There’s no denying that Utahns love their soda. Unless you’ve lived under a rock or avoided social media for the past 15 years, soda shops have spread throughout the Beehive State. There have been debates and lawsuits, and social media hashtags devoted to soda trends – and even a celebrity appearance by singer Olivia Rodrigo, sharing her favorite local soda shop. But ahead of the game was a local specialty soda maker providing drinks with deeper roots and a little more sophistication. 

“I think everybody likes to have something they look forward to, and that makes life just a little bit sweeter, and that is relatively harmless, that doesn't cause them a lot of problems in their life,” said Ashley Simmons, president of Soda Beers. “That is what Utahns do, I think, is they have a little treat that they look forward to. It’s just a way to enjoy life a little bit more.” 

While officially producing sodas since 1964, the idea behind Soda Beers came from thousands of miles away in the alpine regions of Germany with a drink that has been around since the early 1900s.  

Larry Stillman was living in Germany while serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he tried a beverage there that was very well known in the community, called Fassbrause (pronounced Fass-browza). It was an alternative to alcohol. 

Fassbrause being transported in wooden kegs.

It’s a unique beverage because it was flavored with apples, but with the peel of the apple rather than the pulp, which gives it a unique blend of tartness and sweetness, and it also had a thick foamy head like a beer. 

“My dad fell in love with it and knew that he had a winner. So, he brought it home to Utah and called it ‘Apple Beer’ to kind of connect it with this heritage of Germany,” Simmons said. Ashley is Larry Stillman’s daughter, and she spoke of her father’s memories of the Fassbrause drink and its impact on him. “It was served in wooden kegs, like a beer, and that got the attention of all the missionaries (like my dad) as an option for them to both fit with the culture, but choose an alcohol-free beverage.” 

Back in the U.S., Stillman and his alcohol-free brewing company started producing ‘Apple Beer’, the equivalent of Fassbrause. It gained popularity in Utah because of the balance of tart and sweet. 

“Kids, traditionally, like an intensely sweet beverage, while adults, notably, do not. The way we get our flavoring for the apple is from the oils. We steam the apples and get the oils that come from the peel. It does not have pulp in it, and so we don't call it juice, but it is flavored with real apple,” Simmons said. “Finding that balance, where it still tastes good, but is not too sweet, is important. It's also got the foamy head, which we get from the yucca plant, which adds to an elevated look for our beverage.” 

Ashley Simmons holds a picture of the Best of State statue SodaBeers won, alongside a cardboard cutout of her father.

Beyond the taste, Apple Beer provided an option for social interactions that many were looking for. With a large percentage of the Utah population avoiding alcoholic drinks because of tenants of their faith, it has been proposed that the rise in popularity in soda shops is partially due to the social element. 

“It is a great product, and it fits a niche that Utahns want,” Simmons said. “There is a huge amount of people here that want an alcohol-free beverage, but they don't necessarily want a kid’s drink – which is typically what adults who want alcohol-free beverages are offered if they’re not having alcohol. We’ve recently had the lowest alcoholic sales in an entire generation in America. Americans are increasingly choosing alcohol-free drinks for health reasons, and so we're in a great place because we offer this gourmet option.” 

In addition to Apple Beer, Soda Beers produces a Root Beer, Ginger Beer, Butterscotch Beer – for the Harry Potter fans -- and a sugar free Green Apple Beer, called Apple Beer Five. 

The sodas at Soda Beers have a devoted legion of fans, with many reaching out and suggesting additional flavors or asking where they can find the product. 

“I remember growing up and bringing Apple Beer to local parties with my friends and seeing their reaction and kind of realizing, wow, my dad has come up with something that my friends love. Being raised with this around, you may not realize it, but when you see it through other people's eyes, it is something that people love. They don't casually like it. They love it,” Simmons said. “I even had a woman who's starting an alcohol-free bar reach out to me because people still want that social interaction. We've also been trying to get more involved in Oktoberfest, to give people who celebrate these events an alcohol-free alternative.” 

While production and most sales take place in Utah, they’re also selling it the Intermountain West, including Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and New Mexico. The drink has also snagged a foothold in the Dutch Caribbean Island of Curaçao, of all places. 

“It took us a little while to understand why they wanted our drink,” Simmons said. “They have a large Seventh Day Adventist population, which is an alcohol-free community, and they use our drink to host all their weddings. So, we have a little pocket of major fans there.” 

It did take the company time to navigate how to get that to get that large of a shipment over there, but Soda Beers has now been shipping to Curaçao for almost 40 years.  

Over the years, the company has also figured out other challenges, from thriving in an extremely competitive beverage market with the influences of companies like Coke and Pepsi, to managing supply chain challenges during the pandemic thanks to its strong relationships with suppliers. Through it all, Soda Beers’ reputation has grown and solidified itself as a local favorite in the soda craze. 

Those interested in the beverage can find it in local grocery stores, especially Associated Food stores and Harmon’s, as well as many restaurants throughout Utah. You can also learn more about the drink and use its product finder tool at sodabeers.com.