Android
03-05-2006, 08:10 PM
I'm still a little bummed out that BevBoard lost my account information. Oh well - so I decided to get away from the computer for a couple of days, since I have 7 days in a row off.
It's been a long time since I was able to make what I used to call a "Pepsi Run" across the country to pick up a dozen cases of returnable bottle Pepsi's.
"Returnables" thread where I talk more about "Pepsi Runs" (http://www.bevnet.com/bevboard/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002163)
I've been wanting to get out of town on a road trip all winter. Not having a destination like Davenport IA and Memphis, MO to buy Pepsi in glass like I used to do is a drawback. I've stopped by Winona, MN to get some Sprite in 16oz returnables before, but that's not a huge deal, as Sprite tastes just about as good in plastic to me.
But then I learned about the Excel bottling in Breese, IL. That's not really that much further out than Memphis, Missouri was. They do Ski, which is in the Mtn Dew family of soda, which is a category I don't drink. But they do Double Cola, plus other flavors, so I thought I'd drive out there and check them out. I know about the bottlers in Wisconsin, and I'd have tried them out also, but I didn't have time this trip - the only weekday
The weather was awesome for a late-winter drive. If anyone remembers my stories of my previous Pepsi Runs, it's a crossover between my soda hobby and my VW hobby - I have a restored 62 bug and my blue Baja-style bug. Lately I've been driving the Baja so that's what I drove out there.
I got there mid-afternoon on Friday. The owner was very nice to me - took a lot of time to show me the facility and discuss the retunable bottling industry at present. Unfortunately, they were unable to sell me any Double Cola, because they are a franchisee, and the parent company insists they put it into official Double Cola bottles. Well, they only have a few cases left of those, so they can't sell to you unless you have Double Cola empties to exchange. He did let me drink one while I was there though. Good stuff, real sugar is all they use. They bought a supply of generic returnable bottles from "Clem's" which they use to bottle their flavors. They have just the one line - a bottle washer followed by a fill/cap machine. Their door where you go in to buy direct from them is located right next to the fill line. Pretty cool. All the do is bottles, although they import cans of Ski and Double Cola for distribution in their area.
I bought a couple of cases of Root Beer (which he said was Frostie), some cream soda, black cherry. Their signature brand, Ski, they are using non-retunable bottles for. I did buy a few bottles of Diet Ski for one of my co workers who I think might like it.
Some notes- I mentioned the demise of Pepsi-Memphis Bottling's returnables recently due to their bottle washer breaking down too much. He said he wasn't surprised - although you'd think they could get some other old washer somehow or other. But a new machine would cost way too much to be to recoup the costs back. He said the insides of the washer stay in relatively good shape, but the outside of the machine gets corroded by the hard tap water they use in cleaning. THey have filtered water for the fill line but that's all they use it for.
They've got a collection of old bottle filling equipment in a back room, for backup and for spare parts. One of which he said was about 100 years old!
They work together with some of the other remaining mom+pop type bottlers in buying bulk bottle caps. Most of their own wood shells they use are re-cylcled from Pepsi/Coke/ and other companies, some of which are very old. They refurbish and repaint shells once a year with their orange paint and Excel stencelling. I guess they bought out many of AD-Heusing's old plastic shells which they then let go to some of the other bottlers out there, who he said also re-paints them for reuse.
Okay, some pictures. I shoud have taken more shots but I didn't. There's some pictures at their website too: http://www.excelbottling.com/
Here is their side door and their pickup window, that's one of those roller conveyors where they send your purchase outside from the warehouse area inside.
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-PickupWindow.jpg
Here is what it looks like when you go in the side door. That sign is attached to the part of the bottling line itself:
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-SideDoor.jpg
Here is their warehouse area inside, you can see the other end of the roller conveyor leading to that side window:
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-BottleWarehouse.jpg
Here's their bottle washer:
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-BottleWasher.jpg
... and their bottle filler:
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-Filler.jpg
Here's a picture of the storage area where they have spare extra old bottling equipment:
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-SpareFillers.jpg
Here's a shot of the front window of the place:
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-FrontWindow1.jpg
Anyway, it was a nice trip. Too bad I couldn't get any Double Cola bottles, but that's life. I did buy a case of cans, what the heck.
