This is a first for me: not a review of my book, Seltzertopia, but a review of Seltzertopia Live! the road show I am taking all over North America. In fact, tonight I just added location 18 (Hello, Connecticut!). But last week I was closer to home – my local library actually. I wrote about it here, as I often do, but this time I wasn’t alone! Forest Hills Journalist Michael Perlman did a great job covering it for the Forest Hills Times. The printed piece can be seen here, but frankly I preferred the longer, unedited version, which Michael gave me permission to share here (along with his photos). Enjoy! Better yet, come see it in person for yourself!

Local author takes readers to ‘Seltzertopia’ by Michael Perlman| Jan 16, 2019

Forest Hills is home to diverse talents including author Barry Joseph, an over 10-year resident who entertained a full house of seltzer fans or those just willing to “find their fizz” at the Forest Hills Library book talk and signing this past Saturday. Fans had the opportunity to purchase his new book “Seltzertopia – The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary Drink,” which was the result of a 14-year quest. With an encyclopedic knowledge and witty banter, they learned that its history and multitude of uses was indeed anything but ordinary. He lectured, addressed questions, and referred to historic and recent photos and screened popular seltzer themed segments from a projector. He even drank seltzer every now and then and wore an “I <3 SLTZR” t-shirt and a Fox’s U-Bet syrup hat. Many guests purchased a signed copy with an embossed stamped which read, “I went to Seltzertopia Live… The Age of Effervescence.”

Joseph began with screenings of a seltzer rap by his daughter, an introductory speech by his rabbi, and “A Seltzer Poem” video. He said, “We’re here not only to talk about seltzer, but an entire book on seltzer” and then asked, “Is there enough for an entire talk or enough for an entire book? What brought you out here today?” Then he gave attendees 15 seconds to get acquainted, and guests’ responses included nostalgia, learning history, a love for seltzer, and to meet the author.

Joseph then addressed his own question, explaining that the Forward presented a unique opportunity to write about whatever he had an interest in, and he earned the nickname “The Effervescent Jew” and “The Seltzer Man.” “It all started in 2004, when I heard that there was a new product on the market for making your own seltzer called Soda-Club, which today is called SodaStream. I thought if I could write a product review, I can get a free product and get paid for writing.” He recited his initial article, “Mixing Up The Spritz.” It began, “Like Chinese food and pickles, seltzer – an effervescent spirit that has inspired dreams of cures for such diverse ailments as scurvy and indigestion – is often associated with Jews. An ad for an at-home seltzer maker touts its product as part of the history of Jewish ingenuity: ‘Matzo, circa 1440 B.C. – Chicken Soup, circa 1280 A.D. – Homemade Seltzer, 2004.’” He later drew a unique analogy. “An English chemist named Joseph Priestley created the first man-made glass of carbonated water. He had hoped to develop a means for slowing the decay of a rotting corpse. Priestley described his process with elaborate detail and hand-drawn diagrams in a 1772 paper to The Royal Society, titled ‘Impregnating Water with Fixed Air.’ My own home brewing, however, needed no such diagrams.”

Seltzertopia offers a spotlight on the seltzer men and women who transformed a hobby into a passion. Among the discoveries by guests and readers are why an 18th century minister “invented” seltzer to save the British navy, how Jewish people expressed their love for egg creams, how “The Three Stooges” turned seltzer siphons into a carbonated comedy, and why Randy Miller, CEO of Original New York Seltzer leaped off a building in the 1980s with a bottle in hand to emphasize his love.

Joseph was advised by Carolyn Hessel, the former executive director of The Jewish Book Council, known as “The Jewish Oprah.” She had most family members in the seltzer business. “She asked why don’t you write a book on seltzer? I thought it was a crazy idea, but for many things she told me over the years, she was always right. I can barely write this review, but maybe if I talk to people, I can find out what’s really going on.” He began to learn how seltzer impacts people by approaching them on the street or subway and posing questions, and recreated that at his event. He asked Michael, a civil engineer, “When you hear the word seltzer, what comes to mind?” He responded, “Egg creams.” That followed with “Without seltzer, how would your life be different?” The guest replied, “It would be hell,” causing an audience chuckle.

