Soda changed?

I remember when you'd buy dozens of bottles of soda, and every one tasted as good as the last. Now, it's like soda has a goddamn expiration date on it and tastes like piss after a little while.

Anyone else notice this? I think something has been added into it.

It's funny that you bring this up DV. Several of us were talking about this the other night.

When I was a young teen my first job was working in a grocery store. Back then all soda was BOTTLED in GLASS. No expiration dates. We had a huge storage area for our stock, and I remember that soda would not go bad even if it sat in that area for a year.

My personal feeling is that the bottling of sodas in plastic has something to do with the possibility of it going bad after a while. Who knows what chemicals are used in making the plastic bottles that soda is now sold in. Who knows what affect, if any, plastic has on the preservatives that are in soda. Glass on the other hand is much different and is probably more durable and self preserving in storing liquids.

I may be wrong, but that's my theory.


Don Cardi

Actually, if you drink diet soda the aspartame does lose its sweetness after a certain amount of time. That's why there's an expiration date. And after that date, it does taste pretty bad.

Yeah but Cardi, the big plastic bottles have been that way too. I remember on sales my family would stock up on a shitload of soda, and it would never go bad, lasting for months, sometimes over a year. Now, a bottle of soda lasts for a week or less. It really pisses me off.

I wouldn't know that
But it would be better if the color of the soda changed after expiration time, instead of taste. It may be a good indicator to trash it before drinking.

I thought you said that it tastes like piss? :p


Don Cardi

Once again, another thing in American marketing which has turned to cheap shit. Maybe soda should be this way. It could be something that tastes about as good as it is for your body. Nobody would smoke.

How about no? If it's bad, don't drink it. I like it, I drink it. I don't like buying a bottle and having to drink it right away because it goes flat fast.

Well, the problem with the big plastic bottles is that you don't drink it all at once, and there is always someone who forgets to screw the cap on all the way... And then it just gets flat.

I just buy cans or smaller bottles I can drink in one sitting, and all is well.

I must say though, the title to this topic reminded me of all the old soda's that have left business for one reason or another. Anyone remember Surge? About ten years ago, it was the only soda I would drink. Now I can't find it anywheres...

And people said Surge was horrible. Surge wasn't that different from Mountain Dew. I loved it.

But don't worry, Coca Cola is bringing the drink back, but with more caffeine.

Coca-Cola representatives state that Vault contains 47 mg of caffeine per 8 oz. serving, thus, 70.5 mg per 12 oz. can. This amount is substantially higher than Surge's 52.5 mg per 12 oz. or Mountain Dew's 55 mg per 12 oz.

http://www.checkyourmessage.com/vault/

I remember it being loaded with caffeine to begin with--how much more can they pack in? Oh, well, the more the better, I suppose... I've hooked myself into an addiction of caffeine. :p

Basically I love Pepsi and Coke, especially with vanilla.

As for the more heavy soft drinks, I love this, although I never felt energized by it.

I remember when we could take the glass bottles back to the store and get a little refund. That was such a big deal for us. After we got our refund we would go to the corner candy store and buy a whole bunch of candy.
Ah memories.

Surge was great! I only bought it to get the special edition cans with the pictures of WCW wrestlers on them. :p

Vanilla Coke is my favorite soda ever!

As for energy drinks, I enjoy Red Bull, but it does little for me as well. Ever try Amp? I find it easy to describe it as "heroin in a can", and my friends have coined the term "H-Bomb" to reference it. It's got a heavy sugar and caffeine content, that you (or at least I do) feel rush into your system when you take the first sip.

I do that, but on purpose. I love almost-but-not-completely-flat soda. Especially Sprite, that one flattens the best. But they're all good. It has to have just a tiny bit of fizz left in it, so it gives a weak little hiss when you open the bottle.

Sunkist. Mmmmmmmm.

