Think Globally, Act Locally
When I was in high-school I remember the catchphrase of the day was “Think Globally, Act Locally.” I remember struggling to figure out how I could do this. How could I help out? What issue was of enough importance to me that I wanted to work on it? Suddenly, now, I have an answer:
I got a call the other day from a restaurant owner looking to bring in some craft sodas made in California. She said her current beverage distributor carried quite a few craft sodas but all of them were from another state or another country. She was looking to buy some California local beverages to reduce her carbon footprint.
Since we are a beverage distributor located in California, we work with local beverage manufacturers to help them bring their local California beverages to market. It turns out that in doing this, we are Thinking Globally and Acting Locally. You can do the same:
3 reasons to serve or sell California-Local beverages in your restaurant, deli, bar, brew pub, grocery store, or specialty store:
- By transporting your beverages for shorter distances you are reducing your carbon footprint and helping mitigate climate change
- By buying local, you are helping out other California-Local small businesses
- You can set your business apart with unique and delicious beverages made right here in California.
As a Northern California Beverage Distributor trying to do our part to Think Globally and Act Locally, I think it’s important to let you know about some great non-alcoholic California-Local craft beverages that exist and are ready to be purchased.
Here, in alphabetical order, are 7 unique and delicious California- local non-alcoholic craft beverages:
Castle Rock Water:
Castle Rock Water flows from the natural springs of Mount Shasta’s glacier. 
The 100 year journey through layers of granite and volcanic lava tubes naturally filters the water before its bottling in Dunsmuir, CA. It contains naturally occurring trace elements and minerals. Its natural alkalinity gives it a clean, crisp, refreshing taste. This really is water as nature intended it to be. Castle Rock Water comes in sparkling and still options.
Hemly Sparkling Pear Juice:
The Hemly family has farmed pears along the Sacramento River in Courtland, CA for generations. Their signature non-alcoholic beverage is Hemly Sparkling Pear Juice. This is an unfiltered, carbonated mix of fresh-pressed Bartlett and Bosc pear juices. That’s it. No other ingredients. It tastes great solo, or mixed with a splash of seltzer water, chardonnay, or your favorite alcoholic beverage.
Hoptonic Sparkling Teas:
Straight Outta Oakland, Hoptonic Teas give you the crisp, cold hoppy taste of beer subtly blended with 
green, black, or herbal tea. Hoptonic’s tea and beer-loving founders were looking for a late-night alternative to beer. They wanted to be able to leave the pub but keep drinking while avoiding the hangover and the beer belly. They succeeded and went much further than that. In 2021 Hoptonic Teas became the first certified regenerative beverage. They purchase all their ingredients from farmers that practice regenerative agriculture which means that every time you drink a Hoptonic Tea, you are helping sequester more carbon from the air into the earth than you are putting into the atmosphere. On top of all that, Hoptonic Teas are organic. They come in 3 light and delicious flavors: Sparkling Jasmine Green Tea, Sparkling Earl Grey Black Tea, and Sparkling Chamomile Herbal Tea.
LEI Back CBD Sparkling Water:
Brought to you by a California restaurateur and a beverage industry veteran, LEI Back is a line of tropically flavored CBD-infused Sparkling Waters. LEI Back is all natural,
non-GMO, and has zero calories. It is made with hemp grown right here in the USA. Each 12 oz slim can contains 20 mg of broad spectrum CBD. It comes in 3 tropical flavors: Guava, Pomelo, and Pineapple. As beverage distributors, we have tasted many samples of CBD beverages. We chose to represent LEI Back partly because they were California-based but mainly because their product tastes GREAT! Many of the CBD beverages trying to break into the market just don’t taste good. LEI Back is refreshing and tastes delicious.
Nomsi Calamansi Juice Drinks:
Nomsi Calamansi Juice Drinks are made from the Filipino fruit called Calamansi.
This citrus fruit is a cross between a lime and a mandarin orange. Across South-East Asia it is loved by all and used in many foods and beverages. Imagine drinking a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage in which you can taste orange, lime, lemon, and kumquat all at once. Now add in the health benefits: antioxidants, potassium, calcium, vitamin C and vitamin A. That’s Nomsi! Nomsi is made in California by a Filipino immigrant and his business partner.
River City Brand Craft Sodas:
River City Brand Craft Sodas hail from Sacramento, California which is fondly referred to as River City. Simply put, River City Sodas are some of the 
best tasting craft sodas around. The prior owners of Blue Dog Beverage sampled many, many of the over 60 root beers and ginger beers in Blue Dog’s portfolio before settling on the perfect root beer flavor for making root beer floats and the perfect ginger beer flavor for drinking solo or mixing a Mule. They also created River City 50/50 Orange Cream which tastes a lot like the orange Creamsicles you had as a kid – 50% orange flavor, 50% vanilla ice cream. Perfect for a hot day on the river. River City Blueberry Lemonade rounds out the group of 4 River City Brand Sodas with an indigo colored sweet and tart treat.
Tahoe Artesian Water:
Tahoe Artesian Water comes from high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northern, California. 
The melting snows travel through hundreds of feet of granite to eventually arrive at underground aquifers. Pressure then pushes the water to the surface where it is bottled. It has a natural pH level of 8.7 which gives it its light, soft, smooth taste. It comes in 750 ml glass bottles in either sparkling or still.
Conclusion:
If you sell beverages at your establishment, I hope you are inspired now to do your part to Think Globally and Act Locally by buying one or more of these great California-Local Craft Beverages!