first soda q

just mixed my first extract soda. old fashioned brand. just wondering how this should taste after mixing. i did mix it well and it did not only seem flat but really watered down. Thats with 4oz priming sugar and 4 gallons of water. That is what it says it makes, Next questions is how can I test carbonation if I am priming in the keg? i did notice a little pressure and bled it off slightly, the reason why I am questioning this is because I am uncertain if you will see the right carbonation without being chilled.

I'm slightly confused. What was the full recipe and extract that you used? Did you only use 4oz of sugar in 4 gallons of water and extract?
Generally, it's going to ask for around a pound of sugar per gallon of water.

Did you use yeast in the keg, or were you going to carbonate using a co2 tank?

the instructions were for bottling, said to add certain amount into each bottle and then top off with water. there was no kegging instructions, the kit stated that it is for 4 gallons, so I added sugar for priming in the keg along with the yeast, extract, and 4 gallons of water. I guess next time I will read up more on finding a recipe/correct way to make it. But yes I was planning to prime in the keg. I am going to slightly add sugar and test to see if that helps.

Either way, kegging and forcing or yeast carbonating, that just doesn't sound like enough sugar. There should be about 12 pounds of sugar for 4 gallons give or take 3 pounds. Unless the extract is really a syrup that includes sugar in it already. Do you have a link to the product?

Small extract bottles are usually 2 oz of extract for 4 gallons, reqiring 8 cups of sugar.
Premade flavored sugar syrups are usually just add carbonated water.
With a premade syrup, it'd make sense to only use about an ounce plus yeast since it would be like carbonating beer or wine, (Around the area of 10g per 12 oz bottle for over 3 volumes of co2)

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/root-beer-soda.html
I wish I would of kept the instructions, it got tossed along with the cleanup of my beer batch. how much sugar should I add, I did have it force carb under 30 psi for 2 day and it is nicely carbed and pumps out good with 20 feet of hose, but still lacks flavor, there is about 3.5 gallons left, should I add dextrose or sucrose? and what amount? As long as I can make the mrs. happy. Thanks for the replys so far

Oh yeah, I have that one.
Their instructions are:
1 gallon: 1/8-1/4 Tsp yeast, 1 Tbsp or 1/2 oz extract, 2 cups sugar, 1 gallon water.
2 gallons: 1/4-1/2 Tsp yeast, 1 oz (or half bottle) extract, 4 cups sugar, 2 gallons water.
4 gallons: 1/2 - 1 Tsp yeast, 1 bottle extract, 8 cups sugar, 4 gallons water

You can forgo the yeast and just use co2. I used sucrose (and a bit of maltodextrin for body) in mine.
I'm not sure how you would want to go about doing it though. You could potentially add the sugar right to the carbonated fluid and see if it will dissolve, but it could take a while. Perhaps superfine sugar (or just sugar that's pulsed in a food processor a few times) since that's supposed to dissolve more easily in cold liquids.

You could make a sugar syrup and add that, but it would water down what's in there. You'll lose a little bit of carbonation while it's open, but you can recarb.

If you were lacking the sugar, that should help, but if you're lacking more than just sweetness and sugar flavor and are actually lacking flavor, that will be harder. It would mean that you would want to use less water to the same amount of extract the next time.

A good test would be to use 1.6 oz (1&2/3oz) sugar in a 12 ounce glass and pour the carbonated liquid into that and mix and taste.
(1.6 oz was taken due to: recipe: 1 gallon batch uses 2 cups sugar, where the cups are 8 oz by both measure and equivalent weight. 1 gallon =128 ounces. 1/10th gallon =12 oz liquid. 1/10th of 16 oz= 1.6 oz)

If you already added 8 cups of sugar to the liquid originally, you should ignore what I've said since you would then be looking at varying the amount of extract and water.

Personally, I just made myself a simple syrup in a Torani bottle (with dispenser) that I pour into a glass and add carbonated water so I can vary the amount of syrup until I find how much is right to me.

Thanks Kevin, you have been a lot of help.

EDIT: A little update. I added 5 cups of sugar to a quart of root beer slightly warmed and stirred in a pan and added into the keg mixed and now force carbing again. Thanks for the help again. I guess I just misunderstood the instructions before they were thrown away.

Welcome, let us know how it turns out.

I'd like to sweeten it a little more then what I did, but it turned out great! she loves it!

Good to hear. You can always keep a bottle of simple syrup around (1:1 ratio sugar and water) and add it to your own glass when you want it sweeter and if she doesn't.