Location:
Excel Bottling Company is located in Breese, Illinois about 10 minutes West of Carlyle, Illinois.
History:
This small bottling company is the only bottler left in the State of Illinois that still sanitizes and reuses glass bottles for their sodas. It is a small place but has some interesting history. It was started by Edward “Lefty” Meier after he turned in some bank robbers and received the reward money. With that money he bought a used bottling machine and setup the bottling plant in his wife Catherine’s grandmother’s house where she had previously ran a general store.
It has since been expanded into a modern soda bottling and craft brewery plant. Excel uses pure cane sugar in it’s sodas and have several flavors to choose from. You can tour the facility upon request. Click here to see their website for more information.
Nearby Attractions:
Boulder COE Campground – Carlyle Lake
Coles Creek COE Campground – Carlyle Lake
Dam West COE Campground – Carlyle Lake