Super Foamy Cranberry Soda

I was whipping together some great seasonal sodas. A ginger beer, a pumpkin pie soda, and finally a cranberry soda.

I'll happily post about any of those later, but for now I'm in a pickle.

After chilling my brew overnight, I carbonated it with my tank/regulator combo (Not sure what y'all call that on these forums). Then upon opening it, I was graced with an ultra foamy head. So I sat 5 minutes to let it chill, but the head didn't budge. At that point I just took off the top and let the foam snake pour out of the bottle for the next 10 (No exaggerating) minutes.

My ingredients were as follows:
-Water
-Zest ~1 orange
-Juice ~1 orange
-15oz Cranberries
-simple syrup

I don't have any ideas on how to prevent this, since I simmer the berries to create the juice then carbonate that juice. Do I need to add the orange juice after? I also heard that cinnamon oil works as an anti-foaming agent. Are there any other anti-foam agents I can use in this instance?

Any help is appreciated, let me know if you have questions!

Roach said:

I was whipping together some great seasonal sodas. A ginger beer, a pumpkin pie soda, and finally a cranberry soda.

I'll happily post about any of those later, but for now I'm in a pickle.

After chilling my brew overnight, I carbonated it with my tank/regulator combo (Not sure what y'all call that on these forums). Then upon opening it, I was graced with an ultra foamy head. So I sat 5 minutes to let it chill, but the head didn't budge. At that point I just took off the top and let the foam snake pour out of the bottle for the next 10 (No exaggerating) minutes.

My ingredients were as follows:
-Water
-Zest ~1 orange
-Juice ~1 orange
-15oz Cranberries
-simple syrup

I don't have any ideas on how to prevent this, since I simmer the berries to create the juice then carbonate that juice. Do I need to add the orange juice after? I also heard that cinnamon oil works as an anti-foaming agent. Are there any other anti-foam agents I can use in this instance?

Any help is appreciated, let me know if you have questions!

Click to expand...

Not sure.. by tagging since I am interested.

Soda requires a pretty high psi to get the level of carbonation commonly wanted in soda. As a result, it requires some long dispensing like, like 25 feet of 3/16" tubing. Also, if you made it yesterday, and it's too foamy today, I wonder if it was carbed at a very high psi, perhaps with shaking?, and as a result is overcarbed and foamy.

Yooper said:

Soda requires a pretty high psi to get the level of carbonation commonly wanted in soda. As a result, it requires some long dispensing like, like 25 feet of 3/16" tubing. Also, if you made it yesterday, and it's too foamy today, I wonder if it was carbed at a very high psi, perhaps with shaking?, and as a result is overcarbed and foamy.

Click to expand...

Yep, I was at about 50psi, and I shook for about 10 seconds.

That's how I do ALL of my soda, and it's never done this. My issue is with how long the foam stays around. There's a normal amount of CO² discharged in every soda I make, but this time that's normal discharge is turning into a thick froth that doesn't disappear.

It's funny the me that most people WANT head on soda, but this one is so heady it's RUINING my recipe.

Roach! I read this this morning and thought I needed to steal it.

I'm now half way through the process, I doubled what you had there, but I was curious about your ratios for simple syrup, and how big a batch you were expecting this to yield.

I also just noticed that you're from Fort Collins, hello from the West Side.

Also, do you have thoughts on citric acid? The few sodas I've tried generally call for it. Is this taken care of by the orange juice?

What about spices?

So I quadrupled the ingredients, boiled berries and zest into a near paste, strained into pot, rinsed again with boiling water (soda sparge ).

Then added simple syrup and water up to 4 gallons. The keg is pressured 40 and was shook regularly and it's sitting outside chilling for tomorrow. I'll let you know the reception.

I'm thinking about serving with a dash of heavy whipping cream in the glass.

manoaction said:

So I quadrupled the ingredients, boiled berries and zest into a near paste, strained into pot, rinsed again with boiling water (soda sparge ).

Then added simple syrup and water up to 4 gallons. The keg is pressured 40 and was shook regularly and it's sitting outside chilling for tomorrow. I'll let you know the reception.

I'm thinking about serving with a dash of heavy whipping cream in the glass.

