So, I’d been on this mission, right? Trying to track down this one specific craft soda. Heard it was amazing, like, life-changingly good. And all trails, all the whispers in online forums, they all pointed to Northeast Beverage CT as the folks who supposedly brought it into the state. Easy peasy, I thought. Boy, was I wrong.
First off, I hit the internet. Searched for “Northeast Beverage CT product list,” “where to buy [soda name] Connecticut,” all that jazz. Their own website, if you could call it that, was pretty barebones. Looked like something from the early 2000s, honestly. No useful search function for consumers, no list of retailers. Just, like, a “contact us” form that probably went into a black hole.
Okay, plan B. I started calling local liquor stores and those fancy grocery spots that usually have a good selection. Every single one was a dead end. Some folks hadn’t even heard of the soda. Others knew Northeast Beverage, sure, but said getting specific, smaller batch stuff from them was like pulling teeth. “Oh, them?” one guy chuckled, “Good luck, buddy.” Real encouraging.
Why all the fuss, you ask?
Well, here’s the thing. My nephew’s birthday was coming up. He’s a good kid, really into unique sodas, not the sugary mainstream junk. And I’d kind of, sort of, maybe promised him I’d find this legendary bottle. See, last year, I messed up his gift. Got him a video game he already had. The disappointment on his face, man, it stuck with me. So, this year, I had to deliver. This wasn’t just about a soda anymore; it was about redemption!
So, back to the grind. I figured, if the stores don’t know, maybe I go up the chain. But Northeast Beverage CT? Not exactly an open book. I spent a good afternoon just trying to figure out which towns their delivery routes might even cover for this kind of specialty item. I was looking at old forum posts, piecing together clues like some kind of beverage detective.
- Checked online beer and soda finder apps. Nothing.
- Scoured social media for any tags or mentions. Crickets.
- Even considered driving to their main office, if I could find a public-facing part of it, just to ask. Seemed a bit much, even for me.
Then, a little breakthrough. I found a tiny store, way out in a part of CT I rarely visit, mentioned in a year-old Reddit comment. The commenter said they sometimes got “interesting stuff from Northeast.” It was a long shot, a real Hail Mary.
I called them. The guy who answered sounded like he was about a hundred years old. I asked about the soda. “Hang on,” he mumbled. I heard him shuffling around, shouting to someone in the back. Felt like I was on hold for an eternity. Then, “Yeah, got two bottles left. Been sitting here a while.” Two bottles! It was like finding gold.
I practically flew over there. The store was tiny, dusty, but charming in its own way. And there they were. Two lonely bottles on a bottom shelf. Grabbed them both. The old guy just nodded, “Knew someone would want ’em eventually.”
So, yeah. Got the sodas. Nephew was thrilled. Mission accomplished. But man, Northeast Beverage CT, they sure don’t make it easy for the little guy just trying to find a specific drink they distribute. It’s like they’re stuck in a different era. You’d think in this day and age, a distributor would want people to find their products, right? Guess some operations are just set in their ways. It was an adventure, though, I’ll give it that. A frustrating, time-consuming, but ultimately successful adventure. Sometimes, you just gotta do the legwork yourself. No shortcuts.
