Two kegs in and I'm sold using syrups for variety rocks!

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Just poured my first root beer using the carbed water and syrup method. Brilliant. The level of control and variety is going to be great going forward. Thanks, Tom, for the info. Using the bayonets for flow restriction, and even at 50psi I can pour a glass that holds carbonation for an entire pint. This thread should be pinned to the top of the forum, as it is perfect information for anyone looking for basic info on soda making.

I picked up a 6 pack of syrups from Prairie Moon, and could not be happier. I went from looking for a basic root beer recipe, and ended up with a home soda fountain. I am planning to start developing some syrups on my own, but these are perfect for starting out.

I'm curious, what flavors and brands are people having good luck with?
 
At one restaurant in Disney World they served Birch Beer, which I liked a lot. I would love to do this if anyone knows of a place to get the concentrate.
 
Rainbow, the brand in the brown and yellow boxes that you see at your LHBS, has a Birch Beer extract. I haven't tried it myself, but I do plan to in the near future. I have a coworker that's begging me to knock off a white birch beer, so we'll see how that goes.
 
Great thread. Just got a Sodastream and wanted to play around with some other flavorings. The idea of the PM extract intrigues me (and seems cheaper). We're sugar free consumers so I guess a Splenda or Equal generic is the best choice to create a syrup? Anyone have any recommendations as to what artificial sweetener to get and where (preferably online)?

Anyone familiar with this?
 
Just shot my order through!!

Syrup Concentrate - 6 Pack
Flavor 1: Root Beer
Flavor 2: Blue Raspberry
Flavor 3: Chocolate Malted
Flavor 4: Sarsaparilla
Flavor 5 : Orange Dream
Flavor 6: Tigers Blood

Excited to give it a go!! Thanks for the great thread!!

Neil
 
Check out http://sweetzfree.com/ for what is basically liquid Splenda. It sounds expensive at $64 for 4 oz, but that is equal to 96 cups of sugar and goes a long way. For example I use only 2 drops for a 16 oz glass of iced tea.
 
Has anyone tried using Torani syrups? They come in tons of flavors, and I have easy access to them. Will they work with this soda water method?
 
@TomSD -- I recently tried the PM concentrates but am having a heck of a time with getting the strength of the syrup right. I have followed 1 oz concentrate to 20 oz water and about 2.5 to 2 3/4 cups sugar then using, currently, up to 4 Table Spoons of the mix to 16 OZ of carbonated water.........its coming out very weak even at that point.

I'm wondering what i'm doing wrong....any suggestions?

Thanks,
King
 
You are still using less syrup than specified by Prarie Moon. Tom, and many of us, prefer less syrup. You may not. 4 tablespoons = 2 oz. You are using 2 oz + 16 oz water, or 2oz of syrup for an 18oz drink. Prarie Moon recommends 2 oz syrup + 10 oz water, or 2 oz for a 12 oz drink. 3 oz of syrup in an 18 oz drink would give you the same 1/6 syrup/drink ration.

This assumes you made the syrup to Prarie Moon's specs, which it sounds like you did.
-Matt
 
So what would the appropriate ration be for a strongly flavored 16 OZ drink??? assuming I made the syrup to PM's specifications........
 
They just specify a 1 / 6 ratio. So, for 16 oz that would be 2.6 oz of syrup, and then filled up with carbonated water. If you want more flavor, I would us 3-3.5 oz.

-Matt
 
Check out http://sweetzfree.com/ for what is basically liquid Splenda. It sounds expensive at $64 for 4 oz, but that is equal to 96 cups of sugar and goes a long way. For example I use only 2 drops for a 16 oz glass of iced tea.
Hey jtcweb (or anyone with an opinion) I see references to folks saying Ezsweetz is cheaper than Sweetzfree. I notice the Ezsweetz site shows the 2 oz bottle makes 10 lbs of sugar equivalent and costs $13. So the 10 lbs is roughly 18 cups which seems to cost a little more than Sweetzfree. But there's also a concentrated form of Ezsweetz that costs $22 for 1.5 oz which supposedly makes roughly about 26 cups so about the same price point as the more diluted version.

Anyone have any experience with both and can offer an opinion? I am still struggling with how much PM concentrate and sweetner to use in a 30 oz bottle of carbonated water especially when based on "drops". I use 2 teaspoons of PM concentrate and around 20 drops of the concentrated Ezsweetz but I'm at a loss as to how much that actually is sugar equivalent wise. Supposedly that would be around 3 quarters of a cup of sugar as they claim 6 drops is a quarter cup equivalent but that seems like alot.
 
Mickeymoose said:
Has anyone tried using Torani syrups? They come in tons of flavors, and I have easy access to them. Will they work with this soda water method?

I used to work for a coffee shop that put them over ice and added seltzer water...it's not quite like the soda we're used to but it was tasty. I think they called them Italian sodas but not sure about any authenticity behind that.
 
I used to work for a coffee shop that put them over ice and added seltzer water...it's not quite like the soda we're used to but it was tasty. I think they called them Italian sodas but not sure about any authenticity behind that.

Having lived in Italy: no, I don't believe there's much authenticity behind that. Unless it's a regional thing somewhere I didn't stay.

