqox_-qAoUM4X0zePrGPAwqthSFn_iySbt7dI_3i/s1600/BrewBakers+4+%2528Helm%2527s+Coach%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZb0bX0cBLJhZ00rTsmLyZOUu2SE62jA_tqf-KZfk7RCw6a5urSOp_VYsa3uw3Nvgm0kq5kFh7HzQzVXkoODaJ2u5Pyu-2gQNlfBInqox_-qAoUM4X0zePrGPAwqthSFn_iySbt7dI_3i/s1600/BrewBakers+4+%2528Helm%2527s+Coach%2529.jpg" height="219" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Not a Woody, but still a goodie.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as great of a story as this already is, we of course wouldn't be talking about BrewBakers if not for these:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_PaL9iV26Z0rDnYZuu4GcYV19UCPCDRdCh3PnAlRsJiRyGXjHcqVv4hj2qKzB2uI1nm1MCPnXEUzSMBtWzajdINrDs4LKIG0V8IzbwEUn2fVzowcskwngswdAcD7lqowTfxhQUSwNdeck/s1600/BrewBakers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_PaL9iV26Z0rDnYZuu4GcYV19UCPCDRdCh3PnAlRsJiRyGXjHcqVv4hj2qKzB2uI1nm1MCPnXEUzSMBtWzajdINrDs4LKIG0V8IzbwEUn2fVzowcskwngswdAcD7lqowTfxhQUSwNdeck/s1600/BrewBakers.JPG" height="288" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Two root beers for every Pooj!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition to the DIY beer facilities, as alluded to in the first paragraph above, BrewBakers also lets customers try their hands at soda-making (a birthday party for the child is happening here at some point, mark my words). Midden also supplies custom root beer formulations for local businesses, just as he does with craft brews – we’ve actually already had a taste of his handiwork, since BrewBakers makes root beer for Twohey's house label. Surf City, our subject for today, is BrewBakers’ own label root beer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First of all, Surf City Root Beer does not taste like Twohey’s Root Beer, which suggests that business-specific root beer recipes are, in fact, proprietary. I may be wrong, so there may need to be a SCIENCE! post devoted to a comparison later (much later, given the aforementioned back-log…). The scent from the bottle is slightly acidic and slightly yeasty (though the first ingredient is carbonated water, which seems to imply that sugar fermentation isn’t used to carbonate their sodas – more on that later), and otherwise generically root-y. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right after I took a swig, the bottle bubbled-over, so there is a real, soft, foamy head to speak of. Most likely this comes from the inclusion of maltodextrin in the ingredients, commonly used for head retention and smoothness in sodas – it works well, seeing as the head even stays in a glass for a long time. The maltodextrin may also be responsible for giving the beverage some body despite its HFCS sweetening. Raw honey is also included, though not particularly apparent in the flavor, but which probably helps the maltodextrin in providing said body. I also think the maltodextrin’s starchiness might be where the yeasty smell and taste originate, given that there’s probably no actual yeast used in the brewing process.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only the vanilla, listed relatively low in the ingredients, seems to have had a noticeable effect on the flavor, which isn’t particularly distinctive on the whole. There is a slightly spicy herbal aftertaste that coats the sides of the tongue, but again, the flavor is fairly generic. Since this is a small batch brew, there might actually be quite some variation between one bottling and the next – I would be curious to see if this is the case in subsequent productions. For now though, Surf City Root Beer rates a high 3.