-Andy
It's been a long time since I was able to make what I used to call a "Pepsi Run" across the country to pick up a dozen cases of returnable bottle Pepsi's.
"Returnables" thread where I talk more about "Pepsi Runs" (http://www.bevnet.com/bevboard/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002163)
I've been wanting to get out of town on a road trip all winter. Not having a destination like Davenport IA and Memphis, MO to buy Pepsi in glass like I used to do is a drawback. I've stopped by Winona, MN to get some Sprite in 16oz returnables before, but that's not a huge deal, as Sprite tastes just about as good in plastic to me.
But then I learned about the Excel bottling in Breese, IL. That's not really that much further out than Memphis, Missouri was. They do Ski, which is in the Mtn Dew family of soda, which is a category I don't drink. But they do Double Cola, plus other flavors, so I thought I'd drive out there and check them out. I know about the bottlers in Wisconsin, and I'd have tried them out also, but I didn't have time this trip - the only weekday
The weather was awesome for a late-winter drive. If anyone remembers my stories of my previous Pepsi Runs, it's a crossover between my soda hobby and my VW hobby - I have a restored 62 bug and my blue Baja-style bug. Lately I've been driving the Baja so that's what I drove out there.
I got there mid-afternoon on Friday. The owner was very nice to me - took a lot of time to show me the facility and discuss the retunable bottling industry at present. Unfortunately, they were unable to sell me any Double Cola, because they are a franchisee, and the parent company insists they put it into official Double Cola bottles. Well, they only have a few cases left of those, so they can't sell to you unless you have Double Cola empties to exchange. He did let me drink one while I was there though. Good stuff, real sugar is all they use. They bought a supply of generic returnable bottles from "Clem's" which they use to bottle their flavors. They have just the one line - a bottle washer followed by a fill/cap machine. Their door where you go in to buy direct from them is located right next to the fill line. Pretty cool. All the do is bottles, although they import cans of Ski and Double Cola for distribution in their area.
I bought a couple of cases of Root Beer (which he said was Frostie), some cream soda, black cherry. Their signature brand, Ski, they are using non-retunable bottles for. I did buy a few bottles of Diet Ski for one of my co workers who I think might like it.
Some notes- I mentioned the demise of Pepsi-Memphis Bottling's returnables recently due to their bottle washer breaking down too much. He said he wasn't surprised - although you'd think they could get some other old washer somehow or other. But a new machine would cost way too much to be to recoup the costs back. He said the insides of the washer stay in relatively good shape, but the outside of the machine gets corroded by the hard tap water they use in cleaning. THey have filtered water for the fill line but that's all they use it for.
They've got a collection of old bottle filling equipment in a back room, for backup and for spare parts. One of which he said was about 100 years old!
They work together with some of the other remaining mom+pop type bottlers in buying bulk bottle caps. Most of their own wood shells they use are re-cylcled from Pepsi/Coke/ and other companies, some of which are very old. They refurbish and repaint shells once a year with their orange paint and Excel stencelling. I guess they bought out many of AD-Heusing's old plastic shells which they then let go to some of the other bottlers out there, who he said also re-paints them for reuse.
Okay, some pictures. I shoud have taken more shots but I didn't. There's some pictures at their website too: http://www.excelbottling.com/
Here is their side door and their pickup window, that's one of those roller conveyors where they send your purchase outside from the warehouse area inside.
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-PickupWindow.jpg
Here is what it looks like when you go in the side door. That sign is attached to the part of the bottling line itself:
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-SideDoor.jpg
Here is their warehouse area inside, you can see the other end of the roller conveyor leading to that side window:
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-BottleWarehouse.jpg
Here's their bottle washer:
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-BottleWasher.jpg
... and their bottle filler:
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-Filler.jpg
Here's a picture of the storage area where they have spare extra old bottling equipment:
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-SpareFillers.jpg
Here's a shot of the front window of the place:
http://members.aol.com/glutamodo/pics/Excell-FrontWindow1.jpg
Anyway, it was a nice trip. Too bad I couldn't get any Double Cola bottles, but that's life. I did buy a case of cans, what the heck.
-Andy