Root beer and summertime childhood memories are synonymous for me. Memorial Day Weekend is here and summer has officially begun, so to celebrate summer properly with frosty mugs of root beer and root beer floats made with homemade ice cream, you can’t just drink any ol’ root beer.
Temecula has become like the new Napa Valley of California for wines, but I discovered another kind of hand crafted brew: Old Town Root Beer. It’s made from a secret root beer recipe dating back to the 1800’s found in a family Bible, but it wasn’t until 2002 that owner Cory Montgomery decided to share it with the world.
Old Town Root Beer Company has three varietals of root beer, sweetened with only cane sugar and/or honey: Original, D-N-A (vanilla flavor notes), and Route 66 (spicy version).
When asked why her husband’s family made root beer, Cory says, “Everyone was making their own root beer in their basement back in the day.”
It’s worth a trip to Temecula, about an hour and a half drive from LA, just to visit Old Town Rootbeer Company. One, it’s the only place you can buy the delicious micro-brewed root beer and two, Old Town Rootbeer Company carries over 500 different kinds of soda besides their own brand. You’ll see soda you remember as a kid along side imported and newly released soda varieties.
It really is a soda shrine, sure to satisfy any kind of fizz flavor craving. If you can’t make it to Temecula to stock up for all those summertime BBQ’s and family gatherings, they do ship their legendary root beer.
With one sip from a cold bottle of Old Town Root Beer, you’ll be glad Cory and John, her late husband, were kind enough to share the family’s secret root beer recipe.
Old Town Rootbeer Company, 28500 Old Town Front St. Temecula, CA 92590
For more fun things to do in Temecula, from golfing to wine touring to hot air ballooning, visit www.temeculacvb.com