</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-546258129489653872014-01-18T17:01:00.000-08:002014-01-18T17:01:07.895-08:00Pseudo-SCIENCE: Cooking with Root Beer<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As much as I like root beer, it's somewhat surprising that it's taken me this long to use it as a cooking ingredient. It's not for lack of suggested uses available on the interwebs, what with all the root beer bbq sauces, roast enhancers, and cocktails out there. Perhaps it has something to do with not wanting to dilute the full root beer effect, opting to experience my root beer in pure form? Or maybe it's my lackluster response to other root beer-inspired/flavored/what-have-you items that I've sampled in the past.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But wait no longer! Thanks to the wonderful folks over at <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/06/root-beer-sherbet-recipe.html?ref=search" target="_blank">Serious Eats</a>, I'm now sufficiently inspired to go to the store to pick up some ingredients. I present to you Root Beer Sherbet:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uOeroCRvYFld2oS4hiZHRXjONgFBOEDKIbUOpC2urXryMCNkSH-renPsQV5HVQGX5lUnoIQ9Aknn8jG5AbPQ_llbrKbF_YD-Frkj3FjgiJ7kBnM9Fh52MOB8UrBP_aFL6DZu4XuAvYet/s1600/Sherbet+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uOeroCRvYFld2oS4hiZHRXjONgFBOEDKIbUOpC2urXryMCNkSH-renPsQV5HVQGX5lUnoIQ9Aknn8jG5AbPQ_llbrKbF_YD-Frkj3FjgiJ7kBnM9Fh52MOB8UrBP_aFL6DZu4XuAvYet/s1600/Sherbet+1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Stand back; churning in progress.</span></i></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I used Steelhead Spicy Draft as my base, since it has a stronger flavor and has little carbonation to muck with the mixing and churning process. Since I didn't have enough corn syrup on hand, I added more sugar and a little more Steelhead, but I'm thinking that might have made the finished product a little too sweet.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiToIbOaVIdtdCeBHijNXoMpQ-TeTkURVWseGSJJxyB5bZmbXg7EMd8dfLMNv93XWRtBKeA4qzVHOb4-x83YKYZhS18IitVc0HtI61R8F3W2AAjIJcGyfRPNtW_xK3fmcmLvAz-gnDG09W9/s1600/Sherbet+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiToIbOaVIdtdCeBHijNXoMpQ-TeTkURVWseGSJJxyB5bZmbXg7EMd8dfLMNv93XWRtBKeA4qzVHOb4-x83YKYZhS18IitVc0HtI61R8F3W2AAjIJcGyfRPNtW_xK3fmcmLvAz-gnDG09W9/s1600/Sherbet+2.jpg" height="320" width="296" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sassafras and horehound drop garnish optional.</span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The finished product basically tastes like a root beer float, which should come as no surprise. Next time, I'm going to try using Anacapa. Eventually I'll try making Serious Eats' actual <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/08/diy-root-beer-how-to-brew-your-own-root-beer-recipe.html?ref=search" target="_blank">DIY root beer recipe</a>, but I'm not quite that ambitious yet...</span></div>
Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-48042241619382465332014-01-18T14:45:00.000-08:002014-01-18T14:45:28.647-08:00Wonderful World of Root Beer: Cariboo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoF_cJ_5eegISvX70UYCzNdwDzIMdJAIffodFcPAqvnHBXsKmU83qDFip9PGLNQ-KjtF7VzFOph2K4PmAW_48UaIN7LrykTigq0n0NIPRqyZnS5EkQNpA-PdZ29LPP1GAqvFqAtUsx8TY4/s1600/Cariboo+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoF_cJ_5eegISvX70UYCzNdwDzIMdJAIffodFcPAqvnHBXsKmU83qDFip9PGLNQ-KjtF7VzFOph2K4PmAW_48UaIN7LrykTigq0n0NIPRqyZnS5EkQNpA-PdZ29LPP1GAqvFqAtUsx8TY4/s400/Cariboo+(3).JPG" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Pooj gets run over by a reindeer.</span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(Steamworks Brewing Co., Vancouver – June 2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cariboo is part of Pacific Western Brewing Co, established in 1957 in Prince George, BC on a fresh water spring. Originally called Caribou Brewing, it claims title as the longest-running BC-based Canadian brewery, as well as title for first Canadian brewer to export to China (1991) and Russia (1996). Although it's now just one line of many Pacific Western products, it still does hold additional significance in that each case of Cariboo-label product sold results in a new tree planted in the Cariboo Regional District (presumably near Cariboo bottling plant). So far 150,000 trees have sprouted (and a lot of beer ingested....), part of an eventual goal to plant 1 million by 2020 (<a href="http://www.cariboobrewing.com/campaign/reforest/" target="_blank">source</a>). No comment thus far from Canada's collective liver...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This was the first uniquely Canuck brew I came across during our brief jaunt to the Great White North a couple summers ago (not the first Canadian root beer I've ever had; just the first encountered during the trip), so I'm pleased that it's a local brew. It's also the first root beer I've encountered so far that actually has ABV (albeit just a small amount </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">– </span>only 0.5%), harkening back to the days when root beer was still called small beer and was still fermented like <i>beer </i>beer. Does the retained alcohol, however, positively affect root beer?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Positive or not probably depends more on what your feelings are regarding <i>beer </i>beer. I, myself, am not really a fan of the taste of beer (which is not to say I'm not fascinated by the process of making beer, and the endless variations of beer that can come about just by making small changes to that process), which might make the presence of the alcohol in Cariboo more pronounced to me than to others more accustomed to the taste. Though it does taste a little yeasty, the "beer" flavor is actually more in the smell and aftertaste (which is also slightly acidic, slightly sour), and in the slight alcohol sting in the throat, than in the "root beer" flavor itself, so I wouldn't say it's that prominent. However, it may also seem more prominent to a non-<i>beer</i>-beer drinker like myself because the root beer flavor isn't particularly prominent by comparison – some notes of birch and molasses, but otherwise generic.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The yeast fermentation process does have one clear benefit: head. While not as foamy as a typical beer, the head builds up to a pretty decent amount of medium-sized bubbles before it dissipates in the time it takes to drink the first couple ounces (a few minutes, depending on how fast you drink). Given the opportunity, I would like to give it another shot – since my can of Cariboo is a year and a half old, there may be some loss in flavor. At the very least, there is a metallic smell that might come more from the fact that it has been sitting in its can for so long than anything else. For now, Cariboo Root Beer gets a low 3.
