N.C. Pickle Festival Co-chair Julie Beck presents the N.C. Association of Festivals and Events Best Merchandise Award to Ryan Roberts, owner of R&R Brewing, for his canned pickle soda. The soda also won the Southeast Festivals and Events Best Merchandise Award. (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
The dill pickle soda canned by R&R Brewing will be available again this year during the 39th annual N.C. Pickle Festival. The soda won the Best Merchandise Awards at the N.C. Association of Festivals & Events and the Southeast Festivals and Events conferences earlier this year. (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
Anyone thirsty for a taste of the N.C. Pickle Festival, as well as owning a unique collectible, are in luck — a locally produced pickle soda will be available again for this year’s 39th annual festival.
Created by Ryan Roberts at his R&R Brewing, the dill soda made its debut at last year’s festival. The 12-ounce cans, boasting the festival logo, sell for $2 each.
It went on to win the N.C. Association of Festivals & Events Best Merchandise Award in January. In February it won the Southeast Festivals and Events’ Best Merchandise Award.
Coordinated by the North Carolina Pickle Festival, Inc. in partnership with the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce, the award-winning festival was held in downtown Mount Olive from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, April 25, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 26.
The Southeast Festivals and Events is comprised of 12 states.
“As a matter of fact, when the judges came back with the score sheets it got a 10 out of a 10, an absolutely perfect score,” said festival Co-chair Julie Beck. “There were only two entries into all the categories that got a perfect score, and that dill pickle soda was one of them. People just loved the fact that it was really unique and different.
“And I think what really spoke to everybody — it had the North Carolina Pickle Festival logo on there. So that was what really, really spoke to everybody about that, and so just such a cool concept.”
During last year’s festival, Roberts sold his stock of 800 cans in less than two hours.
“That was not even advertising it was available, it was word of mouth,” Robert said. “People were buying it cold and at room temperature. Some wanted it as a souvenir to take home.
“Some wanted to try it right then since they were at the festival and wanted to try everything pickle flavored they could. It surprises a lot of people because when you think pickle and liquid, automatically your brain just associates it with that vinegar-based brine.”
Roberts added, “With that (soda) you are getting that aroma of the dill and you do get some sweet dill. This is more similar to tasting like the bread and butter pickles. Just basically it has a sweetened dill flavor because it is made with pure cane sugar.
“It is a craft soda, and we try not to use anything artificial if we can help it. We use like concentrates and extracts of real flavoring.”
Roberts said his initial feeling was that the recognition was awesome.
“We are excited and happy about it, but I am always split brain on it,” he said. “I get excited on one side and on the other I am good, we are staying on track for what we wanted to do as a company which is be recognized in a region.
“When people come to this area we want to make sure that this company has an integral part of spreading the word about Mount Olive in general outside of Mount Olive.”
That leads into travel and tourism, he added.
Being recognized on a regional level since there are festivals about strawberries, fish, blueberries and a variety based on other things is great, he said.
“So to know that you made a product, and it was relevant to the focus of your local festival and you were able to place or win is even better — it makes you feel like the hard works pays off a little bit,” Roberts said.
Roberts thinks part of the drink’s draw is that it is not contacted out to a large company. Rather, it is a local business partnering with a local festival to create a unique product.
“I think it would be different if pickle soda was more common on the shelf at your large chain box stores,” he added. “It is something that can attract people, and it is unique to the festival or just unique overall.”
There are no plans at present to market it. Rather, the plan right now is to make it something exclusive to the area, Roberts said.
He did say it might be added to the draft offering in the taproom.
Last year, Roberts was already making pickle soda as festival organizers were getting ready to put together the VIP (Very Important Pickle) totes.
Festival Administrator Melissa Patrick suggested that if Roberts could can the soda that a can could be put in each tote.
Roberts said that was possible.
“He decided he would just make 1,000 since he did not know if people would be interested in it,” Beck said. “We would buy 200 of them, and he would sell the other 800. Little did we know that literally within like no time on the day of the festival that the other 800 cans sold. It was so fast that everybody wanted a can of it.
“Ryan was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s all I have and it is already sold out.’ So, because it was such a unique thing that it was a dill pickle soda that was made right here in Mount Olive at our own brewery, I entered it in the statewide competition of the North Carolina Association of Festival and Events, and it won for the state of North Carolina.”
Last month, Beck flew to the Southeast Festivals and Events conference in Chattanooga, Tenn., and did not carry any samples with her — much to the disappoint of those there who wanted to sample it.
“So yeah, it’s a good drink, and it’s unique, and it’s different,” she said. “Kudos to Ryan for first of all creating it, and second of all, being willing to can it and to work with us on something like this. I think it’s going be another hit this year at the festival. I think people are going to love it.
“I think we have a unique idea and unique concept, and I think again, that’s why it probably won best in the state in North Carolina, and best in the Southeast Region because it was so unique and so different, and to have our actual logo on there.”
The festival has contracted with Roberts again who is making 5,000 cans of pickle soda.
“The one thing that’s changed is we do have our Pickle Festival logo, but now it has the little trademark all behind it,” Beck said. “Now this is the only product in my 30 years that we have allowed to put our logo on it and that’s a big ‘dill’ that we’re allowing him to put our logo on there and it to be trademarked like that.
“We’re excited about this partnership. I think it’s a great partnership, and I think people will buy it because it’s just a novelty. It’s something unique, it’s something different, and honestly, it’s ‘dill-licious.’”