I can only drink a certain drink regularly at a time. I don't know if it's just me, but I go through phases. Sometimes all I drink is Mountain Dew, then Iced Tea, then Gatorade, and so on for long periods of times (a couple months or so). Right now I've been drinking nothing but Wawa Iced Tea, for about a half a year now. I have my fridge filled with it. For you those of you that haven't been to a Wawa (it's a convenience store, like 7-11 but so much better). I guess that's why I'm partly addicted to caffiene. I went through major withdrawals one year when I gave it up for lent.

As for the new Soda, I think I might be one of the few people that like soda after its been out for a while. I don't know what it is flat soda tastes good with the carbination out.

I did always like flat Sprite. It kind of tasted like a juice of some sort, with just the flavoring left.

My friend has a minifridge in his basement, but he can only keep so much in there at one time. Sometimes, Ill drink a warm soda instead of a cold one, he thinks its weird. The cold ones just freeze my teeth sometimes. Annoying.

Does anybody else call it pop ?

I believe you're right, DC. I bought several cases of Acme Diet flavored sparkling water, in plastic bottles, before we left for our summer in Arizona. When we got back, most of it was flat.

My favorite sodas when I was a kid were Mission Orange and Mission Grape. Anyone here remember them (hint: SC or plaw)?
"After the drama/Pale Dry by Hammer." :rolleyes:

Hell Yeah Mig.

Ahhh.. I used to LOOVVEE Surge.. my parents would never let me have it because they said it burned holes in your stomach... but I'd always sneak it.

Here in Michigan, nobody ever calls it soda. It's just pop.

And yes, I have noticed that pop starts to taste like shit if you have it for too long.

Does anyone remember Jolt Cola?? I remember drinking it in my college days (hint: a number of years ago). It was advertised as having "All the sugar and twice the caffeine of regular soda".

As for the current bottling, I once had a client who made the 2 liter bottles. They are actually manufactured like test tubes, so they can ship them more easily to the bottling plants. There, they are "inflated". But I agree with you DC and TB, there is a HUGE difference between plastic and glass. Also, if you think about it, it could be because they didn't have big 2 liter bottles when they made the glass ones. Since it was a smaller amount, perhaps we drank them before they could go bad.

Jolt Cola is wicked. It's so high in caffeine that it's illegal in Maryland. But since I'm like 10 miles from the Virginia border, I go to the Royal Farms (a convenience store just past the border) and pick up a bottle or two. Talk about a sugar rush! It's like drinking two cups of coffee!

I use to drink Jolt all the time...It was the only way I could wake up in morning because I really can't stand coffee. A place near me carried it up until a few years ago, but I don't think they do now.

Could be, SB. I also think it's possible that the plastic is in some way more porous than glass.

I always drink my pop in a glass, rather than a plastic cup. Whether or not it's been proven, I don't know, but I find that it stays fresher longer in the glass than in a plastic cup. Usually, my pop will go flat in about a half hour in a plastic cup, whereas it's stayed fizzy for upwards of 2 hours in a glass.

"Here in Michigan, nobody ever calls it soda. It's just pop."

Funny how the culture is different. I live in the south and all soda (or pop) is called coke. Everything is coke, even if its sprite or Dr. Pepper.

Marlon,

When I first moved to CA (from Michigan), that's one of the first things people would notice. All my life it was "pop". Now, after 25 yrs. I've been saying "soda" so long that when I go back to Mich., I laugh when they say "pop."

As far as the taste goes, I usually by quantities by the week, and other than noticing a difference if I have canned soda, I can't say I'm able to tell a difference in the plastic bottles. They better not be messing with my Dr. Pepper. :p

TIS

It takes you two hours to drink a glass of soda? Wow. My soda doesn't even get a chance to prove its freshness potential for that long.

But I do always prefer it in a glass as well, if not for freshness, because it stays cold for a longer time in a glass.

Anyway, this thread is cracking me up... all this serious discussion on soda. Everyone's got their own name for it, their own philosophies regarding it, etc. Such a diverse subculture of the bubbly. :p

"When I first moved to CA (from Michigan), that's one of the first things people would notice. All my life it was "pop". Now, after 25 yrs. I've been saying "soda" so long that when I go back to Mich., I laugh when they say "pop.""