Typically an "Italian" soda is a "less sweet" soda than what you would find elswhere. Which I guess may be authentic, as Italians don't tend to prefer things as sweet as Americans. If you want a frame of reference, buy yourself some San Pellegrino Chinotto.

I've used the Monin syrups and was very pleased with the results. They're targeted at the same market as Torani and are very similar.

The Granny Smith Apple makes a great soda that tastes like an exact match to the Jones Green Apple soda.
 
Great thread.
Now that I have my Kegerator my Family wants Soda so I ordered some PM concentrate earlier this week. Reading through this I will need to start carbing the Water today if I want it ready for the 4th, we do a big shin dig with a great fireworks show at the end and soda on tap would be a good addition for the kids and adults that don’t partake in my beers.

For those that are using maltrodextrin in your syrup, how much are you adding to the concentrate? I like the idea of additional mouth feel but not too much.

Thanks.
 
Tried reading every page of this thread to find the answer to my question but couldn't isolate it.

If I want to make 5 gallons of this for precarbed soda how much of the 4 oz bottle should I use? I have been using other brands but most don't knock my socks off as one poster said so I am wanting to try something new and also try using a sugar alternative like splenda or nutra sweet. Can anyone recommend which might be the best alternative to sugar to use?
 
Yeah about an ounce of syrup makes 16 ounces of soda... it will be to flavor of course so your mileage may vary. I wish the pumps had a bigger draw on them but sixteen isn't as much work as it sounds, lol.

As stated in the thread, it's flavored to taste but a good starting point is right here 1:16 so using that ratio you would need 40 ounces of syrup for 5 gallons (640 oz) of water. So 10 4 oz bottles, or you could get a bigger one ;)
 
As stated in the thread, it's flavored to taste but a good starting point is right here 1:16 so using that ratio you would need 40 ounces of syrup for 5 gallons (640 oz) of water. So 10 4 oz bottles, or you could get a bigger one ;)


This is incorrect because you have to figure the concentrate ratio first. (19 oz water & 2 3/4 lb sugar) 1 oz of that concentrate is what you are referencing so its not 40 oz.
 
Tried reading every page of this thread to find the answer to my question but couldn't isolate it.

If I want to make 5 gallons of this for precarbed soda how much of the 4 oz bottle should I use? I have been using other brands but most don't knock my socks off as one poster said so I am wanting to try something new and also try using a sugar alternative like splenda or nutra sweet. Can anyone recommend which might be the best alternative to sugar to use?

I posted this link above but here it is again...this is double the strength of regular ezsweetz http://www.amazon.com/Packs-0-5-Liquid-Sweetener-Servings/dp/B003LECIDE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1340628311&sr=8-2&keywords=ezsweet.

Also, here is a another thread talking about concentrate strengths.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f95/rio-soda-syrups-333447/.

If my calcs are correct based on PM's recipe,you should be able to extrapolate to 5 gallons. Just to be clear,I am using concentrates.
 
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Great thread.
Now that I have my Kegerator my Family wants Soda so I ordered some PM concentrate earlier this week. Reading through this I will need to start carbing the Water today if I want it ready for the 4th, we do a big shin dig with a great fireworks show at the end and soda on tap would be a good addition for the kids and adults that don’t partake in my beers.

For those that are using maltrodextrin in your syrup, how much are you adding to the concentrate? I like the idea of additional mouth feel but not too much.

Thanks.


following up on my own post..

I ended up adding 1Tbsp of Maltodextrine to the Rootbeer concentrate and 2Tbsp to the Cream soda and not really noticing a difference in mouthfeel from my non modified black cherry concentrate. With the viscosity still very thin I am going to heat and increase the amount to 2oz by weight for each bottle.

Tom said he was having success with 5gal of water and a half pound Maltodextrine if I break that out to what I would need in each bottle of concentrate I would 6.4 oz per 20oz bottle with 1 20oz making just under 4 gallons of soda. I really think that would really thicken the concentrate beyond use so I am going to try adding more to the concentrate.

I am also not fully carbed so the head is less than stellar...
 
I started doing carbonated water + rio extracts this week. We got black cherry , cola and cream soda. As some others have stated we are finding them to be a little weak. I did 2 3/4 cup splenda, 20oz water, 1 oz concentrate. Since it is Splenda we did what the directions said and topped off to 32oz total. We also made a second batch with 20oz water, 2 3/4 cup sugar, 1 oz concentrate (which didnt require top off). The taste was basically the same so we will prob stick with splenda because of the 0 calories. Has anyone fidgeted more with the recipe, maybe tried 1.5oz concentrate? Also does anyone have some homemade recipes to make syrup I could store in 32oz like the rio stuff? I would really like to made a limeade syrup =)
 
Hey Grendelrt,

I've been using the RIO Syrups for a bit now (basic 6 flavour starter pack). I have mixed up the grape, root beer, and cream soda so far. I have used the 20 oz water with 2.5 cups sugar. Only the cream soda so far has seemed weak on its flavor using the recommended guidelines (i actually had to pump it up to about 2.5 oz of flavoring to make it worth my while but then again we are all different). I am using about 16/18 oz glasses and find that about 3-4 oz of the mix are what is needed to make it flavorful (cream soda seems so far to be the exception to that rule requiring quite a bit more to taste). I havent tried jacking up the sugar yet as i'm worried about the amount of sugar in the drinks and here in Canada Splenda is a flippin rip off to buy.

