# does your city have locally-made soda? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 31, 2019, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651 "2019-12-31T03:51:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@fedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/1 "2019-12-31T03:51:57Z")
we all know that almost every major city has home brewed beer, but does your city have home soda? In St Louis it was Vess (even had huge soda-bottle sculpture) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/2 "2019-12-31T03:54:42Z")
I went to highschool in Camden, Arkansas. Home of Grapette. The bottling plant is still around. It’s used for a sheltered workshop for handicapped persons. ---
**Author:** ![fedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@fedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/3 "2019-12-31T03:55:44Z")
we all know that almost every major city has a local brewery making beer, but do you have local soda? In St Louis it was called Vess (we even had huge soda bottle sculpture) ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/4 "2019-12-31T04:06:03Z")
> [@fedman](#): > > we all know that almost every major city has home brewed beer, but does your city have home soda? In St Louis it was Vess (even had huge soda-bottle sculpture) I came in to mention Vess, only to see it in the OP. ☹ So I’ll just contribute its slogan, “The Billion Bubble Beverage” We also have Fitz’s, which produces a range of interesting flavors. Milwaukee has Sprecher, which makes pretty much the only drinkable root beer available in the US. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/5 "2019-12-31T04:23:30Z")
Sacramento has Blue Dog Beverage, which makes a line called [River City Soda](https://www.bluedogbeverage.com/about-us/river-city-sodas/). It includes River City Root Beer, River City Blueberry Lemonade, River City Ginger Beer, and River City Orange Cream. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/6 "2019-12-31T04:24:49Z")
Michigan has Faygo and Vernors. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/7 "2019-12-31T04:29:40Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Michigan has Faygo and Vernors. there’s also Towne Club at 8 Mile & Mt. Elliott, and Coca Cola has a bottling plant on Warren Ave. & Livernois. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/8 "2019-12-31T04:31:10Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > there’s also Towne Club at 8 Mile & Mt. Elliott, and Coca Cola has a bottling plant on Warren Ave. & Livernois. Yeah, but Coca Cola is hardly a Michigan or Detroit pop. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/9 "2019-12-31T04:33:47Z")
This appears to be a duplicate thread. Should be merged with [this one](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=887632). ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/10 "2019-12-31T04:37:49Z")
In Hawaii we have Diamond Head soda that I’m not sure is still made (i.e. the syrup) locally. I’m sure it’s canned (AFAIK, it doesn’t come in bottles anymore) locally by either the Coke or Pepsi/7Up bottlers. It used to be a bargain compared to the major brands, but now is just as or more than them even on sale. I prefer the grape and strawberry over Crush, but it’s not worth the price. In the 70’s, possibly into the early 80’s we had Pic.A.Pop which had an interesting concept. It was bottles and you could only buy it by the case (which was plastic), but you could mix and match whatever flavors you wanted. It was only available directly from the bottler or a few Mom and Pop Stores. And I don’t think were ever sold as single bottles. The bottles had a 5 cent deposit, which was high considering the soda cost, I think, 10 or 15 cents. Pic.A.Pop ran into trouble when people would collect the bottles and never return them, forcing the company to reuse other makers bottles such as Diamond Head which came in bottles back then. Bringing in more bottles from the mainland was too expensive and eventually the company was forced to close. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/11 "2019-12-31T04:40:47Z")
Duplicate threads merged. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/12 "2019-12-31T04:52:27Z")
Chicago has [Green River](http://www.greenriversoda.com/chicago/), which is a lime-flavored soda with a deep green color. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/13 "2019-12-31T04:53:55Z")
Hosmer Mountain Soda has two locations in Connecticut, Willimantic and Manchester. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/14 "2019-12-31T04:59:40Z")
We have Yacht Club Soda. We’re not a city though, just a tiny state. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/15 "2019-12-31T06:58:57Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Chicago has [Green River](http://www.greenriversoda.com/chicago/), which is a lime-flavored soda with a deep green color. Filbert’s on the South Side in McKinley Park, as well. Known somewhat for their root beer, but also as a local brand in these parts. You’ll occasional see it pop up in hipster joints on the North Side, too. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/16 "2019-12-31T08:41:39Z")
Not where I live now, but where I grew up (and where my family still live), yes. [West’s Cordials](https://www.wests.co.nz/). Two flavours of particular note: Pineapple-and-Pear, and Chocolade. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/17 "2019-12-31T09:24:11Z")
Seattle has Jones Soda, which isn’t too difficult to find outside the NW. Henry Weinhard’s, which was originally from Portland and used to be brewed here before the Olympia Brewery closed and production was moved to California, also has a line of root beer and cream sodas. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/18 "2019-12-31T11:02:52Z")
I think the best named local soda is [Lemon & Paeroa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_%26_Paeroa). As they say it is, “World famous in New Zealand.” ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/19 "2019-12-31T11:23:27Z")
In DC there’s Rock Creek, officially the “Rock Creek Ginger Ale Co. Inc.” They’ve been in business for 100 years and they don’t even have a website. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651/20 "2019-12-31T11:40:58Z")
Several, but the iconic brands for Cape Town would be [Appletiser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appletiser)and [Bashew’s](http://thesip.co.za/2017/11/16/the-story-behind-capes-iconic-bashews/). The weekly home delivery of crates of colourful drinks - 6 flavours - in their glass bottles were a highlight of my youth. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-locally-made-soda/845651.md?page=2)