Calgary breweries hopping on craft soda bandwagon

Calgary's craft breweries arebubbling up something other than their typical concoctions.

At Annex Ale Project,in southeast Calgary, soda flavours like root beer, Saskatoon lemonadeand craft cola are on the menu alongside the more traditional brews.

The brewery is just one of several in the city that is getting in on thecraft soda scene.

"We want to basically take the craft ideals behind craft beer and apply that to sodas," saidAndrew Bullied, director of brewing operations at Annex Ale Project.

"We're trying to basically bring sodas back to being this homemade and artisanal thing."

Annex Ale Project has sold non-alcoholic drinks since 2016.

Beer is still its main business, Bullied said. But the craft sodas which are handmade and made with whole ingredients whenever possible now make up a quarter of the brewery's sales.

It's caught on at other breweries, too. After a customer survey, the Dandy Brewing Company started making soda this summer andnow sells the productat 25 locations.

"People look to craft beers for ingenuity and what's coming next, and there's an expectation of quality," said Ben Leon, Dandyco-owner.

"That procedure and everything is the best it can be at a craft brewery but it doesn't have to just be beer."

Moreconsumers are looking for alternative options when they go to restaurants, in part because it's now more sociallyacceptable to seek non-alcoholic options "for a variety of reasons," said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhouse University in Halifax.

It's smart for businesses to expand and carry non-alcoholic options so they do not lose the patronage of those who do not consume alcohol,Charlebois said, adding that such options are more common in Europe.

Leopold's Taverncarries a number of locally-produced craft sodas and regional manager David Sauvehas noticed an uptick in interest.

"We're just a gathering spotwe're a spot for the community to come together and spend time,hang out and have fun and feel like a part of the mix," Sauve said.

"Having options for everyone is super important to us."