Posted: August 01, 2009

Colorado Cool Stuff: Zuberfizz soda

Nine Zuberfizz labels include original cream soda as well as a new cola, a popular root beer, and a pair of ginger ales that are the world’s first sugar-free all-natural sodas

By Eric Peterson

Almost a decade ago, aspiring microbrewers Banden Zuber and Dan Aggeler found themselves with the liquidated assets of a shuttered Ouray brewery and a too-crowded market in Durango. “We wanted to open a brew pub, but there was no more demand,” says Aggeler, former head brewer at Durango’s Steamworks.

So the duo started making micro-cream soda, which Zuber marketed at the local Dairy Queen — owned by his parents — and soon spun it off into a new business, going full-time in 2002, and Zuberfizz was born. Aggeler followed suit in 2004, and the company has been growing at a steady 30 percent annual clip in the years since.

The nine Zuberfizz labels include the original cream soda as well as a new cola, a popular root beer, and a pair of ginger ales that are the world’s first sugar-free all-natural sodas. In all sodas but the ginger ales, Zuberfizz uses cane sugar instead of the industry standard, high-fructose corn syrup (adopted in the wake of the embargo against Cuba), which Aggeler says “is the leading cause of diabetes and obesity in the country.” $4.99 for a six-pack retail. Custom 15-packs available online for $36, shipping included.

Durango Soda Co. Inc., Durango, www.zuberfizz.com. Also available at King Soopers and City Market locations and numerous other retailers in Colorado.

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