There’s not much to do in the one-horse town of Dublin, Texas. However, one of the most trademarked sodas in America has a bottling plant here- Dr. Pepper. This is also the only plant in the United States to make Dublin Dr. Pepper, the original soda manufactured by the company. The difference? Dublin Dr. Pepper is made with imperial pure cane sugar, while today’s soda is made with high fructose corn syrup, a cheaper method of sweetening the soda. In fact, all sodas at this plant are made with sugar, true to their original formulas. They were bottling Dr. Pepper today, so we got to see how it is made.
Glass bottles are inspected for any chips or cracks, and if they pass inspection, they are put through a rigorous washing process. The bottles are cleaned with a detergent 10 times stronger than the average dishwasher’s, and water temperatures top out at 160°. The bottles are then run through water of 95°, in order to make them easier to handle, as well as to reduce the risk of temperature shock as the bottles go from the dishwasher to the outside air.
Plastic tubes fill each bottle with syrup, about 1 ½ inches worth. The rest of the bottle is filled with carbonated water, and then a cap is pushed onto the bottle. Any bottles that are not filled with a proper amount of soda are pulled out. The content of these bottles is poured out, and then they go to the dishwasher to start the process over again. Any remaining bottles are turned upside down 3 times, resulting in a perfectly mixed Dr. Pepper. From here, some bottles are packaged in cases and can either be shipped to individuals who ordered them, or they are bought by convenience stores/small businesses within a 40 mile radius. Bottles may also be put in the Soda Fountain, an old-time soda shop housed in the same building as the manufacturing plant.
After seeing how the soda is made, your tour guide takes you through three rooms full of Dr. Pepper memorabilia. Jumbo vintage bottle caps and numerous advertisements line the walls of these rooms. The last room is full of old Dr. Pepper, 7-Up Big Red, Triple-X Root Beer, and Suncrest Orange Soda bottles. Al of these sodas, except for 7-Up, are made in this manufacturing plant.
Once the tour was over, you go back into the Soda Shop. There are soda fountains here, and you can buy cups of the soda. I shoes Big Red, which our tour guide described as “super sweet liquid bubble gum.” It was the worst soda I’d ever had!
We passed a family-owned cheese shop on the way home called Veldhuizen Cheese. The owner let us sample the available cheeses, and after purchasing a few, we drove home.
Glass bottles are inspected for any chips or cracks, and if they pass inspection, they are put through a rigorous washing process. The bottles are cleaned with a detergent 10 times stronger than the average dishwasher’s, and water temperatures top out at 160°. The bottles are then run through water of 95°, in order to make them easier to handle, as well as to reduce the risk of temperature shock as the bottles go from the dishwasher to the outside air.
Plastic tubes fill each bottle with syrup, about 1 ½ inches worth. The rest of the bottle is filled with carbonated water, and then a cap is pushed onto the bottle. Any bottles that are not filled with a proper amount of soda are pulled out. The content of these bottles is poured out, and then they go to the dishwasher to start the process over again. Any remaining bottles are turned upside down 3 times, resulting in a perfectly mixed Dr. Pepper. From here, some bottles are packaged in cases and can either be shipped to individuals who ordered them, or they are bought by convenience stores/small businesses within a 40 mile radius. Bottles may also be put in the Soda Fountain, an old-time soda shop housed in the same building as the manufacturing plant.
After seeing how the soda is made, your tour guide takes you through three rooms full of Dr. Pepper memorabilia. Jumbo vintage bottle caps and numerous advertisements line the walls of these rooms. The last room is full of old Dr. Pepper, 7-Up Big Red, Triple-X Root Beer, and Suncrest Orange Soda bottles. Al of these sodas, except for 7-Up, are made in this manufacturing plant.
Once the tour was over, you go back into the Soda Shop. There are soda fountains here, and you can buy cups of the soda. I shoes Big Red, which our tour guide described as “super sweet liquid bubble gum.” It was the worst soda I’d ever had!
We passed a family-owned cheese shop on the way home called Veldhuizen Cheese. The owner let us sample the available cheeses, and after purchasing a few, we drove home.
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