"There's something pretty charming about the Midwest's relationship with soda. Maybe it's the long winters that make people reach for anything fizzy and cheerful, or perhaps it's the region's talent for taking ordinary things like cheese curds or county fairs and turning them into cultural touchstones. Soda is no exception. In the Midwest, fizzy drinks aren't just refreshments; they're tiny time capsules of community pride, quirky nostalgia, and a very particular kind of regional stubbornness that insists, "No, actually, our version is better.""
"While the rest of the country grabs whatever's stacked at eye level in the supermarket, Midwesterners have a soft spot for the small batch, the hyperlocal, and the slightly eccentric. There's a whole world of sodas brewed in modest facilities that look more like a well-organized garage than a massive bottling plant. These drinks are sometimes made in limited runs, passed around by word of mouth,"
"Part of the novelty lies in how unapologetically regional these sodas are. They don't pretend to be national celebrities. They're for the farmers markets, the state fairs, the diners with sticky menus, and the adults who vaguely remember having a bottle as a kid. The following sodas are little reminders that not everything needs to be global to be loved. And when you get your hands on one, it's all about tapping into the Midwest's knack for keeping its traditions alive."
Midwestern soda culture prizes small-batch, hyperlocal, and slightly eccentric fizzy drinks that act as time capsules of community pride and nostalgia. Long winters and a regional habit of turning ordinary things into cultural touchstones help sustain affection for local sodas. Many sodas are produced in modest, garage-like facilities in limited runs and distributed by word of mouth, county gas stations, farmers markets, state fairs, and diners. These beverages do not aim for national fame but cater to local tastes and memories. Faygo began in Detroit in 1907 when brothers Ben and Perry Feigenson turned cake frosting experiments into a regional brand whose lineup expanded widely.
Read at Tasting Table
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]