</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-14511894185055708852013-12-31T11:44:00.000-08:002013-12-31T11:50:58.569-08:00El Camino Root Beer, Part 4: Central Coast Brewing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kEWSj3BlH51liHD1VzLqWEXrD5AggtVrNchHUMjCpt2wlHZjmqUiAEqlZFmU00yOe28w3KYR0P3_v_B2xYrefJRNBEQaiNVE3P18caFzsf_Kb5f2XsPGYugylTy8gHFaZTSSVhKVvQo9/s1600/Central+Coast+Brewing+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kEWSj3BlH51liHD1VzLqWEXrD5AggtVrNchHUMjCpt2wlHZjmqUiAEqlZFmU00yOe28w3KYR0P3_v_B2xYrefJRNBEQaiNVE3P18caFzsf_Kb5f2XsPGYugylTy8gHFaZTSSVhKVvQo9/s400/Central+Coast+Brewing+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(October 2013)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yes indeed, it's probably high time I finish my root beer cataloging from our road trip. I have a legitimate excuse for my delay this time (assuming my day job isn't normally legitimate enough excuse...) since the reason for our road trip decided to make his break for it a little earlier than expected. And while things are probably never going to settle down ever again (for the next 25 years or so, at any rate...), I'm finally at least able to surface a little to enjoy the last of our trip's acquisitions.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Central Coast Brewing first opened in 1998 with a stated goal to not only produce quality beverages, but to do so with the smallest carbon footprint possible. To that end, owner George Peterson has implemented a number of green business practices, including using production gray water to clean fermentation tanks and irrigate landscaping outside the brewery/tasting room, working with local utility companies to convert alcohol waste into bio-fuel, and limiting distribution to within 30 miles where many deliveries can still be made by bicycle. Peterson even runs his operation using recycled equipment collected from far and wide, northward to Washington and southward to Nicaragua (<a href="http://www.hopedance.org/home/food-news/1536-central-coast-brewing-the-greenest-beer-muaker-around" target="_blank">source</a>). Following the same tack, when expanding demand meant replacing his equipment with larger (also second-hand) gear, Peterson sold his old gear to Pismo Brewing, the fruits of which we just covered a couple posts ago (<a href="http://www.newtimesslo.com/cover/9507/flash-in--the-barrel/" target="_blank">source</a>). Business has been good for Central Coast Brewing, which now produces at least 10 different ales, IPAs, seasonals, and stouts at any given time as well as, of course, the root beer, and operates a mobile kegger converted from an old restored Brazilian refrigerated catering truck that Peterson found on Craigslist (<a href="http://www.centralcoastbrewing.com/" target="_blank">source</a>).</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJJs-bF1NebwzKr3bUjBLJcN_qtG1G3p-U9NL1LwwWydzmo3hm6bXTh0h6GfgLLXoWk2ILVRxSgoEp4ib_-UcsmbOnNm_OwYhNjt_Dn1Oid4vmwHJJJfN5jg3k2YkQvuUZtFreFSZXX6E/s1600/Central+Coast+Brewing+(3.5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJJs-bF1NebwzKr3bUjBLJcN_qtG1G3p-U9NL1LwwWydzmo3hm6bXTh0h6GfgLLXoWk2ILVRxSgoEp4ib_-UcsmbOnNm_OwYhNjt_Dn1Oid4vmwHJJJfN5jg3k2YkQvuUZtFreFSZXX6E/s400/Central+Coast+Brewing+(3.5).JPG" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Pooj is stuck in the middle with brews.</span></i></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The root beer isn't really one of my favorites, but it's still a pleasant drinking experience. It's dark and opaque, with a full body that's not too thick and not too thin. While it smells pretty sugary and only thinly of root beer, it actually doesn't taste too sweet at all, though the root beer flavor is actually a little thin and not particularly distinctive – maybe a little clove on the back end with a very, very slight menthol aroma. Flavors don't really build further into the ample 22 oz bottle and there's no real aftertaste to speak of, so it tastes relatively uniform throughout. Carbonation bubbles are somewhere north of medium but south of large, building to a rather large head that's all bubble and no foam, which therefore doesn't last long.
