SoDel Concepts adds root beer to line of homemade soda

Delaware residents and visitors looking to fill their frosty mugs with a locally-brewed summer staple have reason to rejoice.

Matt's Homemade Soda Co. in Rehoboth Beach is now bottling its own root beer.

The artisan soda line owned by the restaurant company SoDel Concepts released its own version of the timeless soft drink favorite this week.

"We're really proud of our craft soda line, and this season, we're producing the all-American favorite made fresh with local ingredients," said Scott Kammerer, the president and CEO of SoDel Concepts, the restaurant company that owns the artisan soda line. "We think this flavor will be our best seller yet."

Root beer is the second seasonal flavor released by the 2-year-old soda company this year. Cherry Lime Thyme was released this spring, joining Lemon Berry and Black & White, a unique concoction that combines cracked black pepper, white balsamic vinegar, fresh bay leaves and palm sugar. The line also includes homemade quinine water.

Root beer is the first flavor in the line that wasn't designed with a cocktail recipe in mind, said Matt Patton, general manager of the Fish On in Lewes and a partner in the soda company. All Matt's Homemade sodas are bottled at Fish On.

The company worked on the root beer recipe for more than a year before arriving at a distinctive taste worthy of the brand, he said.

The new flavor is made from roots, bark, spices, herbs and unrefined sugar. The sodas include no extracts or flavorings.

Matt's Homemade Soda launched in 2013 as a partnership between Kammerer, Patton and the late SoDel founder Matt Haley.

The company's soft drinks are available at all eight of SoDel's Delaware restaurants, including at Fish On in Lewes; Lupo di Mare and Papa Grande's Coastal Taqueria in Rehoboth; Matt's Fish Camp and Bluecoast Seafood Grill in Bethany Beach; NorthEast Seafood Kitchen in Ocean View; and Catch 54 and the first Papa Grande's in Fenwick Island.

Contact Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.