Do lots of areas of the US have different pop brands?

[*********]

Just curious. :001_smile: And yes, here in Michigan, we call it pop. :tongue_smilie: We love our Faygo and Vernors around here, but I'm wondering if other areas of the US have local pop brands that are popular?

 

Just trying to distract myself from all the work I have to do today for my dsd's grad party tomorrow, so I'm hanging out here. :tongue_smilie:

[MamaT]

I think Cheerwine is only in the South, but I could be wrong.

[sillymommy]

In southwestern Illinois, it's Ski. Yum!

[Country Mouse]

Ale-8-One :)

[zookeeper]

The 6 years I lived in Michigan, it was near impossible to find Dr. Pepper. :glare: NO! Mr. Pibb will NOT do!

[frugalmama]

Here we have Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, and HEB / Hill Country Fare. I don't think there are any other local brands around.

 

 

I remember drinking Faygo as a kid :D - I grew up in the UP of MI. It was a BIG treat to get a pop at the store.

[Mommyof4ks]

I thought Dr. pepper was everywhere until we left the state lol. I would miss it so much if I had to be gone for long.

[Punks in Ontario]

We always have to remind the kids that they can't order Sprite in the States. That's usually what they want.

[frugalmama]

We always have to remind the kids that they can't order Sprite in the States. That's usually what they want.

 

Why no Sprite? We get Sprite here in TX. Unless y'all have a different sprite than we do :confused:

[Kalmia]

Moxie in Maine. Began as a patent medicine, still tastes like one. My mom is from Michigan and brings home cases of Vernors every time she visits. She has them on special occasions and makes them last a year.

[Crimson Wife]

I grew up in New England and while I can't stand Moxie, my brother is a huge fan. He now lives in LA and has managed to find one store where the manager special-orders it by the case for him. :lol:

[jewellsmommy]

I have never heard of Moxie or Verners. My friend likes Squirt which is apparently a western states/California thing.

[Bug's Mom]

My friend likes Squirt which is apparently a western states/California thing.

 

I haven't looked for it/seen any Squirt lately, but when we had our guitar shop in MN ('96-03) we had an old glass-bottle Coke machine there and always had Squirt stocked. The best on a hot, muggy day.

[trlt]

I miss Vernors so much! Every time we visit family in Michigan we bring some home with us and it is treated like gold! Nothing is better than Vernors when you are not feeling well!!

[Word Nerd]

We always have to remind the kids that they can't order Sprite in the States. That's usually what they want.

 

Is it a different flavor there than the Sprite we have in the US? (It's a Coke product and is sold everywhere in the States AFAIK.)

[mom2jjka]

When I was a kid, (in WI,) we drank Jolly Good soda. I haven't seen it for years though.

[Paige]

My favorite is Ale-8, but we also get Vernors. I thought Sprite and Dr Pepper were everywhere. I thought Vernors was most places in the USA too.

[Word Nerd]

We saw an episode of Unwrapped several years ago (Food Network), and they featured regional pop/soda products. I know one was Moxie but can't remember if it was just that brand featured or if they mentioned others.

 

ETA: This store has lots of pop!

Edited June 24, 2012 by WordGirl

[Dealea86]

We have Sprite and Dr. Pepper here... :confused:

 

I miss the days when I could get a Cheerwine when eating out. We have to pick it up specially in NC or SC when we're driving through now. :(

 

Not that we drink soda much anyway. But Cheerwine is special stuff.

[Forget-Me-Not]

We always have to remind the kids that they can't order Sprite in the States. That's usually what they want.

 

We have Sprite in CA. Standard anywhere Coke products are sold :)

[TrixieB]

Thomas Kemper... root beer... mmmmm....!!!

 

There's also Jones Soda, if you like your soda to be blue or some strange flavor.

 

And Shasta.

[Wheres Toto]

We have Sprite and Dr. Pepper. Also Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, A&W, Barqs and Mug root beer. Most of what I see here is distributed by either Coke or Pepsi so I think they are all national brands. Arnold Palmer (distributed by Arizona Ice Tea) is the big popular thing right now.

 

I tried Verner's when I had a good friend from Michigan and we went up there for her wedding. Nasty stuff, IMO. :tongue_smilie:

 

Is Stewart's national? Root beer, cream soda, cherry soda and orange soda (I think).