But again, although unremarkable, Central Coast Brewing’s Root Beer is still a pleasant drinking experience.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Speaking of something to experience, the Central Coast shop is a sight to behold, with a bottle collection of magnitude I can only dream of one day achieving.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRmOmL2C_AoNWNxXL4a-q3DzfpXdOtqYBbADt6T5zy5jGMLfOurPXFMBpksv_z8GccBZQP-q6Rr8_7GiCgUh267RGrPpBMkuQ19-usgwT2ipPh5N1vNRkZho4VpYzEP8xBmQvtxQJt7cQt/s1600/Central+Coast+Brewing+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRmOmL2C_AoNWNxXL4a-q3DzfpXdOtqYBbADt6T5zy5jGMLfOurPXFMBpksv_z8GccBZQP-q6Rr8_7GiCgUh267RGrPpBMkuQ19-usgwT2ipPh5N1vNRkZho4VpYzEP8xBmQvtxQJt7cQt/s400/Central+Coast+Brewing+3.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Speaking of recycling...</span></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As far as Central Coast Brewing's Root Beer goes, I'll give it a low 3.5.
</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-76039335533006633622013-11-22T18:39:00.001-08:002013-11-22T18:39:32.994-08:00Gurrnaid: Root Beer's Spazzy Cousin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJW-5auXgc203HzmEM9g8y0kW5xwq_axHTox7bDEztTYiY39erkLGcoIfd2RZq6pwWxQ-FFIY12hU0J-R-D2IBfVtmPl9xGEDGNgfnQa1S3bIp09lDTmluyZN7dHxlYW_TOQxO4CjBsiWd/s1600/Gurrnaid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJW-5auXgc203HzmEM9g8y0kW5xwq_axHTox7bDEztTYiY39erkLGcoIfd2RZq6pwWxQ-FFIY12hU0J-R-D2IBfVtmPl9xGEDGNgfnQa1S3bIp09lDTmluyZN7dHxlYW_TOQxO4CjBsiWd/s400/Gurrnaid.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yes, the Pooj would even catch this for you.</span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Tehran Market, November 2013)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Taking a brief break from the road trip chronicles…</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let’s just get this out of the way now: Gurrnaid isn't actually root beer at all (so it's not going in my root beer count, nor is it getting a rating). In fact, it doesn't even claim to be root beer – only root beer <i>flavored</i>. But since we’ve sworn oath to explore all things root beer (well, speaking for myself at least), why not give it a shot, right? After all, it couldn't be worse than a <a href="http://starkravingblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/fizzies-and-science.html" target="_blank">Fizzy</a>, right...?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Generally, I avoid “energy” drinks because they are rarely more than caffeinated glucose water. I am, however, also generally a sucker for unique packaging (come on, I can’t be the only person who’s been tempted to buy Tea of Kind just to watch that pressurized cap do its thing). Thus, on an afternoon when I can use a caffeine boost anyways and don’t really feel the urge to down coffee, I’m fortunate to encounter something equal parts energizing and root beer (which is to say, not much of either).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As far as ingredients go, Gurrnaid is no different than its peers in the sense that it is predominantly sweetener – a mixture of sugar and Reb A (AKA, stevia) clock in as the second and eighth ingredients, respectively. Caffeine is listed seventh, just before the Reb A, and preceded by a bunch of acids and preservatives. In addition to the requisite B vitamins, it also contains Omega 3, which does seem different than other energy drinks, though it makes for an alarming allergy warning: “Contains Fish (Anchovy and Sardine).” Sounds refreshing…</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh well – it’s not like I went into this expecting health food. As promised, it is indeed root beer flavored, more like root beer mixed with something sugary and fruity, like root beer mixed with Gatorade or something to that effect (I say Gatorade rather generically, since all sports drinks kind of taste the same regardless of brand or flavor). Thankfully, it doesn’t taste like someone crushed a vitamin into it, like other energy drinks are prone to. While, Gurrnaid isn’t really something I’d make a habit of drinking, it’s not particularly offensive either – just don’t expect a flavor explosion as far as root beer is concerned. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">…and while we’re on that subject, the word “explosion” should never be used to describe any food item…
