Foamy, Creamy Root Beer Gets More Upscale

The well-dressed young man at the Broadway Great American Grill grinned up at the waitress: "Bring me a tall, cool one, would ya? Lottsa foam on top."

Just another Yuppie having his favorite brew? Something special from a local microbrewery? Guess again. He was having a root beer. That's right. An old-fashioned, all-American root beer.

Does this ring a bell from your childhood, when no Fourth of July picnic or family gathering was complete without a tall, frosty root beer or, better yet, as a float? For those of you who think such beverages belong only in the mists of nostalgia, look again. Root beers are hot! They are among the biggest-selling soft drinks at the grocery store, and they have found their way onto the drink list of upscale bars and popular watering holes.

In a country where folks actually drink more pop than water, most soft drinks are big business. Americans consume more than 40 gallons per capita of soft drinks each year. But during the past few years, root beer has really taken off. More than $1 billion was spent on root beer alone last year, according to the soft-drink industry. The foamy brown beverage enjoyed the largest market-share jump of any category in the business.

The Northwest, usually quick to pick up on beverage trends (probably because we have both thriving wine and microbrewery industries here), sees the serving of many an icy cold, foaming glass of root beer at local upscale bars. We long have had such popular-selling brands as A & W, Hires, Dads and Shasta. But what probably thrust root beer from the crowded shelves of the grocery and into the smart gathering places of the city was a St. Louis root beer called I.B.C. (Independent Brewing Co.), which was introduced here about a year and a half ago. It's more expensive (about $4 for a six pack, compared with the $2.50 average), is delicious with old-fashioned root beer flavors, and just looks classy in its tall brown bottle with glass embossed label.

Bert Mason, owner of Unique Wine & Beer Co. Inc., the local distributor, took on I.B.C. mainly as a sideline to his wine business.

"Everybody loves it," he says. "It's really taken off. We're selling around 300 cases a month and that's just during the winter."

I.B.C. can been found in such places as Duke's restaurants, the Century Square Bar & Grill, the Beeliner Diner, the Five-Spot and Ivar's restaurants.

But what really confirmed root beer's popularity here was the recent debut of a locally made product, Thomas Kemper. Poulsbo's Thomas Kemper, of course, is one of our more successful microbreweries. Andy Thomas, owner/founder of Thomas Kemper, says it was sort of a fun experiment at first.

"It's now matched our beer production," Thomas says, "and I think it will go beyond."

The distributor here, Sid Eland, was somewhat reluctant about the product at first. At 80-90 cents a bottle and about $2 for a glass in a local pub, it makes the Thomas Kemper product the most expensive root beer in the market. But that fact didn't seem to bother the consumer one tiny bit. It appears in 12-ounce bottles with an attractive red and blue label, and is shipped out in 15-gallon kegs to be on draught.

"Our basic problem is keeping up with the demand," Thomas says. "We've far outdone our projections. What's really amazing is the on-premise sales (bars, restaurants, hotels, etc.)"

The root beer was developed by Thomas Kemper brewmaster Rande Reed, who previously had experience with the beverage in the East. While the recipe is kept secret, Thomas doesn't hesitate to divulge a few special ingredients. Along with the usual extracts of roots and flavorings, it contains fresh honey from a local Kitsap County beekeeper. This may account for its creamy texture and the amazing amount of soft foamy head that appears when one pours a glass.

Other than that, it's the same flavorful, rich-tasting beverage you remember. Only today you can enjoy it from glittering glassware at posh bars and restaurants. Root beer has definitely gone upscale.

Wine by Tom Stockley appears Wednesday in the Food section of The Times.