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Back Roads: Fountain of youth
Originally published in the November 13, 2009, print edition.
SPRING GROVE — Spring Grove Soda Pop makes some tasty pop in the southeastern Minnesota town of Spring Grove. The pop bottles have been rattling off the bottling line in the little factory for 117 years. The bottle filling equipment was replaced about 50 years ago and is still filling glass bottles with nine flavors of pop.
There’s orange, root beer, grape, creamy orange, strawberry, lemon sour, black cherry, cream soda and lemon soda.
In a non-scientific survey of three appreciative consumers, the strawberry was said to be “intense” and “delicious.” The root beer was “the best root beer I ever had,” “a perfect combination (of) spicy, carmelly and creamy” and “would make a perfect root beer float.”
The creamy orange, which is actually a new flavor, elicited an “Oh my, this is good!” from a female consumer. A male consumer said “It’s totally what I would think a real fountain soda would taste like.”
The cream soda “was absolutely delicious! Not too sweet — you could tell that there was real sugar in it, not corn syrup. It was wonderfully carmelly, with a nice hint of vanilla.”
These consumers said they enjoyed their sodas so much that they would be happy to purchase the next ones they drink.
Dawn Hansen, the owner of the company, says the cane sugar is a major reason that Spring Grove Soda Pop is so tasty. The pops’ flavors are also enhanced because they are only lightly carbonated, as compared to mass marketed colas and other soda pops.
Hansen, who also drives the company’s delivery truck, said the syrups Spring Grove Soda Pop uses are from Chicago and are like those used in soda fountains in the first half of the 20th century.
“The recipes haven’t changed much since G.G. Ristey founded the company,” she said.
A company as old as Spring Grove Soda Pop is likely to generate a mythology. Since some people say G.G. Ristey was a pharmacist, there is a persistent rumor that his pop reduces wrinkles.
“There is no evidence that is true,” Hansen said, “but one drink will take you back to your childhood and make you feel young.”
If you’re within 100-mile radius of Spring Grove, and looking for some old fashioned soda counter flavor, look for the glass bottles of Spring Grove Soda Pop. And remember, research shows that those under 35 can also enjoy these tasty beverages.
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