</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-16794295695130619532013-11-21T14:17:00.002-08:002013-11-21T14:17:35.119-08:00El Camino Root Beer, Part 3: Solvang Brewing Company<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhveuY9azsV824FxSia_TFUtms2P2yXaTxVvTfikF3csvMga3qWasimx14CBmxWZ5eNQUFKMw5meU6EFfcF9b36x4onuOT-WnF_dGUCfFDSiGk0QZgVpvGVZQnXTJSikG7o-7Sj9Eh6Z3Zy/s1600/Solvang+Brewing+Company+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhveuY9azsV824FxSia_TFUtms2P2yXaTxVvTfikF3csvMga3qWasimx14CBmxWZ5eNQUFKMw5meU6EFfcF9b36x4onuOT-WnF_dGUCfFDSiGk0QZgVpvGVZQnXTJSikG7o-7Sj9Eh6Z3Zy/s400/Solvang+Brewing+Company+2.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(October 2013)</span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Missus and I know our way around Solvang way more than we have any right to as non-Danish non-residents. If you’ve ever been here, you’d understand why – it’s really more of a stop-in-on-the-way-to-somewhere-else kind of tourist trap than a stay-here-for-a-week kind of tourist trap. But even having firmly established ourselves in the latter camp, we still manage to experience something new every time we visit. Seeing as it might be a while before we get a chance to come back for hakkebof, medisterpolse, and aebleskivers, it seems appropriate to at least make a quick detour during our road trip.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our annual pilgrimages to the Sunny Fields have allowed us to see how things have changed over the past few years, including the establishment of Solvang Brewing Company in 2010. Proprietors Steve & Cari Renfrow bought the building from the granddaughter of the man who had originally built it in 1963 – including the windmill – and had operated it as the Danish Inn (<a href="http://www.independent.com/news/2010/oct/20/solvang-brewing-company-hops-wine-soaked-town/" target="_blank">source</a>). The Danish Inn had long been shuttered before the Renfrows came across the property, but the new owners have legitimate pedigree: Cari Renfrow is a 4th generation Solvang-born Dane. In fact, her grandfather's uncles were amongst the first Danish settlers in Solvang when it was established in 1911 (<a href="http://www.solvangbrewing.com/history/" target="_blank">source</a>). </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKaGXrJXt56mptXPfuWc3Dk-IoPH1G7yffwECCXM4BMzbgyXUE5FRP3yf5-Siz7cOwTwHRBVtGQoyhXf7XaksKmXQO2IJq8a_aMwN0eoOrcklp07svyPzarU0a6-NhMg7ycsTLfJarzJas/s1600/Solvang+Brewing+Company+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKaGXrJXt56mptXPfuWc3Dk-IoPH1G7yffwECCXM4BMzbgyXUE5FRP3yf5-Siz7cOwTwHRBVtGQoyhXf7XaksKmXQO2IJq8a_aMwN0eoOrcklp07svyPzarU0a6-NhMg7ycsTLfJarzJas/s400/Solvang+Brewing+Company+3.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Obligatory windmill shot.</span></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I said earlier, each trip to Solvang manages to reveal something we hadn’t seen before, and this trip is no different. While we have eaten at the Solvang Brewing Company in past visits, they were out of root beer in all of those instances. For the first time, we come away with this: </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFD3DUpcW5vRSzT9rj7j80hvqfSeKd42q8k97p583cxiJk9V9JHnYl6VT75x6VJ8DQYuL58FM3aDBUjsVw3RohQjF0URE_zsi9LUCrDBxRGSofUPA_fPDnqbsRzbiN53GmdSAIp76IRA2/s1600/Solvang+Brewing+Company+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFD3DUpcW5vRSzT9rj7j80hvqfSeKd42q8k97p583cxiJk9V9JHnYl6VT75x6VJ8DQYuL58FM3aDBUjsVw3RohQjF0URE_zsi9LUCrDBxRGSofUPA_fPDnqbsRzbiN53GmdSAIp76IRA2/s400/Solvang+Brewing+Company+(4).JPG" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Pooj is perpetually quixotic about root beer.