[Laura in NC]

They started carrying Squirt down here in NC a few years ago. We used to bring home big packs of it from Michigan every time we would visit dh's family but now we don't have to. Love that stuff!

 

We can get Vernor's in some stores but it's hard to find down here.

[LoriK]

Does anyone remember Slice? It was PepsiCo's stab at producing a 7up/Sprite alternative. They also had flavor such as Orange Slice and my favorite was Apple Slice.

[Crimson Wife]

My favorite is Ale-8, but we also get Vernors. I thought Sprite and Dr Pepper were everywhere. I thought Vernors was most places in the USA too.

 

I never heard of Vernors until yesterday or today on this board. I've lived in New England, NorCal, and SoCal.

 

I just thought of another New England regional soda brand- Polar Beverages. They sell ginger ale, root beer, cream soda, and a bunch of fruit flavors. Love their raspberry lime, though I haven't had it in probably 20 years.

[Wheres Toto]

Does anyone remember Slice? It was PepsiCo's stab at producing a 7up/Sprite alternative. They also had flavor such as Orange Slice and my favorite was Apple Slice.

 

We still have places with Slice and Orange Slice, but not many. I don't remember ever seeing Apple Slice.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

We still have places with Slice and Orange Slice, but not many. I don't remember ever seeing Apple Slice.

 

I stumbled onto Slice in a vending machine somewhere when traveling. One of my favorites in my teen years.

 

Takes me back to the days of Crystal Pepsi.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

It was everywhere when I lived in Nebraska. We can get it here in FL as well.

 

I think I picked up Squirt in Alabama before.

[Reesegirl]

I like Shasta pop....northwest company.

[Farrar]

I've been told that Cherry Pepsi is a NC specific thing.

 

Moxie is the toxic sludge of soft drinks.

[frugalmama]

I like Shasta pop....northwest company.

 

We get Shasta at our local 99cent only store here in TX :D

 

I've been told that Cherry Pepsi is a NC specific thing.

 

Moxie is the toxic sludge of soft drinks.

 

Nope - I think it's everywhere. I know we get it here once in a while :001_smile:

[melbotoast]

My dad is from Michigan. He can find Vernor's at a few places in Texas.

[extendedforecast]

My kids are always disappointed that they can't have Dr. Pepper whenever we go to Florida. I didn't know it was a regional thing. We are from Texas, which is where Dr. Pepper originated. In high school, squirt was my beverage of choice from the coke machines. And all soda was coke. This is how we would order:

 

Server: What would you like to drink?

Me: I'll have a coke.

Server: What kind?

Me: Coke (or Sprite, depending on what I was eating).

[justasque]

Black Cherry Wishniak

[extendedforecast]

We get Shasta at our local 99cent only store here in TX :D

 

Yes, I always used to drink diet Shasta when I was little (before we knew the evils of artificial sweeteners).

[Guest]

I didn't realize soda was regional and there are a lot on this thread that I have never heard of. We have Coke and Pepsi products, I have seen Squirt and Slice. We have these new soda machines in fast food places that, for every soft drink, you can choose a million flavors for each. (i.e. raspberry pepsi, vanilla pepsi, etc.) At first it sounded like a good idea, but 1) it takes people FOREVER to get their drink, and 2) your drink always has some flavor to it, even if you want plain Coke.

[ssavings]

My kids are always disappointed that they can't have Dr. Pepper whenever we go to Florida. I didn't know it was a regional thing. We are from Texas, which is where Dr. Pepper originated.

 

We get Dr Pepper in Florida, anywhere that sells/serves Pepsi products? Must depend on the area of Florida.

[Bug's Mom]

In the summer I always need to have a few bottles of grape Spring Grove Soda Pop.

 

We also love Sprecher's Root Beer.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

I didn't realize soda was regional and there are a lot on this thread that I have never heard of. We have Coke and Pepsi products, I have seen Squirt and Slice. We have these new soda machines in fast food places that, for every soft drink, you can choose a million flavors for each. (i.e. raspberry pepsi, vanilla pepsi, etc.) At first it sounded like a good idea, but 1) it takes people FOREVER to get their drink, and 2) your drink always has some flavor to it, even if you want plain Coke.

