Thomas Kemper

Thomas Kemper is a brewer of root beer, ginger ale, and other craft brewed sodas under the Thomas Kemper Soda Co. label. Formerly owned by Pyramid Breweries, Inc., it was sold in 2007 to Adventure Funds of Portland, Oregon, which is running the company under the Kemper Co. name.

Thomas Kemper Brewing of Poulsbo was sold to Hart Brewing (later known as Pyramid) in 1992. (Thomas Kemper had been founded in 1985 on Bainbridge Island, and began making soft drinks in 1990.)

Thomas Kemper Soda was first brewed by Andy Thomas and Will Kemper (now brewing at Bellingham's Chuckanut) as alternative to beer at an Octoberfest celebration on Bainbridge Island, WA in 1990. The first Thomas Kemper Soda was handcrafted Root Beer. Thomas Kemper Sodas are still handcrafted and made with honey (although cane sugar is the primary sweetener), Madagascar vanilla, and other flavors available.

The soda comes in eight flavors: Root Beer, Vanilla Cream, Orange Cream, Ginger Ale, Grape, Black Cherry, Ginger Peach and Oregon Marionberry. Previously, there were Thomas Kemper varieties of Birch Beer and Cola as well.

1990: The first batch of Thomas Kemper Soda, Thomas Kemper Root Beer, was created for the Thomas Kemper Oktoberfest. Since 1989, the Thomas Kemper Brewing Company, one of the Northwest's first Microbreweries, held an annual Oktoberfest celebration at their brewery. Starting out as a small event, the Thomas Kemper Oktoberfest soon was adding thousands of extra people to the population of Poulsbo, WA each autumn.

1991: Having done so well at the Thomas Kemper Oktoberfest, the Thomas Kemper Soda Company was formed. With very little advertising or marketing dollars, the young company relies on a "grassroots" campaign to get the word on its sodas out to consumers.

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