</span></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I’m happy to report that Solvang Brewing Company’s root beer is worth the wait. Although it’s definitely spicy and heavy on the wintergreen, it’s not so strong as to be unpleasant. Since it’s not really that sweet at all, the rich herb flavors can feature prominently. There’s definitely a strong licorice aftertaste, though the aftertaste does start a little watery – it builds as you drink more and lingers on sides of the tongue. Head is virtually non-existent, as the bubbles are roughly medium-sized. Were I to compare it to recently sampled root beers, I’d say it tastes and feels like a slightly sweeter, less bitter/spicy (depending on your herb-strength preferences) version of Steelhead Spicy Draft, with some added body.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Until we meet again, Solvang, we leave on a happy note. …and with a gigantic tub of Danish butter cookies… Solvang Brewing Company’s root beer gets a low 4.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">PS: Speaking of hakkebof, we had lunch at Viking Garden, which is kind of tourist-trap-y in a good way, has authentic-enough Danish food as far as the Missus’ Swiss-German sensibilities can ascertain, and has Death Valley Root Beer on tap</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLIlhy8XGkSROsXnzfF78HDRGM8GmjSapqscjOMfjTUvVNN90DO4eJjttyi5W03yLklXDZVeAqzX9Y9Jv1alO6xl11gpDZjQEYRw1IpQFRHd9zpkiiQ2QngKO8JDIW-tW_iqisxKL3i8wb/s1600/Death+Valley+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLIlhy8XGkSROsXnzfF78HDRGM8GmjSapqscjOMfjTUvVNN90DO4eJjttyi5W03yLklXDZVeAqzX9Y9Jv1alO6xl11gpDZjQEYRw1IpQFRHd9zpkiiQ2QngKO8JDIW-tW_iqisxKL3i8wb/s400/Death+Valley+2.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bunden i vejret eller resten i håret!</span></span></i></div>
Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-91367982440055640912013-10-16T15:22:00.000-07:002013-10-16T15:22:20.453-07:00El Camino Root Beer, Part 2: Sparky’s Fresh Draft<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQEMz-btr8NhPpR-yXNKlUon9zueqk9lHtlsnE63j-UGo1HNrRUUvMcEfYEHG1xFCkaopFVxeTJy_X8-wcFLiewIi7hokZ26pGCfxggL3ROLyFvUDE_nWJPHsYhLULN73GhmL6CPsi7EL/s1600/Sparky's+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQEMz-btr8NhPpR-yXNKlUon9zueqk9lHtlsnE63j-UGo1HNrRUUvMcEfYEHG1xFCkaopFVxeTJy_X8-wcFLiewIi7hokZ26pGCfxggL3ROLyFvUDE_nWJPHsYhLULN73GhmL6CPsi7EL/s400/Sparky's+2.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Old Monterey Farmers Market, October 2013)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, apparently it only takes me 3 short years to eat my words (in this particular case, that is; other cases much sooner…). Far from steering clear of Sparky’s Root Beer as I had <a href="http://starkravingblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/sparkys.html" target="_blank">previously stated I would</a>, I’m actually purposely steering myself towards it, having specifically planned a portion of our road trip around visiting Sparky’s roost at the Old Monterey Farmers Market. Taste is subjective, and legitimately so, therefore I know a lot of respectable folks out in the Root Beer Interwebs (RBI, for short)(which, if not actually a thing, should be) love Sparky’s a lot more than I do – that hasn’t changed. However, what I will always love, respect, and go out of my way to learn, regardless of how I feel about a root beer itself, is a good story about how that root beer came to be.