TIS,
I have the same experience. I grew up in Northern Ohio (Go Buckeyes-Beat Michigan) and have lived in TN for 20 years.

And now for your viewing pleasure, I found this site that has old tv shows on video, but also old commercials. For my more "mature" peers, you'll even see "Speedy" the Alka Seltzer puppet and you can even buy "Sky King."

About halfway down the page is my favorite Dr. Pepper commercial with David Naughton, who went on to be "The American Werewolf In London."

There's a coke commercial I haven't checked yet, but was hoping it was "I want to teach the world to sing."

Commercials

TIS

A Green River in the bottle...another suppressed memory the BB has recovered...you couldn't beat it.

Now it's all two-liter plastic and I believe the plastic along with the bad habit of not replacing the cap tightly that has led to soda pop that doesn't keep or age nearly as well as bottled soda with a crown cap. In fact, I still buy I.B.C. Root Beer in their six-pack of bottles just because I believe it tastes better than anything in plastic or cans.

Better yet, install a fountain and get pre-mix from your local soft drink distributor.

tony b.

I still say no. In my house the cap is notorious for being screwed on too tight, which often leads to very bloody wars.

As for the plastic, it was never glass to begin with, it was always plastic. The soda going bad after a while is something
new I've noticed. As I said, I believe something is added into the drink to prevent stockpiling during sales.

Or maybe some preservative was taken out, for the same reason.

I was cracking up about the cap starting bloody wars... It's true, I always get yelled at about my flat soda too. I guess people like their soda the way they like it, and no other way.

Try Boylan's if you can find it, storing it in glass bottles makes the world of difference (i only buy coke in glass bottles, expensive, but you can taste the difference) also, Boylans uses more natural ingredients like cane sugar, not high fructrose corn syrup, again, it matters... boylans is a great for those of us who grew up with Brookdale soda which was delievered to the house daily just like milk (now i am showing my age, this was the 70s)

You had a soda man and a milk man?? I thought my grandmother was the only person who had a soda man. Did you get the seltzer with the nozzle?? I LOVED those bottles. And the orange soda was made with REAL orange juice!!!

I don't know if it was Brookdale or not... there was a soda in the mid-80's that I ONLY ever saw at work, and it was great! Brookdale, not sure... it began with a B, tho. lol

Coke sucks, I don't care how they deliver it! I'm a Pepsi man... and I actually prefer RC (and that B-cola) over Coke. At least the drinkable Coke.... lol

You suck. Coke (the cola) is awesome!

RC > Pepsi > Generic store-brands > Coke

Give me a Code Red anyday.

Coke is the original, and, the most widely recognized logo in the world... even in some of the most remote parts of the world... but I guess that is an argument that will go on forever... I can tell you I am fond of coke for many reasons, most of which, when I got to a small remote village in sicily where my mother was from, i went to the corner bar (the only one in the region) and they served me coke in a glass... somehow, something you have been drinking all your life suddenly takes on different meaning... all depends on your surroundings... As for the seltzer bottles, we had some old antique ones, but by the 70s they started using C02 cartridges, and the soda man and milk man were in Bloomfield, NJ, we didnt have that further up in the suburbs of Caldwell... there was a vegetable guy too that came by everyday... ah the good old days!

I love RC and when I go to México that is all they have and Squirt how can I forget about Squirt.

Today I drank a few cherry cokes for the first time in awhile. I hardly drink soda at all anymore. Water is the best.

caffeine Free Pepsi for me since my fiancee is prego. Wild Cherry Pepsi is also very good.

It's pop around here.

Glass or cans only.

Plastic tastes like shit.

I don't see 7Up too much anymore, that used to be great.. i guess sprite just muscled it off the shelves... as for cherry coke, for me, that is basically Dr. Pepper, which i LOVE with rum!

Do they still make Moxie in New England? It is God-awful, but the natives used to love it.

Dr. Pepper is the greatest soda EVER...and it makes for a great mixer with Crown Royal.