Our love of craft soda is well documented. Cascal is our latest interest, a fermented beverage concocted to pair beautifully with food. Given that non-alcoholic drinks generally fail in this effort, Cascal is a welcome addition to the market and the black current variety is especially good.

Learn more here.

New from Italian brewery Le Baladin… sodas.

Yes, sodas. Talking a page out of some of our favorite US brewers (like Abita), Le Baladin is now offering drinks for the non-drinker. Word is the ginger is fantastic. At the hands of master brewer Teo Musso, it seems anything is possible.

They’ve been getting rave reviews. Give them a try at Eataly. Learn more here.

Several years ago, Bob and his brother Rich Munch were drinking maple syrup. They both agreed that if mixed with carbonated water, freshly tapped maple syrup would provide the basis for a refreshing beverage. The idea stuck, and the Vermont Sweetwater Bottling Company was born.

The Munch brothers sought out a vintage Crown Cork and Seal Dixie bottler, which forms the backbone of the business. What began in 1996 as a single soda line – with a maple syrup seltzer – has blossomed into a family of 8 sweet beverages.

Learn more at Vermont Sweetwater.

More of the brands simple packaging after the jump.

Old Dominion Brewing Company isn’t the only brewery with soda options. (Yes, we’ve covered that ground before). However, it might be the only brewery that sourced a Root Beer recipe from the Library of Congress. Their research yields a rich, aromatic beverage sweetened with pure honey. Complementing the Root Bear, Old Dominion also produces a Ginger Ale. This soda is made with pure cane suger and delivers a mild finish.

Learn more at Old Dominion.

Hotlips, a family owned Portland-based firm, has been bottling fresh fruit sodas since 2005. Initially, the sodas were produced to compliment the family’s five pizzerias. Now they employ 130 people across the company and strive to fulfill the following mission – “To preserve culture and celebrate humanity through rich culinary traditions and by joining with others in finding new, sustainable ways of doing business.”

They use fresh fruit, maintaining the pulp and introducing a light fizz to the pop.

Learn more at Hotlips.

Does anything happen in Derry, New Hampshire?

Only the production of New England’s finest craft root beer. The Nutfield Brewing Company specializes in nothing else. Fans attest to Nutfield’s class, describing the finish and smooth in texture with a rich, balanced sweetness. Nutfield is most easily acquired in keg form (assuming you live in Southern New England).

Recently, my diet has hit rock bottom. Sixteen cheeseburgers a week low.

On the plus side, gluttony leads to discovery. Foxon Park, established in 1922 and located in East Haven, CT, makes all the flavors required for any ice cream soda imaginable. They use real sugar, which in their estimation has helped them stand the test of time. Being the regular drinks pairing with some of the United States’ best pizza doesn’t hurt matters either.

Order from Foxon Park.

Normally, I’d link an article about the glory of regional beverages in the daily round-up.

Thanks to sun-induced holiday confusion, I’ve only just realized that today is Tuesday and not Monday. Bollocks.

Anyway, Christopher Brooks’ run down of four Connecticut soda makers (”Old-Fashioned Soda Makers that Never Go Out of Fashion,” NYT, July 1, 2010) covers the unique flavors that have helped the family-run business survive despite competition from (much) larger multi-nationals. Included in the article is Hosmer Mountain Bottling Company, which we’ve featured here before, along with New Britain’s Avery’s Beverages, Castle Beverages of Ansonia, and Foxon Park of East Haven.

The article is more than just a pro-America celebration, but a fine presentation of the change and continuity required to keep small local business running smoothly. Read it here.

For the past 20 years, the brewers at Portland, Oregon’s Thomas Kemper Soda Company has made Root Beer the old fashioned.

In 2008, Kemper Soda Company changed recipes to include cane sugar. This move eliminated high fructose corn syrup, making things more natural and more delicious. Like many other craft soda companies, the line began with Root Beer (and the company has a history in traditional brewing as well), and has since expanded to include a range of other old fashioned tastes. The addition of Black Cherry, which joined in 1998, is the real kicker.

Thomas Kemper is widely distributed in the West and made its debut in New York City last summer. Seek it out, “because nothing’s sweeter than authenticity.”

Kentucky’s second best drink, and the only one appropriate for teetotalers, is “A Late One.” Ale8one has been bottled in Winchester, Kentucky since 1926. Inspired by the ginger driven beverages of Northern Europe, Ale8one was developed by G.L. Wainscott and remains a “closely guarded family secret.”

Along with the original, the company also offers a diet version and a complete line of other foodstuffs – bbq sauce, suckers, etc.

Should you wish to visit the factory, they will happily swing you through at 10:50am on Fridays given some advanced notice.