Sarsaparilla
Today we bottled 600 cases of soda. We did 120 cases of Cream Soda, 180 cases of Root Beer, and the rest was Sarsaparilla. There was only three of us available for bottling, so I am quite tired! That is 14,400 bottles of soda!
The Sarsaparilla we make is a special order, the Museums of Living History Farms in Des Moines, and Ushers Ferry in Cedar Rapids. They go through quite a bit in the summer, because many school children go there in the late spring and early fall to learn about Iowa history. It is a recipe similar to our Root Beer, but with a Sarsaparilla twist. Sarsparilla flavor is often described as black liquorice, and I believe the main ingredient is fennel (or anise). It is pretty yummy stuff. We would release it full time, but we already have enough brands of soda. But I wonder whether this soda would outsell our slow-selling Cream Soda if released under our own name.
The problem is that there is so little money in soda. Basically, we make as much money on selling one six-pack of beer as we do in selling a whole case of Root Beer. Soda is surely easier (and faster) to make than beer, so that offsets it some. But keeping our brands limited allows us to focus more on the products that we do have. There has been some talk of replacing the Cream Soda with Sarsaparilla when our Cream Soda six-pack packaging runs out in year. But that is has yet to be decided… But I would like to hear any ideas as to which soda you would prefer. Maybe we should do an Orange Cream like everyone else? 