Some people have the financial ability to pursue their passion project. Such is the case with brothers Rich and Bob Münch, who are co-owners of York Coach Works, a collision repair shop in Poultney. Fixing damaged cars is their “real” job, the way they make a living. Making delicious sodas at Vermont Sweetwater is their fun job.
Having a long history of shared experience is part of the origin story of their soda business. When they were in their mid-30s, Rich watched Bob boiling sap over an open fire in his yard, and Rich says, “I wondered how the sap would be if we carbonated it.” They gave it a shot and liked what they tasted. They perfected their technique, bought some equipment, and began selling their drink.
When they were in their mid-30s, Rich watched Bob boiling sap over an open fire in his yard, and Rich says, “I wondered how the sap would be if we carbonated it.” They gave it a shot and liked what they tasted. They perfected their technique, bought some equipment, and began selling their drink.
When the brothers do bottle, they do so in an old dairy barn down the road from where they live. Where there were once cows, there are now tanks in which the brothers—assisted by their 88-year-old mother—make the flavored syrups, carbonate the water, and clean, fill, and label the bottles.
The response was positive, but people wanted something sweeter. So they added a second soda, this one made with maple syrup, and then they created a new line using cane sugar as the sweetener. The Vermont Sweetwater lineup contains the maple-sweetened sodas and seven cane sugar sodas, including the alliterative Kickin’ Cow Cola, Mango Moonshine, and Back Country Blueberry Lemon. Returning to their roots, the brothers added maple-infused Pomegranate Mixed Berry Seltzer and Lemon Seltzer to their offerings.
Although warnings about too much sugar are common, Rich knows there’s a niche for Vermont Sweetwater. These sodas are not as sweetened as mass-produced brands, and they come in reasonably sized 12-ounce bottles. “We’re trying to be something fun and a treat you don’t drink on a daily basis,” Rich says.
The brothers aren’t bottling their sodas on a daily basis either, given that this is their fun job. When they do bottle, they do so in an old dairy barn down the road from where they live. Where there were once cows, there are now tanks in which the brothers—assisted by their 88-year-old mother—make the flavored syrups, carbonate the water, and clean, fill, and label the bottles. The equipment has been repurposed and given new life, including the bottling machine, made in 1940 and kept in working order by Rich and Bob’s Yankee frugality and know-how. Even the labeling machine has a history: it was once used to label Durkee spice bottles.
Rich admits they’re not making a lot of money from the soda, but that’s not the point. “It’s a thing we do,” Rich says, “because we enjoy it.”