Let me know what you find...

King :mug:

I started doing carbonated water + rio extracts this week. We got black cherry , cola and cream soda. As some others have stated we are finding them to be a little weak. I did 2 3/4 cup splenda, 20oz water, 1 oz concentrate. Since it is Splenda we did what the directions said and topped off to 32oz total. We also made a second batch with 20oz water, 2 3/4 cup sugar, 1 oz concentrate (which didnt require top off). The taste was basically the same so we will prob stick with splenda because of the 0 calories. Has anyone fidgeted more with the recipe, maybe tried 1.5oz concentrate? Also does anyone have some homemade recipes to make syrup I could store in 32oz like the rio stuff? I would really like to made a limeade syrup =)
 
I contacted Prairie Moon to ask the questions below:

"I am new to soda syrup use in carbonated water. I have a corny keg with 4 gallons of spring water (store bought) carbed at 30 psi. at 36 deg.f and find that it is carbed nicley. I am going to order a few flavors but before I do I have a few questions:

On a brewing forum I read that there is little "mouth feel" when using this method and it is suggested to add maltodextrine to achieve these results.

Is this something that you would condone or recomend?

If so where would it be applied ie. in the water or in the syrup?

And if so, how much in either application?"

And this was there reply:

1. I have never heard of that and have not tried it. 2. Maltodextrine is not an ingredient in any soda I have ever seen. 3. You are making soda, not beer, so it only needs the feel of carbonation. 4. I would not use it. If you choose to, let me know how it turns out.

Sincerely,

Dan
Prairie Moon


Went to the LHBS to get malto to thicken up the root beer and they recommended using lactose. I used about 0.5 lb for a 1 gallon syrup mix. It added some sweetness but worked out great.
 
I contacted Prairie Moon to ask the questions below:

"I am new to soda syrup use in carbonated water. I have a corny keg with 4 gallons of spring water (store bought) carbed at 30 psi. at 36 deg.f and find that it is carbed nicley. I am going to order a few flavors but before I do I have a few questions:

On a brewing forum I read that there is little "mouth feel" when using this method and it is suggested to add maltodextrine to achieve these results.

Is this something that you would condone or recomend?

If so where would it be applied ie. in the water or in the syrup?

And if so, how much in either application?"

And this was there reply:

1. I have never heard of that and have not tried it. 2. Maltodextrine is not an ingredient in any soda I have ever seen. 3. You are making soda, not beer, so it only needs the feel of carbonation. 4. I would not use it. If you choose to, let me know how it turns out.

Sincerely,

Dan
Prairie Moon


Went to the LHBS to get malto to thicken up the root beer and they recommended using lactose. I used about 0.5 lb for a 1 gallon syrup mix. It added some sweetness but worked out great.

Interesting,

I have gone through three of the 20oz bottles of Syrup 1 black cherry, 1 Cream Soda and 1 Rootbeer I added 4oz of Malto to the Rootbeer, 1 oz of Malto to the Cream Soda and none to the Black Cherry and to tell the truth I didn't have much if any of a difference in mouth feel. I may try the Lactose and see how that works but I am leaning towards brewing my own batch of rootbeer next.

BTW the 1oz pumps from Prarie Moon while nice to have a 1oz pump they leak very badly from the nozle. It got to the point that removed the pumps only use them for parties.
 
What was your guys' solution to the issue of the leaky 1oz pumps? Is there a better pump solution out there?
 
I use torani pumps. They are actually 1/2 ounce pumps but you can pump it 2 times. No big deal for me. I picked them up at a World Market by us and they fit the regular size glass Torani bottles or the larger plastic ones you can get at Sams. I have refilled with all kinds of syrups: BIB Dr Pepper, soda steam, homemade, and even Torani syrups... I have never noticed them leaking, but they don't usually give you a full 1/2 ounce on the first pump after sitting for a week or so.
 
All of the Torani pumps that I can find are 1/4 oz. I suppose pumping four times isn't a big deal but 1/2 oz would be better. Do you think you could provide a link?

Thanks!

EDIT: Found them. Now I just need to find some bottles that will still fit in a fridge comfortably with the pump attached.
 
Where did you find the pumps... If you could share a link it would be appreciated. Thanks.
I've checked amazon and ebay but would be interested in what you found.
 
Here you are: http://www2.costco.com/Browse/Produ...&hierPath=11121*50862*11888*50849*&lang=en-US

I'm not sure if it is possible to get Costco business delivery as a consumer, however.
Here is another random seller on the internet: http://www.syrupsource.com/p-27-torani-sauce-pump-12-oz.aspx. I usually try to stick to names I know when ordering online but it looks like this price is pretty nice.

The issue I see is that it only fits 64oz containers. Those are pretty large and I'm not sure if they would fit in the fridge well.
 
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