A rooting interest: Brewpubs find a big market in making root beer

For several years, John Borkoski, the owner of Moab Brewery, wanted to open a brewpub in Logan's historic business district. A refurbished building at 255 S. Main, which once housed Deseret Industries, seemed liked the perfect spot.

When Borkoski was well into the project, however, he learned that his beer brewing operation didn't fit into the Downtown Alliance's plans.

That's when the longtime Utah restaurant owner turned a potentially sour situation into something sweet -- a "root" beer pub called The Beehive Grill. It's the kind of drinking establishment for which college students, young professionals and even veteran farmers in this northern Utah town have been thirsting.

Since opening last month, diners

have chugged more than a 1,000 gallons of the handcrafted root beer called "Beehive Brew."

"We are probably going through 45 to 50 (5½ gallon) kegs a week," said Jeff Van Horn, head brewer. "There's a definite interest."

Soda is popular in Utah for two reasons: the state has the largest under-18 population in the country, and most of its residents forgo alcohol because of their religious beliefs.

Van Horn has been making extra root beer at the Moab Brewery and driving it the 300-plus miles to Logan until the brewing equipment and storage tanks at The Beehive Grill are installed and operating. That should happen within the next week. Root beer will be the only beverage actually brewed on site, but The Beehive

Grill isn't dry. It has a state liquor license and has all of Moab Brewery's beers on tap. Open seven days a week, The Beehive Grill menu is identical to the Moab Brewery and includes Italian gelato made on site.

Beer brewers making fountain drinks isn't new. A dozen Utah microbreweries make the carbonated sodas for children and tee-totaling customers. The root beer is usually always available on tap or in "take-home" growlers and kegs. (The Utah Legislature banned beer kegs several years ago, but it is legal to buy a keg filled with a non-alcoholic beverage.) Root beer kegs have become especially popular for birthday parties, family reunions and other large gatherings. (See which Utah pubs sell their homemade root beer on B2.)

"We've even had BYU students come in and buy kegs for parties," said Dan Burick, brewmaster with the Utah Brewers Cooperative which produces and bottles "Brigham's Brew" root beer for Wasatch and Squatters pubs.

Steve Kirkland, head brewer for Rooster 25th Street Brewing, said the Ogden brewery sells about 60 gallons of its "Roost Beer" a week.

"We want to appeal to people who don't want to imbibe or who want something for the kids," he said, adding that microbrewed root

beer is not just a Utah phenomenon.

"I came from a brewery in the Midwest where the soda sales almost eclipsed the beer," he said. "There are a lot of root beer aficionados out there who want to find out what the local root beer tastes like."

Root beer, so named because it was originally made using the root or bark of a sassafras tree, also has its own category in numerous national beer competitions. Ruby River Steakhouse and Brewery in Ogden earned a bronze medal for its "Ruby Root Beer" at the 2008 North American Beer Awards.

"The gold and silver that year went to Anheuser-Busch," explained Robert Bunn, Ruby River's head brewer.

After the win, the brewery had a surge in sales with customers draining 600 kegs or about 9,000 gallons of the sweet drink last year. Ruby Root Beer is made at the Brewery on Ogden's Riverdale Road, but it is available on tap at Ruby River restaurants in Salt Lake City, Sandy and Provo.

In Moab, Van Horn said he started brewing root beer and other sodas about five years ago as a beverage option for children. What started out as a novelty, became a crowd pleaser with adults and an unexpected source of revenue.

"We didn't realize who our customers would end up being," said Van Horn. "It sold well enough to spend more time on it and put more effort into coming up with new flavors."

Today his recipe box has half a dozen carbonated sodas including black cherry, grape, orange cream and even pink pomegranate lemonade.

But none sell like the root beer, made with cane sugar and flavored with a mixture of root beer and sarsaparilla extracts.

"When it's made in house, it has a more crafted flavor," he said. "That's the appeal."

kathys@sltrib.com