Favorite Things Thursday: Sprecher Root Beer

I'm hoping to keep this post short, since we are a house full of sickies and I've succumbed as well. Thankfully, a visit to the doctor today, clarified that it is not strep throat, but just a bad virus.

Ever since I became pregnant with my MS, I have avoided pop (soda, as some of you call it). I found that when I try to drink it again, the taste is too syrupy-sweet. The one pop I still indulge in, on occasion, is root beer. Now, I don't think I would give in for root beer, if my options included only A & W (which is great when you drink it from a mug at the restaurant, not as satisfying from a can) or Barg's. I could easily pass. However, I have fallen in love with a root beer brewed in Wisconsin (yes, Kyle, God's country).

For years, my husband would come up for the last weekend of CBLI, and we would find someone to keep an eye on ES at the camp, so that we could go out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary. The first year we tried a sit-down restaurant across the street from the McDonald's in Antioch, IL. The meal was average. The following year, we headed out, intending to go to "The Vault." I remember eating at this restaurant with my family when we would go to camp to pick up my older brothers.

We never made it to "The Vault." As we drove off the campgrounds, we noticed a quaint little restaurant right on the same country road the camp is on, in Camp Lake, Wisconsin. I can't remember the name, and it did change owners at some point. Alas, this past year, it was gone entirely. It was a remarkable restaurant. The food was fantastic. The room felt cozy and intimate. And the root beer? Well, the root beer was outstanding. It was Sprecher Root Beer and the only time I drank it was during those anniversary meals (never saw it in IL).

Imagine my glee, when I noticed a sale on Sprecher Root Beer at the Menard's in a near-by town. I drove over and picked up four cases. Of course, I had to ask how in the world they came to be selling the stuff in Indiana, when I had never found it in Illinois. The clerk kindly explained to me that the Sprecher Brewery is right next to the Menard's headquarters up in Wisconsin and that is why they carry the brand for occasional sales. Hallelujah!

Last night, I was sitting down to my frozen spinach pizza and had to pair it with a glass of fine Sprecher Root Beer. So, if you are ever in Wisconsin, be sure to try a bottle. It is made from pure Wisconsin honey direct from the combs. It is the best root beer I've ever tasted, and my all-time favorite pop!

In writing this post, I discovered a web-site, called Root Beer World, which lists all of the 1000's of brands of root beer available. Good grief, even if I tried five new root beer formulas each year, I would never be able to say I had tried them all and declared one the best of all. Still, I find some of the names off-putting already. Who would want to try beer brewed by "Squatters" or "Scuttlebutt"? I'm stickin' with Sprecher. Let's just say it "speaks to me!"