THAT is the saying outside the store of my new favorite hobby, root beer tasting. I stumbled upon The Root Beer Store one day on the back side of The Home Depot and Target in Redmond. As you are driving on that road, you see lots of signs saying ‘The Root Beer Store’ and ‘60+ Root Beers’ (7102 180th Ave NE). Taking a mental picture, I went home and told my husband that we needed to go to this place and check it out (he’s a big root beer lover, too).
So, one Saturday, we made the trek back to Redmond to go buy some root beer. Being that I’m pregnant right now means that wine tasting is out, so why not go taste and rate some root beer, like we would wine? We thought this was a brilliant idea, and so with critical eyes we set out to get our first 6 bottles of root beer.
When you walk in, you’ll see that all of the walls are lined with different root beers, ginger beers, sarsaparillas, birch beers, diet root beers and one section of cream, orange, grape, lemon and huckleberry sodas. And every third Saturday of the month, they offer free tastings in the store. The store normally has a couple out to taste, but I believe if you want to sample one all you have to do is ask.
We started out our selection process… Now, I have to say, this next part is all my personal opinion. I LOVE a good ginger beer or a root beer with a little bite (more the sarsaparilla side of things). I don’t like root beers that taste too much like vanilla or are too sweet. I do like a good head; otherwise the root beer is to flat by the time you get done drinking it.
My hubby and I differ in some of our tastes, which has lead to some wonderful conversations! I’m serious; we have had full half hour discussions after we’ve tasted a root beer about our differing opinions. It’s been a lot of fun!
For our first 6 pack, we got a variety of root beers, including a fair trade, organic root beer from Maine, a ginger beer from Hollywood, CA, and the store’s favorite root beer from Michigan. This brings me to our rating system. We put together a rating system from 1-5. 1 meaning you wouldn’t even finish the root beer (diet Shasta), to 5 being you would buy this root beer every chance you get (Sprecher Root Beer, WI).
In order to keep track of all the root/ginger beers we taste we are taking pictures of all the ones we buy and recording our ratings next to the pictures. Out of the 2 root beers and 1 ginger beer that I mentioned above Casey and I mostly agreed. The Ginger beer was a 4, having a wonderful burn down the back of your throat after you are done taking a sip (again, I love ginger beer).
The fair trade, organic root beer from Maine received a 4 for a really good head and no high fructose taste. The store’s favorite received a 2. We were really disappointed about this one because we had high hopes for it. It just didn’t deliver the root beer taste we had wanted and it was really too sweet.
As I taste the Jackson Hole, Snake River sarsaparilla for the first time (which at first sip is smooth and has a hint of licorice root in it) reflecting on this experience has really brought a smile to my face. Root beer is a classic past time and it has been very enjoyable to see how many families it brings together. Every time we have been in The Root Beer Store, it has been packed with families having similar conversations on what to try and what they liked last time they were there.
We’ve even brought friends from out of town to this store and they are emailing us their ratings on the different root beers they have tried. This is a family friendly activity that everyone can participate in. Besides, who doesn’t love a good root beer! I encourage you to go check this store out and I would LOVE to hear your reviews on the different root beers you have tried.
-posted by Miss Anna, who wonders if her little one will prefer ginger or root beer…
To find out more info on The Root Beer Store go to www.therootbeerstore.com
Now in its 2nd year of business, The Nest, in the heart of the Woodinville shopping district has earned its wings with over 900+ families, thriving enrichment classes, exceptional teaching staff and a strong network of community partnerships. The Nest is a flexible, hourly drop off center. This means when you need to get your hair done, run errands, attend a school meeting, go to doctor – you have somewhere fun, credible, safe and clean to care for your children ages 2+. The Nest offers wallet-friendly packages, even a trial package (which is designed more just to whet your palate). J
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