 

I love the Coca Cola version of those machines, but I am biased as DH is friends with the owner of the company that helped design them. I haven't noticed the flavoring issue, but I have not used them a lot.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

We get Dr Pepper in Florida, anywhere that sells/serves Pepsi products? Must depend on the area of Florida.

 

Dr. Pepper is an interesting case as it is sometimes bottled through Coke, sometimes through Pepsi, and sometimes through another (Schweppes?), which means there can be a regional variation on its availability.

[ssavings]

Dr. Pepper is an interesting case as it is sometimes bottled through Coke, sometimes through Pepsi, and sometimes through another (Schweppes?), which means there can be a regional variation on its availability.

 

True. It's bottled by Pepsi here, so a bit harder to find at restaurants than Coke products.

[nukeswife]

In the summer I always need to have a few bottles of grape Spring Grove Soda Pop.

 

We also love Sprecher's Root Beer.

 

I grew up in Muskego Wi and LOVE Sprechers

 

I've been told that Cherry Pepsi is a NC specific thing.

.

Nope, I've always been able to buy this no matter where we lived.

 

When I was a kid, (in WI,) we drank Jolly Good soda. I haven't seen it for years though.

I remember Jolly Good.

 

The one I really miss is stuff in glass bottles from The American Soda Water CO. It was like a big warehouse and when you went in you got a wooden crate, then you went around and picked out bottles of soda, mix and match. My favorites were the piña colada and they had the best Lemon Lime, it wasn't like sprite or Sierra mist, it was green and tasted like a lime slush.

[Robyn]

We're relatively new to NH and I keep seeing Pibb at restaurants and at the movies. I have no idea what it is though, I had never heard of it before we moved. :confused:

[Parrothead]

We get Dr Pepper in Florida, anywhere that sells/serves Pepsi products? Must depend on the area of Florida.

The only place I know of that wouldn't have Dr. P would be restaurants. They don't always stock all the flavors. I hate it when I go somewhere and the only choices are Coke and Sprite.

 

When we traveled earlier in the month I couldn't get root beer in two different places in PA.

 

Anyone remember Grape Nehi? When I was a kid there was one gas station that had a machine with glass bottles, and one could get Grape Nehi. When they changed their name to RC Cola, it was all down hill from there.

[Parrothead]

We're relatively new to NH and I keep seeing Pibb at restaurants and at the movies. I have no idea what it is though, I had never heard of it before we moved. :confused:

That is Pepsi's version of Dr. Pepper.

[chiguirre]

We have both Coke and Mexican Coke in some stores. The Mexican Coke is made with cane sugar instead of HFCS. We can also get malta which tastes likes the brown tootsie roll lollipop-yum!

[kubiac]

Here in Southern California, Mexican brands like Jarritos and Inca Kola are everywhere, and so-called "Mexican Cokes" are very popular--they're bottled in Mexico into glass bottles (which you couldn't get here for ages) and they're made with cane sugar instead of HFCS.

 

Edit: Ha, I see chiguirre already explained Mexican Cokes!

Edited June 24, 2012 by kubiac

[jujsky]

Moxie in Maine. Began as a patent medicine, still tastes like one. My mom is from Michigan and brings home cases of Vernors every time she visits. She has them on special occasions and makes them last a year.

 

Every time I go home, I try to have a Moxie. It's bitter and distinct. I love the stuff :D Crack open a cold one with an Italian sandwich and some salt & vinegar chips......mmmmm-mmmmmm good!

[Kalmia]

Every time I go home, I try to have a Moxie. It's bitter and distinct. I love the stuff :D Crack open a cold one with an Italian sandwich and some salt & vinegar chips......mmmmm-mmmmmm good!

 

 

Every time I go back to Maine, my dad buys Moxie puts on a show of loving it and offers me one. I always decline with horror. Mom says he never drinks them unless I am there...

 

When I moved, it took me a while to explain to the New Yorker's that in Maine people often "have an Italian for lunch." I think they suspected canibalism!

[Jane in NC]

I've been told that Cherry Pepsi is a NC specific thing.

 

 

Is that to compete with Cheerwine?

 

I did not see anyone mention Sun Drop, another NC drink. Some people seem to be raised on it.

 

And then (drum roll) there is a better ginger ale than Vernors: Blenheim's from SC. Amazing stuff. Regular is hot; hot blows your socks off.

 

Jane (not a soda drinker)