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Knox Brewing, which makes Sparky’s Fresh Draft Root Beer, owes its origins to a home brewing kit from which founder Kevin Knox (who might actually be the guy on the left in the photo above) (and if that is him, I must add that he’s very friendly) first started making beer. From such beginnings, Kevin went on to win several home-brewing awards locally and regionally. Recognizing that neither he nor his family really drank that much beer, Kevin later decided to steer his brewing towards things non-alcoholic, unveiling Sparky’s Fresh Draft Root Beer at the Pacific Grove Good Old Days Festival of 2000 after testing 115 different formulations. Named for the Knox family’s cat, Sparky’s Root Beer was originally only sold in kegs for restaurants and catering, as well as freshly drafted from a booth at the Old Monterey Farmers Market (per the photo above). As popularity grew, Knox Brewing starting bottling Sparky’s and selling it around the Pacific Grove/Monterey Peninsula area. Eventually, a friend and local grocer connected Kevin with Danny from <a href="http://starkravingblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/dreaming-of-kind-of-root-beer-christmas.html" target="_blank">Real Sodas in Real Bottles</a>, who now distributes Sparky’s throughout the state, except in Central California, where, at least in 2009, Kevin still makes deliveries. (<a href="http://www.sparkysrootbeer.com/#!about" target="_blank">source 1</a>, <a href="http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/food_wine/article_5b59ea9e-ec07-5569-94f2-e6003b8e1594.html" target="_blank">source 2</a>) </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlSw0Q9blf_s1riIpmvkrRUWymjWCDmxrkM9-HSDaoQNILXP2DUwTEZPBez0PbGA7a8_iNSlsRZxHbOqUVy33TC9tiHtNrZXLA1ih1zwLH_Zwzk6lkiYrgphqxaRq8gTgLKRxLJeMcpSK/s1600/Sparky's+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlSw0Q9blf_s1riIpmvkrRUWymjWCDmxrkM9-HSDaoQNILXP2DUwTEZPBez0PbGA7a8_iNSlsRZxHbOqUVy33TC9tiHtNrZXLA1ih1zwLH_Zwzk6lkiYrgphqxaRq8gTgLKRxLJeMcpSK/s400/Sparky's+1.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Not quite replicating the logo... </i></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As for my Farmers-Market-Fresh[ly]-Draft[ed] Sparky’s Fresh Draft Root Beer, it’s a little watery, even before the ice melts. This, however, does not diminish its very strong wintergreen flavor, which I do remember being a little too strong for my tastes last time around. Had I thought through my transaction a little better, I would have ordered a float, which they make with ice cream from a local creamery – the added cream and vanilla would have made for a perfect confection, given that Sparky’s is not too sweet to begin with and herb-y enough to withstand any dairy-fied onslaught. I am pleased to report that fresh Sparky’s does actually come from a small barrel, which you would be able to see in the photo had I thought through my picture-taking a little better and waited until someone wasn’t standing between me and the booth (you can at least see a little of the barrel and tap in the photo, and to Sparky’s credit, the booth is pretty popular, so a customer-free photo would be hard to come by)... The stripey paper straw is also kind of cool, and possibly more environmentally friendly than a plastic one (stripey or otherwise), which I can get always behind.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While I emphatically believe that all root beer aficionados should do their best to get their hands on some Sparky's Fresh Draft Root Beer to decide for themselves, I still have to say that it isn’t one of my favorite brews. Unfortunately that probably means my recommendation isn't going to be published in their pamphlet anytime soon, as other RBI luminaries’ have. But at least I get to park next to their van in the garage… </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuzN5VS_M0ltfI-FUKNf0k5L9KXqcmpUqfxAUvnpOq5CS-QPL2TLtM7CQIHTfEcy6H0VRcc2KKpXcAWQKhUTeoQpxiNp9o5BAosxRv_z0MqFMyUHxxvwPv9ofnsjwvABVEsw0iE9blvQK/s1600/Sparky's+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuzN5VS_M0ltfI-FUKNf0k5L9KXqcmpUqfxAUvnpOq5CS-QPL2TLtM7CQIHTfEcy6H0VRcc2KKpXcAWQKhUTeoQpxiNp9o5BAosxRv_z0MqFMyUHxxvwPv9ofnsjwvABVEsw0iE9blvQK/s400/Sparky's+3.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Spark[l]y steed.</i></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Regardless, I still admire, respect and appreciate Knox Brewing’s effort immensely, and wish them the best as they take their self-proclaimed leadership in the root beer revival. Viva la revolución.
