Espresso soda

Bibicaffe is an Italian espresso soda that is difficult to find in the U.S., so I decided to try my own version. For a first attempt, it turned out quite well.

1 gallon water heated to 150*
2 cups (1 lb) white cane sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
12 shots (25-30 oz.) freshly brewed espresso (best beans you can find)

Cool to 85* and pitch 1/8 tsp ale yeast dissolved in 4 oz. warm water.

I bottled it in plastic 1 liter soda bottles and set at 70* -- the bottles were rock hard in 2 days.

Refrigerated for 1 day to deactivate yeast and carbonate.

Mix 2 parts soda with 1 part milk or half-and-half for a deliciously carbonated slightly sweet completely refreshing coffee beverage.

I might cut back a little on the sugar next time, maybe 25% less. I was using other soda recipes as a guide, and it came out a bit too sweet for my taste.

Happy brewing,
Travis

I'm all over this. Think it would work well bottled in glass? Looks like a lot of fun for a 3-day turnaround.

Now I just need to find an espresso machine lying around. I'm sure it would be better than going to the shop to have them pull a dozen shots for me, especially at whatever they'd charge me!

I'll have to try this, bet my husband would love it. Thanks for sharing.

According to other posts on this forum, glass bottles are not ideal for yeast carbonated sodas. If you don't know for sure how much CO2 the yeast are producing, you risk leaving the bottles at room temperature for too long and they could explode. On the other hand, if you transfer them to the fridge too soon, your soda will be flat. With plastic soda bottles there is no guessing - you know exactly when your soda is done carbonating because the bottles will be rock hard.

Some have suggested bottling most of the batch in glass, and using one plastic bottle as your carbonation tester. That seems like it would work, but I haven't tried it.

You could get away with using evaporated milk in this recipe, and then you wouldn't have to mix it upon serving.

As Takoch said, glass is tricky, but it is so much classier. Though if you're interested in soda, CO² is the way to go!