My first attempt at a soda

So I got my kegs in and am building my keezer. With all that said I plan to have one tap for sodas. Not a big soda drinker but I do like a good root beer or ginger ale and I'm an off and on regular drinker of light lemon/lime type drinks.

This pass was what I had in the house (except the honey) using existing equipment so was cheap and easy to make...

2 cups lemon juice (from concentrate)
1 cup lime juice (from concentrate)
2 cups clover honey (plain old Sue Bee from the grocery store)
3 tsp (kinda rounded) Stevia powdered extract
5 gal Spring water (local source, delivered)

Bring water to a full boil, add all ingredients and boil for 15 minutes.
Rapid cool using immersion chiller and ice bath.
Pour in sterilized keg and leave at 30 psi for ~24 hours.
Bleed off then return to 12 psi for serving.

I was surprised at how well it turned out. Nice fizz to it and a decent taste. Not very sweet but more tart or citrusy like a lemonade.

My biggest concern was using stevia vs sugar or another substitute since it was basically ground down leaves and wouldn't dissolve fully. I did notice sediment when I was transferring to the keg but it was very minor, almost trivial. I stopped before it hit the keg and only lost maybe a quarter of a cup of liquid. It is pretty obvious there was some in suspension though as you can see it in the drink. Not enough to form a haze or leave a sediment in the glass but it is there when you look through the glass.

Next one will probably be a different sweetener though as I want to try all the sugar alternatives I can to reduce the calories. I may even do a tea or straight lemonade next time as both of those are zero calorie.

Sounds great!

I just wanted to mention that if you lengthen your line (a LOT!), you can keep the soda at the correct pressure and not have to purge and set at 12 psi for dispensing. I keep mine at 30 psi all the time, with about 25' of beerline.

Yeah I only did 30 to get it done quicker... I was impatient.

I am running a dual regulator though so I can keep my beers and soda at different pressures if needed.

Note to self... don't disturb the keg, lol. I started my keezer conversion (it is just a chest freezer with a thermostat on it now) and as the first step I put it on wheels. To do that I took everything out put it on the new frame then put everything back. Right after doing that I poured a soda... eww.

It was loaded with stevia sediment. Oh well two dirty draws and it was pretty clear so I think I cleared it out. Won't really matter though as whatever is in there will not be an issue once it settles or dispurses or whatever, like it was before I disturbed it.