RobBug

Recipes 

Wow - funny you post this as I am doing a prototype "Cola" replacement recipe.

Backstory: SWMBO drinks a lot of Cola in the morning as her coffee replacement. Cola drinks are getting expensive. Also, there is nothing like making a dash to the local store in the morning when all hell breaks loose when we are out of a carbonated caffeinated beverage.

So after some research and test samples I am on batch #2 of the following recipe:
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2 gallons brewed tea - I used lipton
- add to each brewed tea batch: (1 gal at a time)
--3/4 cup lemon juice
--1 cup splenda (or sugar)

2.5 gallons of brewed coffee - standard strength

3.25 cups of splenda (or sugar)

6 tbl +2 tsp vanilla extract (adjust to taste)

1/2 to 1 cup more lemon juice

Couple twists on a pepper mill to add a slight spice. To taste of course.

Chill, carb to soda level and drink

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In the first batch I used lipton iced tea with lemon mix vice brewing. 6 2/3 cups of powder. The problem I found with it is it made everything sticky if spilled - sugar. I am substituting real brewed tea to be able to eliminate the sugar. I was gonna use the diet powder but wanted to see if I could control the taste/ingredients etc. I wanted to keep it to a single artificial sweetener.


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Taste: First batch was pretty good in my opinion. While it is no cola, it was fairly tasty. It is gone now.

Second prototype batch is chilling and carbing right now. It has a different flavor due to the brewed tea vs. powder. Initial tasting was good. As it carbs up I expect the acidity of the CO2 to add a new character to it.

It ends up being a bit cheaper than store bought. I control what goes in. And it's darn convenient to have 5 gallons of cold wake me up for the wife vs. me scrambling to keep the fridge stocked.

As I tweak this in I will post back more results.

Rob

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My current brews

Bubblehead Brewing - Bangor, WA submariners' Brew Blogs
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"The hardest part of all-grain brewing is arguing about it on the interwebs ;-)" - tjpfeister

KevinM

Recipes 

I'm finally getting a carbonator to try this out. I usually like my coffee hot and flat, roasted 24-72 hours prior to drinking, but have had it as a cold brewed coffee before.

While I've not tried it out using cold brewed coffee, I imagine that the french soda type of drink would work well with a coffee flavor already. (Generally it's syrup, carbonated water and cream or half&half).

Most reviews for carbonated coffee drinks don't seem that well off and I can't seem to think of any other situations I'd wind up using a carbonated coffee drink for, even as a mixer. Maybe with a small splash of Vanilla Vodka over ice. (.5-1 ounce per 12 ounces of coffee) for flavor. Although... A coffee float does sound pretty appetizing. Coffee soda, possibly unsweetened and a scoop of vanilla ice cream? Or Chocolate Ice cream?

Iowacity

Recipes 

That sounds interesting. Any updates? I'd like to try something like that.