Paul Kooistra of New Creation Soda Works in Bishop didn’t grow up thinking he’d get into the soft drink business, but he did grow up with a maternal grandfather who made root beer for his daughter when she was young.
And the grandfather stocked the root cellar with interesting soda pop flavors when Kooistra and his family came to visit.
In 2015, when Kooistra was considering a change of career after 20 years in sales at a Fortune 500 company, he channeled that family history and started making syrups, selling them at a community farmers market in Watkinsville.
The popularity of the syrups led to New Creation Soda Works and a line of craft sodas, a fast-growing category of soft drinks that generally pushes flavor boundaries with creative, less sugar-forward profiles.
The company’s first drink, Jack’d, is a combination of strawberries and habanero. “We started making syrup from strawberries we got from Washington Farms in Bogart, just 10 minutes away from where we live,” Kooistra said. “We picked the strawberries ourselves. When you taste a fully ripe strawberry just out of the field, there’s no comparison to grocery store strawberries.”
They juiced the berries, then added habanero pepper, but made sure the combination wasn’t so hot that it needed a water chaser.
“It turned out that craft soda was the right spot for us,” Kooistra said. “We’re not just soda makers. We create like five-star chefs. They make dishes with flavors that complement each other. That’s what we do, blending flavors perfectly and putting them in a can instead of on a plate.”
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Those flavor blends are subtle, not overwhelming. In fact, Kooistra said serving them over ice will dilute the flavor. “Just refrigerate and enjoy.”
When Kooistra’s team started working on a peach soda in 2023, they knew people were accustomed to drinks made with artificial flavors. “Other companies were using technology to get flavors that seemed like peach,” he said. “We use 1,000 pounds of real peaches per batch, purchased from Pearson Farm in Fort Valley.” His company’s Georgia peach soda, Peches, was the grand prize winner in the 2024 Flavor of Georgia contest.
As for root beer, some people say they don’t like it, Kooistra said, “but that’s because they’re turned off by some of the flavors that are added, such as star anise.” New Creation’s Root 42 has no licorice flavor and “is super creamy due to the caramelized sugar.”
Root 42 is New Creation’s best-selling flavor, followed by Split, a banana cream soda developed as part of a collaboration with the Savannah Bananas barnstorming baseball team.
Kooistra is a fan of hops, particularly the dry hoppiness of India pale ales, and he felt the grapefruit notes of Cascade hops would make a great combination with fresh ginger. “Ginger is spicy and a very powerful flavor,” he said. “The hops help balance that out.”
The result: Hopscotch, a dry-hopped ginger ale from New Creation.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
The company added Hopfin, a line of sugar-free sparkling hop waters, to its portfolio in 2021 and recently changed the packaging for its margarita mixes, from glass jugs to eco-friendly paper bottles made from recycled material.
New Creation produces six soda-pop flavors, three flavors of hop waters and two margarita mixes. At peak production, an 11-person team manufactures 18,000 cans a week, working out of an old turkey hatchery in Bishop. The success of the business means the company is looking for a location with more space.
The sodas are sold online and in more than 700 locations nationwide. They are available in the metro Atlanta area at the Fresh Market.
“With alcohol consumption on the decline, including craft beer, craft soda finds itself in a good spot,” Kooistra said. “People still want something unique, and they want high quality. Turns out, we are right where we want to be.”
New Creation Soda Works. newcreationsoda.com
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