Carbonating with soda stream machine?

[buellulysses]

Has anyone tried using this little DIY soda maker to carb home brew? It uses co2 and re usable thick plastic bottles with screw on caps. Is there any reason this wouldn't work? http://m.sodastreamusa.com/Product_Overview.php

 

[JohanMk1]

At some point everything seems to come up on here. Yes I'd also like to know if it can be done.

 

[HerbieHowells]

I have never tried it. SWMBO loves the soda stream more than anything else we own, and if I managed to break it, I would be in the dog house for a long time.

I do know that you will void your warranty if you use it with anything other than water. So they don't design it for these purposes.

I also know that my brother once tried to carbonate water with some of the soda stream syrup in the water, and it made a huge mess. As soon as he pulled the bottle off of the machine, cola spewed everywhere. That is why you have to add the syrup after you carb the bottle.

So based on that, I wouldn't expect it to go smoothly. But as I said, I have never actually done it, so it might work.

 

[Soup4you2]

I've actually tried to carb up a beer with the soda stream. My best advice is don't.. your just going to end up with a sticky foamy mess.

Just like the post above, it just doesn't work.

 

[buellulysses]

Ahh I didn't realize you just carb the water then mix the syrup. So it's the sudden release of pressure when you detach the bottle that causes the eruption? Either way thanks for saving me the $79!

 

[mcspanner]

Yeah as a curious teen I tried carbonating everything from milk to brandy I'd swiped from the cooking supplies. Nothing worked. I've seen a video on YouTube where a guy uses a regulator and small co2 canister to carb and serve mini kegs and it may be possible to use a soda stream gas bottle in this way but if you're buying the regulator and connectors it might not be worth it.

 

[HerbieHowells]

Either way thanks for saving me the $79!

Oh, you should totally buy one. It will change your life- we noticed that our water consumption went up significantly when we got ours. Just don't use it for your beer.

 

[dawgmatic]

I don't think you should buy one.There are people on this forum who have built their own versions of these. They also sell them at the lhbs, search for carbonator cap. You have to have access to a co2 tank though. But personally I think an investment towards kegging is always a good idea, especially seeing as you could pick up a tank for a similar price to this device

 

[Revvy]

This topic comes up at least once a month.....look at the threads in the similar threads box below.

 

[mcspanner]

This topic comes up at least once a month.....look at the threads in the similar threads box below.

That box doesn't exist on the app and the search on the app seems much less comprehensive than the web version, which may in part explain the repetition of some threads.

 

[OldWorld]

you have to carb the water first because the sugars and proteins of the beer will fly all over the place...

But...if you were to carbonate some water and use a 50/50 blend of water/wort it would work but be wimpy.

 

[SpentGrains]

I don't think you should buy one.There are people on this forum who have built their own versions of these. They also sell them at the lhbs, search for carbonator cap. You have to have access to a co2 tank though. But personally I think an investment towards kegging is always a good idea, especially seeing as you could pick up a tank for a similar price to this device

+1, for a little more you could have a 5lb tank, reg, corny keg and a cobra tap and have 5 gallons of seltzer water at a time.

 

[buellulysses]

That box doesn't exist on the app and the search on the app seems much less comprehensive than the web version, which may in part explain the repetition of some threads.

Yeah sorry to repeat but I am using the app and yielded nothing in a search.....

 

[buellulysses]

Oh, you should totally buy one. It will change your life- we noticed that our water consumption went up significantly when we got ours. Just don't use it for your beer.

It looks like a neat gadget but my family doesn't drink any soda at all. My daughter is 10months old, my wife waters down juice because its "too sweet" and I don't often drink anything that doesn't have alcohol in it....

 

[JohanMk1]

This topic comes up at least once a month.....look at the threads in the similar threads box below.

Oops

 

[neko]

I tried using juice to make an orangina type drink. Fail. Sticky juice everywhere. I'm guessing beer would be the same.

 

[buellulysses]

I don't think you should buy one.There are people on this forum who have built their own versions of these. They also sell them at the lhbs, search for carbonator cap. You have to have access to a co2 tank though. But personally I think an investment towards kegging is always a good idea, especially seeing as you could pick up a tank for a similar price to this device

The carbonator cap looks cool but I don't understand why that works but the soda stream doesn't?

 

[Tombstone0]

The carbonator cap looks cool but I don't understand why that works but the soda stream doesn't?

I would guess that you could carb with carbonator cap then put the bottle in fridge and allow the beer to absorb the C02 before removing the cap. With the soda stream the beer probably just doesn't have the chance to fully absorb the C02. Maybe if you chilled the beer first, it might work better.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

The SodaStream has a length of tubing that gets submerged, agitating the liquid inside the bottle, and causing anything with sugar to foam uncontrollably. I've seen one report where a guy claimed success by slowly and carefully dosing his beer with CO2 with a SodaStream. Most people (me included) make a foamy mess out of things and give up. The SodaStream is intended to carbonate plain water, not premixed drinks.

 

[dawgmatic]

Edit... Nevermind carry on

 

[mikeysab]

It works. Like yuri said, you have to go slow. Make sure you chill it as cold as possible then give it a short shot, let it settle and repeat. It takes awhile and its not worth doing five gallons this way. I usually do it if im desperate for beer or with whatevers left after kegging.

 

[buellulysses]

Ahh I didn't realize it had a tube submerged in the liquid. That makes sense now. It would be like puting a straw in your beer and blowing! Obviously this will make a foamy mess....