Soda w/alcohol

MOD EDIT: Post moved to new thread.

Here's a couple ideas I'm kicking around from reading this and other posts on idea of making alcoholic sodas.

It seems a good method might be to mix sugar, water, yeast in a fermenting bucket with an airlock. If I'm understanding the process correctly. Yeast eats the sugar and produces alcohol and co2. Once the sugar water reaches the desired alcohol content, siphon it into another container to separate it from the sediment. Then add concentrate or other syrups to the now alcoholic water. Question then would be if there is enough active yeast left in the water to carbonate the bottle or if it would need to be force carbonated? Thought it was an interesting idea to throw out there and see what everyone thought of it.

I would think it would carbonate. My concern would be that it would continue to carbonate and eat those sugars until nothing is left or the alcohol level gets pretty high. I think it's going to be hard to get a sweet drink and an appreciable alcohol level in there at the same time.

This sounds like a bad idea. Why don't you mix vodka and soda extract into a keg the force carbonate?

Edcculus said:

This sounds like a bad idea. Why don't you mix vodka and soda extract into a keg the force carbonate?

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This seems like a better way to avoid potential bombs.

Hmmm.

Not sure how this works. Natural Sodas use yeast to carbonate which of course makes them alcoholic (less than .5% ABV, IIRC) but, I am not sure how fermentation is stopped.

Perhaps chemically.

Might look into that for guidance on your experiments.

I think campden tablets will stop/stabilize fermentation.

kanielb1 said:

I think campden tablets will stop/stabilize fermentation.

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No, especially if you use a wine yeast. Campden tablets work as a preservative/antioxidant in wines and other drinks, but doesn't kill yeast. Sorbate is a preservative that inhibits yeast reproduction. It doesn't stop fermentation, either, but it can stop fermentation from restarting if it's added appropriately.

The other issue is if you were somehow able to stop fermentation (say, by freezing the liquid), how would you bottle carbonate?

Once desired carbonation levels have been reached, turn the bottles upside down, freeze the necks, uncap, remove yeast layer and frozen plug, cap, and enjoy.

Way to much work, and still pretty risky.

Confucius said:

Once desired carbonation levels have been reached, turn the bottles upside down, freeze the necks, uncap, remove yeast layer and frozen plug, cap, and enjoy.

Way to much work, and still pretty risky.

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Sounds like making champagne/sparkling wine. I don't know enough to decide whether it would work or not; however, it sounds like a lot of work to make soda. I think if I was going to go through all that trouble I would just make sparkling wine!

If you are going to try your experiment one thing you should keep in mind is nonfermentable sugars. They will keep it sweet after ferment is done. But if you wana go the sticks way make you a mash like you said "mix sugar, water, yeast" and still it. But back to the pop it can and will work just make sure to use a very active yeast like Champagne yeast. Also lots of fermentable sugars and nonfermentable sugars that will be the key.

I've made an alcoholic root beer, but I used Splenda and lactose for the final sweetening. Ferment it all the way out, sweeten with a non-fermentable, prime with a fermentable and bottle.