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For many 小蓝视频 brewers, their love of delicious beverages thankfully extends past beer. Some breweries have tried making ciders, others are doing whiskies and spirits. And some are going in a totally different, alcohol-free direction: soda pop.
And in the family-friendly tasting room, it鈥檚 proving to be a big hit.
Victoria鈥檚听听was the first 小蓝视频 craft brewery to try its hand at naturally brewed sodas, and six years later they can be found in grocery stores and restaurants all over the province.
However, the decision to get into the fizz biz came by accident, says founder Matt Phillips.
鈥淲e were looking at soda for inspiration for our beers,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e were playing with ginger and root beer spices and it dawned on us that no one was making sodas from real ingredients.
鈥淪o we decided to.鈥�
The result was听听Capt. Electro鈥檚 Intergalactic Root Beer and Sparkmouth Ginger Ale, both launched in 2012. Phillips has since added a cola and an orange cream soda to the lineup, as well as the Phillips Fermentorium line of tonics.
Unlike what was on the market at the time, Phillips鈥� offerings were distinctly 鈥渃raft.鈥�
鈥淥ur sodas follow the same ethos as our beer,鈥� says Phillips. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e made from scratch, from fresh ingredients and served fresh.鈥�
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Pop goes the (beer) world
Newly opened听听in Abbotsford has built craft soda into its business model since day one. Founder Nicolas Mielty says he wants to have craft options for everyone that walks through his doors, including those who don鈥檛 drink alcohol.
In addition to craft beer, Loudmouth鈥檚 tasting room is also tall cans, 355mL bottles, 650mL bombers, growler fills and tasting flights of its hand-made all-natural sodas.
Mielty has been experimenting with soda pop for years and says he first fell in love with it during a surfing trip to the US.
鈥淵ou鈥檇 find these little pizza shops with amazing sodas in glass bottles,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut we just don鈥檛 have that selection here. I鈥檇 like to change that.鈥�
Much of the Canadian craft soda market is dominated by foreign brands: retro craft sodas like Lemmy鈥檚, Dad鈥檚, Moxie and Mr. Cola are all manufactured in Washington State, while Fentiman鈥檚 is imported from England. Even Jones Soda, which began in Vancouver, is now American owned and made.
Mielty says he鈥檇 like to see homegrown products take their place, and breweries are uniquely positioned to do just that.
鈥淲e have the mixing vessels, the CO2 tanks, the bottling lines, the pasteurization,鈥� he says.
Loudmouth鈥檚 soda selection is diverse, with nitro cold brew coffee alongside craft cola and root beer. Mielty also plans to do a line of sodas inspired by craft beer, including sour fruit sodas, modeled after kettle soured ales, as well as dry-hopped pop.
鈥淚t鈥檚 actually pretty popular in Europe, but we haven鈥檛 seen it here,鈥� he says.
There鈥檚 one thing you won鈥檛 find in his sodas, however: high fructose corn syrup.
鈥淚t鈥檚 astounding how much sugar is in some sodas,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need that much to sweeten it so [craft soda] is much better for you.鈥�
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Mixes and mashes
鈥檚 Diana McKenzie says it was a similar interest in making beer that led her to make pop.
鈥淪oda can be so much more than coke and root beer, much like the beer world has finally realized that beer isn鈥檛 just American lagers,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 want people to appreciate the possibilities and the range outside of big label commercial soda.鈥�
Callister Soda offers flavours like Traditional Tonic, Raspberry Earl Grey, Ginger Mint and Spruce & Hop in 355mL bottles from the tasting room and other East Van retailers. The sodas are designed to be enjoyed on their own or used as a cocktail mixer.
鈥淭he Traditional Tonic is so different from what people think of as a tonic, so I have some very dedicated tonic followers,鈥� says McKenzie. 鈥淭he Raspberry Earl Grey gets people so excited,听they usually swear at me because it鈥檚 so good.鈥�
There weren鈥檛 many resources available for learning how to make sodas, compared to homebrewing, McKenzie says. That meant a lot of experimentation was necessary to finally craft her unique recipes and scale them up for bottling. Since only a handful of companies are doing anything similar locally, there鈥檚 less industry support and collaboration than what she鈥檚 experienced in the brewing industry.
鈥淚鈥檝e had to figure it out on my own nearly every step of the way,鈥� she says.
But being small and adaptable has its advantages: McKenzie can use fresh local ingredients, make small batches and sell the听soda as fresh as possible.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure most breweries could do it if they wanted to commit the resources to it,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut at a larger size and scale, it may require more of an investment.鈥�
Unlike beer, however, craft soda can be enjoyed by everyone.
鈥淵ou can sell it to anyone and anytime,鈥� says McKenzie. 鈥淚t鈥檚 actually really liberating not to be as restricted.鈥�
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