After over 100 interviews, he reminisced, “I heard one passionate story after another, but it still left me somewhere I begun. What is that story of seltzer? A bunch of anecdotes will not turn into a book. In 2006, I spent many late nights rocking back to sleep and began thinking of trends and noticed a few.” He explored 4 key areas ranging from health, where seltzer was thought of as a cure-all for just about anything hundreds of years ago, as a yummy refreshment, and how it becomes integrated with ethnic identity and humor.

“It all began in Germany in a very small town called Niederselters whose very name ‘selters’ means ‘salty water.’ It was named for the exceedingly endless supply of mineralized carbonated water that people from all over the world would come to and take waters.” He presented historic illustrations such as the town’s crest. “Those are the jugs that are used to not only pour out the seltzer, but when capped, could be sent all around the continent.” A Neiderselters illustration dated 1870 pinpointed the structure where the water came up. He also shared a book. “A traveler, Sir Frances Bond Head suggested that more than anything, life in Neiderselters was defined less by the water than the bottles that contained them.”

For the humor category, seltzer-inspired segments were screened, migrated from “The Three Stooges” to “Mary Tyler Moore” to “The Simpsons.” He explained, “Seltzer in the comedic stage became a form of aggressive love. Eventually, as Vaudeville disappeared and other humor came about, it tends to get associated with clowns, such as in a most famous episode of Mary Tyler Moore in the 70s. Then in the 90s, we got to the dark side of clowns….and seltzer.”
Referencing the ethnicity category, Joseph said, “There’s no group that loves seltzer more than the Jewish people.” Among the slides were a satirical 1980s illustrated book titled “Up From Seltzer – A Handy Guide To 4 Jewish Generations.” For example, the 1st generation is characterized by “Seltzer water (fer 2 cents plain)” and the 4th generation is characterized by “Perrier water (fer 2 dollars, fancy).” He said, “The joke ended up being on the author. He’s saying they escaped from when they first came as immigrants and now they’re fully Americanized, but as it turns out, the arrival of Perrier in the 1970s turned into a revival not just for Perrier, but for all sparkling waters.”

One of the highlights of the beverage category was a Hagar comic strip which read, “Kvack – Please! Believe me! There’s no egg in an egg cream!!”

“One of the strangest stories I ever heard, I wrote for the Forward regarding the Israeli War of Independence. Since there weren’t a lot of resources, seltzer siphons were used for bombs from the planes.” Dramatizing that theme, he screened a 1966 segment from “Cast A Giant Shadow” starring Kirk Douglas and Frank Sinatra.

When asked if Joseph was an avid collector, he responded, “I collect meaningful true stories, and that in the end is what Seltzertopia is all about.” One may speculate what his preferred seltzer is, especially after writing a nearly 300-page book, and it happens to be what he prepares with his SodaStream from the convenience of his home. He said, “It is super sharp with nothing added.” Writing a book presented an array of memorable experiences. He explained, “I connected with living seltzer men and women, still active today, and had a chance to go into their worlds by visiting their soda work, traveling with them on their delivery route, and I generally saw the world of seltzer from their unique point of view.” The quest also initiated challenges. He said, “My biggest challenge for the first decade was just maintaining that this project was worth all my time, and the belief that I might actually be the first person ever to pull it off.”

As for the Forest Hills scene, he said, “My role is being seltzer advocate and being a storyteller of seltzer, but if a seltzer shop opened up, I’d be the first through its doors.” Seltzer represents a family affair. “Everyone likes to drink seltzer, from my youngest daughter to my older son and wife. We have seltzer at every meal and double bottles for Shabbat. Sometimes we bring out our special seltzer glasses, and other times we bring in special flavored seltzer just to do tastings, and of course every once in a while we mix an egg cream.”