Annoyingnoise
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- Mar 30, 2009
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I'm new to this forum and I'm excited about the experimentation that is going on here. (Can't wait to try avocado soda.) As I've run through many of the threads, I've found an interesting fear. A fear of glass bottles.
Now I will say that this is only my opinion and personal experience. I will not say that under no circumstances will you be making little glass bombs. If you try this at home, I am so not responsible. However, most of the stories I hear about exploding glass bottles involve long term storage of soda, many involve mason jars.
That being said, I've been making soda for about 3 years now, and I have only ever used glass for my soda making. I make a couple batches every couple months. I use brown bottles made for bottling beer, with regular metal caps, and an old dudes homerigged capper. We bought the stuff off of the old dude, post-mortem, at a garage sale. It was a beer making kit. After we trashed the dusty hops and dead yeast. It was a go.
I buy my yeast online, I'll get specific if somebody asks. Mostly champagne yeast, bread yeast for root beer, cuz I love that fresh bread smell. Yada yada, but I've never had a bottle go shard city on me. I've left slow root beer that wasn't flavored right sitting for over a month, in my garage, in the summer. We had a root beer fight, it was messy. But the only bottles that busted, were the ones that got a little too close to each other and ended up colliding at high velocity.(Teenagers, they were excited.) I've had a bottle get lost in the back of the fridge for a couple months. When it came out, it was way more alcoholic than my religion allows, yet, not a glass grenade.
But if you are worried about it, here a couple ideas. Don't make more than you plan on drinking in the next couple weeks. Make it a couple days ahead of when you want it. If you know that you want it to go slow, stick it in the fridge a bit early, and slow those sugar eaters down. You can always take it back out again if they need a kick. If you've never made it before, make a small batch. 4 gallons of nastiness is a whole lot o' nastiness, and waste.
My Highly Scientific soda making method.
0. Wash bottles, rinse in very hot water.
1. Mix soda base, to taste.
2. Add yeast, preferably while base is warm.
3. Bottle it, cap it.
4. Set it on the counter.
5. Wait till tomorrow, if you can.
6. Pop the top.
7. Taste.
8. If it ain't fizzy enough, recap it. You can even use the same cap, if you were careful taking it off.
9. Set that bottle on it's side to make sure the cap isn't leaking.
10. Check, you know, whenever. When you think it's fizzy enough, or close to it. Stick those puppies in the fridge. Preferably hide them where the wife and kids can't see them.
11. After chilled, sit back, relax, and enjoy the fruit of yeasts labor.
I'm not trying to be snarky. Soda making isn't nearly as involved as beer or wine making. Most of my soda, barring an experimental batch, is ready in 48 hours, including fridge time. I use glass because we never buy plastic bottles, we just don't. Plus, come on old timers, soda was always better from the glass bottles.
Now I will say that this is only my opinion and personal experience. I will not say that under no circumstances will you be making little glass bombs. If you try this at home, I am so not responsible. However, most of the stories I hear about exploding glass bottles involve long term storage of soda, many involve mason jars.
That being said, I've been making soda for about 3 years now, and I have only ever used glass for my soda making. I make a couple batches every couple months. I use brown bottles made for bottling beer, with regular metal caps, and an old dudes homerigged capper. We bought the stuff off of the old dude, post-mortem, at a garage sale. It was a beer making kit. After we trashed the dusty hops and dead yeast. It was a go.
I buy my yeast online, I'll get specific if somebody asks. Mostly champagne yeast, bread yeast for root beer, cuz I love that fresh bread smell. Yada yada, but I've never had a bottle go shard city on me. I've left slow root beer that wasn't flavored right sitting for over a month, in my garage, in the summer. We had a root beer fight, it was messy. But the only bottles that busted, were the ones that got a little too close to each other and ended up colliding at high velocity.(Teenagers, they were excited.) I've had a bottle get lost in the back of the fridge for a couple months. When it came out, it was way more alcoholic than my religion allows, yet, not a glass grenade.
But if you are worried about it, here a couple ideas. Don't make more than you plan on drinking in the next couple weeks. Make it a couple days ahead of when you want it. If you know that you want it to go slow, stick it in the fridge a bit early, and slow those sugar eaters down. You can always take it back out again if they need a kick. If you've never made it before, make a small batch. 4 gallons of nastiness is a whole lot o' nastiness, and waste.
My Highly Scientific soda making method.
0. Wash bottles, rinse in very hot water.
1. Mix soda base, to taste.
2. Add yeast, preferably while base is warm.
3. Bottle it, cap it.
4. Set it on the counter.
5. Wait till tomorrow, if you can.
6. Pop the top.
7. Taste.
8. If it ain't fizzy enough, recap it. You can even use the same cap, if you were careful taking it off.
9. Set that bottle on it's side to make sure the cap isn't leaking.
10. Check, you know, whenever. When you think it's fizzy enough, or close to it. Stick those puppies in the fridge. Preferably hide them where the wife and kids can't see them.
11. After chilled, sit back, relax, and enjoy the fruit of yeasts labor.
I'm not trying to be snarky. Soda making isn't nearly as involved as beer or wine making. Most of my soda, barring an experimental batch, is ready in 48 hours, including fridge time. I use glass because we never buy plastic bottles, we just don't. Plus, come on old timers, soda was always better from the glass bottles.