</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5407554619880454954.post-57524809560028378152013-10-15T15:52:00.001-07:002013-10-15T15:52:06.022-07:00El Camino Root Beer, Part 1: Pismo Brewing Company<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZKKbyc3u57zgaJVdnBaBMtnmK7CtiWYtOYvsfcPuNwqlJ2J0mJloX9umkA065BhGfRMmMWwzu13OwMy-t2wP21X5139PNeK1-EZmcka92QXNEw81gqVdH82iIa3qXXirZ0WHB7ak4hUI/s1600/Pismo+Brewing+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZKKbyc3u57zgaJVdnBaBMtnmK7CtiWYtOYvsfcPuNwqlJ2J0mJloX9umkA065BhGfRMmMWwzu13OwMy-t2wP21X5139PNeK1-EZmcka92QXNEw81gqVdH82iIa3qXXirZ0WHB7ak4hUI/s400/Pismo+Brewing+2.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Pismo Brewing Company – Pismo Beach, September 2013)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a last hurrah before our nest starts to fill, the Missus and I are taking a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. To prepare our unborn child for having the kind of parents that will drag him/her and his/her siblings on annual educational road trips, we're stopping by all the Spanish Missions and roadside kitsch we can find along the way. We're also reinforcing why we love living in California as we traverse 340 beautiful miles (well, minus the part where we had to go through the San Fernando Valley...) of sun-sparkled ocean during the day and star-sparkled darkness at night (hey, we live in LA; the only thing that sparkles at night there are police helicopters...).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pismo Beach is one of those gorgeous little beach communities along the Central Coast that seem to have sprung up mostly for the surfing. Its name derives from the Chumash word for tar, <i>pismu </i>– though we’re probably talking more bitumen than actual pine tar in this case (in case you’re curious) </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">– </span> and is historically known for its clams (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pismo_Beach,_California" target="_blank">source</a>). At a whopping area of 13 square miles – only 3.5 of which isn’t covered by water – a little south of San Luis Obispo (which is actually a little smaller, but can at least boast a Spanish Mission, several institutions of higher learning, a thriving art scene, and 8 more square miles of solid land), you can probably drive right through it without noticing if you don't already know it's there. Thankfully, we know it's there, and thankfully it's home to Pismo Brewing Company (which is also small enough to drive right past if you don’t know to look for it), who thankfully make their own root beer (along with IPAs and ales). </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSmG9HBd_H4FI5SoGRZ6zYOyC00XJomGsTcTl5ScNL_b2ajxQ5d44kQCZbPpGIbgdbidBULyzJBdb2ARmkngMFEHv3Aa_zP91CZWl-oxEm-39CfzZnjMDZkzbR1Bas2fLGYW1JPra4sePn/s1600/Pismo+Brewing+(3.5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSmG9HBd_H4FI5SoGRZ6zYOyC00XJomGsTcTl5ScNL_b2ajxQ5d44kQCZbPpGIbgdbidBULyzJBdb2ARmkngMFEHv3Aa_zP91CZWl-oxEm-39CfzZnjMDZkzbR1Bas2fLGYW1JPra4sePn/s400/Pismo+Brewing+(3.5).jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Missus tries to hide Porta-Pooj behind her float.</span></span></i></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Despite the boom and bust and re-boom of Central Coast microbreweries in the last decade, Pismo Beach didn’t get its first microbrewery until Pismo Brewing Company opened its doors in 2010. This family-owned affair is the result of an enterprising couple who enjoyed the small beach-town breweries they visited south of the border so much that they decided to start one in their own garage with the help of a couple more enterprising friends (<a href="http://www.pismobrew.com/" target="_blank">source</a>). Pismo Brewing’s brewpub is a modest, comfortable little storefront with a bar, a couple of booths, and a jukebox that alternates from Merle Haggard, to Kid Rock, to Johnny Cash during our stay.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The root beer has a respectable amount of foam coming from the tap, though as you can see, much of it has dissipated by the time I got my photo set up. Otherwise the bubbles are small and soft, but plentiful. It's easy to drink, with a mild generic herb flavor somewhere between the bite of Barq’s and the smoothness of A&W, for lack of better descriptors. Were I pressed to find a dominant flavor, I'd say it's a little sarsaparilla-y with a very faint amount of anise on the back end. And although it's on the sweet side, it's not at all thick, definitely not cloying, and still very refreshing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Since Pismo Brewing also bottles their brew (which is significant, given that they otherwise only bottle one of their IPAs and lemonade, neither of which I tried) (you can get any other beer to go in a growler though), I’m picking some up to take home for further investigation (we must, after all, be thorough). This time around, fresh from the tap, Pismo Brewing Company Root Beer is just like its home town and precisely what it needs to be – a nice reason to take a break from the road (and quite good in the float). Until further consideration of the bottled offering, Pismo Brewing Company Root Beer gets a low 3.5.
</span>Winhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882875311453552715noreply@blogger.com0