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![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4273717_web1_260602-Dirty-sodas-00018.jpg\")
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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Kalila Sullivan makes custom beverages at Sodie\u2019s Dirty Sodas at The Forks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Utah-based soda-fountain chain created the drink as a sugary, alcohol-free alternative for the state\u2019s large concentration of Mormons. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormons are banned from consuming alcohol, coffee and tea.<\/p>\n
The first iteration of the beverage simply had a splash of coconut water but has evolved since the hit show introduced elaborate versions of the non-alcoholic concoction to the world.<\/p>\n
Now the soda is making a splash in Winnipeg thanks to Sodie\u2019s by the Forks Trading Company \u2014 and Winnipeggers just can\u2019t get enough of it.<\/p>\n
In fact, the drink has become so popular since it was introduced in October last year that owner Brad Hewlett\u2019s planned renovations for the company\u2019s food arm on the ground floor of The Forks Market prioritize the soda counter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe brought the drinks here around October last year, and they absolutely took off right from the beginning,\u201d Hewlett says. \u201cWe\u2019re renovating the food store right now and there\u2019s a full emphasis on the dirty soda in the new store.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS <\/p>\n Sullivan prepares the Coke Colada<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Sodie\u2019s is currently the only place in the city serving the fully loaded beverage, priced at $6.99 for a 20-ounce serving. But what\u2019s so dirty about the cold drink?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the cream which makes it \u2018dirty.\u2019 Adding cream into the soda muddies its appearance,\u201d director of operations Megan Basaraba explains.<\/p>\n It was Basaraba who suggested Hewlett introduce the drink concept to the store. Her husband had seen the drinks online, she says, and she was immediately taken with the idea.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re always looking for something different, something nobody else is doing. It\u2019s a fairly simple idea so we gave it a shot. We got all the ingredients together and started experimenting with recipes. We thought we could have fun with it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get customers asking to change things up or make their own concoctions.\u201d<\/p>\n Staff feedback helped narrow down the menu to approximately 15 drinks, with seasonal additions and specials making an appearance during festive occasions.<\/p>\n Due to ongoing renovations, the soda bar has moved upstairs to the main Forks Trading Company outlet, where staff continue to serve concoctions such as Pineapple Autopac Premium, Two Rivers One Straw, Mani-Cherry-toba, Pothole Punch and the Winnipeg Whip, its most popular drink, made with Dr Pepper, two types of flavoured syrups \u2014 strawberry and vanilla \u2014 and vanilla cold foam.<\/p>\n The menu will be further refined when the shop returns to its original location on the ground floor of the Forks Market.<\/p>\n There are currently five kinds of pop \u2014 Dr. Pepper, Coca-Cola, Sprite, root beer and Mountain Dew \u2014 and 27 flavoured syrups, which can be combined to create any number of drink permutations.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS <\/p>\n Kalila Sullivan serves up the Coke Colada at Sodie\u2019s Dirty Sodas, located at the Forks Trading Company. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n While Sodie\u2019s has remained true to the core concept of the original dirty soda beverage, over here Winnipeggers get to choose between the original or diet versions of the fizzy drink, rather than automatically being served the latter as is the wont in Utah.<\/p>\n The other crucial difference between a Utah dirty soda and its Winnipeg cousin is the topping: instead of the whipped cream, Sodie\u2019s sodas have a cold foam topper.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can use either, but we chose cold foam because we like the way it sits nicely on the drink and doesn\u2019t turn it super murky as we hand it to the customer. So you can still have the colour of the drink and the cold foam on top,\u201d Basaraba says.<\/p>\n But they have kept one very distinct element \u2014 the ice.<\/p>\n \u201cWe made sure to use pebble ice in the drink. We have a special ice machine for the pebble ice,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n From left: The Pink Sodie Club, Pineapple Autopac Premium, Forks Fizz and Coke Colada are among the flavours at Sodie\u2019s.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Responding to customer requests, the shop will also be adding sugar-free syrups to their sodas, and in another departure from the original dirtier versions, forgoing the fizzy drinks altogether by offering sparkling water as a base to which syrups can be added.<\/p>\n \u201cThe drinks are fully customizable. We get customers asking to change things up or make their own concoctions. I like the sparking water options; you can add between two to four syrups, that\u2019s one of my favourites,\u201d Basaraba says. \u201cWe\u2019re going to call it the clean soda.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/avkitching<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t AV Kitching AV Kitching is an arts and life writer at the Free Press. She has been a journalist for more than two decades and has worked across three continents writing about people, travel, food, and fashion. Read more about AV<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting AV produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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