Brewing soda
Charlottetown brewery looking past beer to find new markets
Upstreet Craft Brewing in Charlottetown has set its sights on a new market. Upstreet recently introduced Day Drift Craft Soda, a new line of craft soda that uses locally sourced and all natural fruit juices, herb and botanical infusions and fair trade organic cane sugar.
A demand for locally made products was recognized, said Mitch Cobb, Upstreet CEO.
“We wanted to create soda using the same artisanal approach that has proven successful with beer.”
Upstreet set out a year ago to develop something sophisticated and refreshing that tasted great on its own or mixed with spirits.
They began testing out various flavour profiles in their taproom. “We found that consumers were looking for something more interesting than traditional flavours.
“They wanted an alternative they could enjoy with their meal, much the same way that beer and wine pair with food.”
With the support of the National Research Council of Canada, Upstreet spent the winter working with Canada’s Smartest Kitchen to refine their flavours and develop a balance in each of their sodas. “The goal was to help create products that met the growing demand for new taste experiences while aligning with our client’s vision and style,” said Marshall Bell, product developer at Canada’s Smartest Kitchen.
They settled on three recipes to launch the new line – apple ginger elderflower, strawberry rhubarb basil and spiced malt cola.
These sodas are now available in restaurants and retail stores and the Upstreet Taproom.