The Start

I've been collecting soda bottle caps off and on since I was about five or six. It all started during one of those familiar neighborhood garage/lawn sales back home in northern Indianapolis. Of course being a curious kid I'd been around to all the neighbors and the fellow living next door to us had a stack of several old shirt gift boxes filled with old bottle caps. I'm not sure what drew me to them, maybe it was the sheer quantity, or perhaps all the little logos, or maybe just the sound of all the metal clinking together. I got a couple of dollars from my Dad, though I don't recall him knowing what I was buying. I came back from next door proud of my purchase and my parents asking why I bought these and what I planned to do with them. I hadn't given it much thought but somehow my Dad suggested collecting them. But, he said it might be better to keep just the non-alcoholic (read non-beer) caps because it's harder to find them. And in the year 1985 that was about right since by then most soda was sold in cans. Although the local Kroger still had a little window in the back wall for bottle returns, the only thing they still sold in glass bottles was Coca-Cola. So it was at that time that the collection began and not long after my Dad gave me a small foam-lined display case to keep them in. The collection grew slowly for many years and sometimes was just plain shelved among all the junk kids keep in their rooms.

Several years ago while sipping on a cream soda I got around to thinking about how people "pair" different kinds of wines with meals. I have never been much for alcoholic beverages but always seem to enjoy a soda and I remember thinking that a cream soda seems very dessert-like, and then I realized that soda can be paired with meals too. For instance, I, in particular would not usually think about drinking a light drink such as 7-Up with a cheeseburger, but a heavier soda like a cola or root beer seems more appropriate. I generally consider any cream soda like plain cream soda or orange-cream soda too sweet for drinking with a meal and usually enjoy them as an after dinner drink much like a dessert. Lemon-limes and ginger-ale are better for light meals like fish or a sandwich meal.

I try as much as possible to taste whatever it is I'm getting a cap from for my collection. Sometimes this just isn't possible, especially for the older brands that aren't made anymore. I've noticed how different the flavor of one root beer can be from another, or how some people just refuse to drink one cola over another so I wanted to start this blog to share my reflections on different soda's I try and occasionally plan to include details on some of the caps from my collection, which as of today is over 830 caps.
And just for those wondering, I only include uniques in my collection. I only collect what I refer to as "uniques", in other words I don't keep multiples of the same cap. But will often sell or trade my duplicates when I am able. While there are several "crown cap", that's bottle cap to the layman, collectors out there, including a few small clubs of collectors, I have yet to meet or find anyone that only collects non-alcoholic caps.