Malt Cola Beer
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old_townie
Well-Known Member
hmmmm,
looking at the ingredient label for a pepsi right now;
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, sugar, phosphoric acid, caffeine, citric acid, natural flavors.
According to wikipedia citric acid is a PRESERVATIVE. I remember reading in a winemaking book that a short boil is a way to possibly (but not certainly) remove preservatives.
An interesting test would be to boil 1 gal, put it into a 1-gal jug with yeast and an airlock and see what happens.
I've got a free 1-gal jug.... but i must admit, i'm not that curious.
looking at the ingredient label for a pepsi right now;
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, sugar, phosphoric acid, caffeine, citric acid, natural flavors.
According to wikipedia citric acid is a PRESERVATIVE. I remember reading in a winemaking book that a short boil is a way to possibly (but not certainly) remove preservatives.
An interesting test would be to boil 1 gal, put it into a 1-gal jug with yeast and an airlock and see what happens.
I've got a free 1-gal jug.... but i must admit, i'm not that curious.
Cirtic Acid is vitamin C and you should be good to go on the ferment. Most of the sugars are going to ferment out and leave you with a "hootchy" tasting drink with a relatively low alcohol content.
Let us know how it turns out!
:cross:
Let us know how it turns out!
:cross:
Kevin Dean
Well-Known Member
Spyk'd said:
Not to be an ass, but Ascorbic acid is Vitamin C. I know that it's okay to use Vitamin C fortified apple juice for apfelwein but I'm not sure what the citric acid would do. Bottled colas are VERY acidic so I think the difference might be important.
denimglen
Well-Known Member
Citric acid in some quantity shouldn't be a problem, the hard lemonade recipe that floats around here ferments and must contain some citric acid, although I don't know if the recipe calls for flavouring or actual lemon juice. The overall acidity is what I think would cause the problem, Cola has a pH of around 3 I think, and I doubt that yeast could handle an acidic environment like that.
If you want to make hard cola search for a cola recipe, make it without the sugar, add fermentables (probably just dextrose and add A LOT of nutrients) to get to desired OG, then use lactose or artificial sweetner after fermenting (I can't imagine unsweet cola, it tastes bad enough when it's lost its carbonation.
), you may need to add the acidic ingredients after fermentation as well. I have no idea if that would work but it's the way I'd go about it. Or you could just buy a bottle of coke and a bottle of vodka
Good luck.
If you want to make hard cola search for a cola recipe, make it without the sugar, add fermentables (probably just dextrose and add A LOT of nutrients) to get to desired OG, then use lactose or artificial sweetner after fermenting (I can't imagine unsweet cola, it tastes bad enough when it's lost its carbonation.
), you may need to add the acidic ingredients after fermentation as well. I have no idea if that would work but it's the way I'd go about it. Or you could just buy a bottle of coke and a bottle of vodka
Good luck.
Brett0424
Well-Known Member
It would probably be much easier (and better) to just add some everclear (or whatever) to some cola. Not trying to sound like a dick but this is a common drink...what's the point in making it yourself...just blend.
shafferpilot
Well-Known Member
I think the trick is to make a light beer with little to no hops and add cola extract which should be available at your LHBS (at least it is at mine ). Come to think of it, they have root beer extract too as well as a variety of fruits..... hmmm.
). Come to think of it, they have root beer extract too as well as a variety of fruits..... hmmm.
I remembered seeing this thread about it. It has been done before, but I'm not sure what the results were like.
DiscoFetus
Well-Known Member
There's potential for this. Boil off all the carbonation and let it go flat. Dr. Pepper has some amazing fruit flavors. I use it for a lot of different things including bbq sauces, glazes, and so forth. Trappist yeast might be a good way to go to experiment.
ninpolearner
Member
Cheerwine is pretty similar to cola. I was once taken with the fantasy of having Cheerwine mead. So, I took two 2L bottles of Cheerwine and shook them and burped the cap over and over until the fizz was gone. (No boiling)
I added honey equivalent to 5% alcohol after fermentation (about 10 fluid ounces). I mixed it a little at a time in a 1 gallon jug and found that I need to shake it quite a bit more to release the remaining CO2 and hopefully capture some oxygen for the yeast to breathe.
Point is, beyond removing CO2, I didn't do anything to remove preservatives. However, I did add honey. I don't think the part that was Cheerwine ever actually fermented, because the Cheerwine flavor remained pretty intact. Plus, a little sweetness, too.
It fermented to a little under 5% and was finished after agitating the yeast to encourage it throughout the process. I racked after it settled and bottled it.
The yeast seemed done for. So, I switched gears and pitched some apple juice inoculated with malolactic bacteria!
This turned out to be an amazing success! They tasted great. Just the right amount of sweet for a soda, indeed hard, and it was carbonated perfectly... but it had a use-within range. They carbonated a little slower than with yeast, but then you had about a month and a half before you risk Cheerwine bombs! I almost hit the mark, but there was a little too much malic acid and the bottles began to be hard to open without loosing some.
I added honey equivalent to 5% alcohol after fermentation (about 10 fluid ounces). I mixed it a little at a time in a 1 gallon jug and found that I need to shake it quite a bit more to release the remaining CO2 and hopefully capture some oxygen for the yeast to breathe.
Point is, beyond removing CO2, I didn't do anything to remove preservatives. However, I did add honey. I don't think the part that was Cheerwine ever actually fermented, because the Cheerwine flavor remained pretty intact. Plus, a little sweetness, too.
It fermented to a little under 5% and was finished after agitating the yeast to encourage it throughout the process. I racked after it settled and bottled it.
The yeast seemed done for. So, I switched gears and pitched some apple juice inoculated with malolactic bacteria!
This turned out to be an amazing success! They tasted great. Just the right amount of sweet for a soda, indeed hard, and it was carbonated perfectly... but it had a use-within range. They carbonated a little slower than with yeast, but then you had about a month and a half before you risk Cheerwine bombs! I almost hit the mark, but there was a little too much malic acid and the bottles began to be hard to open without loosing some.
MaryB
Well-Known Member
Buy some coke syrup, use something to neutralize the acidity down to what the yeast can handle after mixing with water to whatever potency you desire, add yeast and let ferment. Back sweeten with dextrose if needed or use corn syrup from the baking aisle to carbonate...