Click to expand...

Wow- that sounds good!

I would skip the creme, there's real cirtus in there' and since it's raw, your milk will curdle, but that's your choice. It could still be good.

I serve my pumpkin with cream though, if people want.

My syrup is always a 2:1 (Boil till clear method). Since I mix my syrup in when it's cold, I don't want it too think. And 2:1 doesn't occupy much space in my 2 liters.

This is a batch for just a 2 liter PET bottle. though you could stretch it to about 4. But I like to make my sodas SUPER strong for sipping. It's just my style to make a soda that's a slow drinker. I'm sober so it's great for environments where others are drinking.

The acid IS taken care of by the orange juice, but the great orange aromatic comes from the zest, or course. I've got citric acid in my amazon cart right now, I'm excited ti experiment with it (Unless I can but it at a shop in town).

This was a dual fruit drink, so I achieved my desired flavor complexity. The first spices I would add if I HAD TO would be; Clove or Cinnamon.

And The head of this soda being SO HEAVY. You can easily fresh grate (Or sprinkle) some cinnamon on top for a nice sexy finish.

Be careful when boiling a zest, you'll start loosing flavor after approx 45mins depending on your simmering temp. Sparging! Thanks so much!

I would love to take a sip, if you're willing, send me a PM and I'll come have a taste before my festivities start for the day. Sorry for not quoting your topics, I didn't want the post to be EVEN longer!

Wow that sounds awesome. I'll have to try that!

My first batch was not overly heavy, it was almost a cross between soda and flavored seltzer. We didn't have the head problems, but I'm thinking that's because ours was thinner.

It was a huge hit and the family killed all four gallons in the first day.

They liked it so much they tried to make another batch, but it came out a little too sweet and too much lemon (they added lemon juice) for it to be called a faithful recreation.

About half of the guests liked it with a shot of cream, but you're right it would give a slight curdle to the cream. It wasn't noticeable enough to taste or feel on the mouth, but it did ever so slightly. Still, the cream flavor was nice.

My main tip for anyone else trying is to make sure you strain this through something very fine because our first batch clogged my keg and we had to dump, re-strain, and re-carb.

The family is demanding I tweak, and re-do for Christmas.

Other thought about the head, I used a 10ft line and put my keg at the bottom of the basement stairs with the picnic tap at the top. I purged and lowered pressure to 10 psi when it came time to serve. Between the long line, height difference, and lowered pressure it trickled gently out of the hose, that may have had something to do with the managability of the head.

manoaction said:

They liked it so much they tried to make another batch, but it came out a little too sweet and too much lemon (they added lemon juice) for it to be called a faithful recreation.

About half of the guests liked it with a shot of cream, but you're right it would give a slight curdle to the cream. It wasn't noticeable enough to taste or feel on the mouth, but it did ever so slightly. Still, the cream flavor was nice.

My main tip for anyone else trying is to make sure you strain this through something very fine because our first batch clogged my keg and we had to dump, re-strain, and re-carb.

The family is demanding I tweak, and re-do for Christmas.

Click to expand...

Well clove and cinnamon would easily make it a more spiced drink for Christmas, but I'm thinking i'll have to work on a gingerbread soda, or something of the like.

Strain it through Cheese cloth, there will be so little particulate matter that clogging wont be an issue. Just be patient while you're straining.

manoaction said:

Other thought about the head, I used a 10ft line and put my keg at the bottom of the basement stairs with the picnic tap at the top. I purged and lowered pressure to 10 psi when it came time to serve. Between the long line, height difference, and lowered pressure it trickled gently out of the hose, that may have had something to do with the managability of the head.

Click to expand...

I didn't have the overcarb problem on my second batch, but my cylinder is also running under 120 psi, so that might be kinda low. Where's the best place to buy CO² in Fort Collins? (I just went to a hydroponics store, the stoners have gas on hand for growing weed.)

I hope you guys don't mind me posting in a slightly older thread here, but I had an Idea.

I'll try using Flax Seed oil as an anti foaming agent. It's a low viscosity oil, and should have little to no effect on flavor or mouth feel. I'll let you know.

I still need to try cinnamon oil, but that will have a strong flavor affect.