paradoc
Well-Known Member
OK... I'm new to brewing. Loving it so far. But fundamentally I'm not a very patient guy. So I've got this great tasting IPA sitting in bottles that is taking FOREVER to carb (at least it seems that way!). So... what is an enterprising guy to do?
Well... I was at Sam's Club the other day and saw they had SodaStream carbonators on sale for around $30 bucks. The Sodastream is a small self-contained system that lets you carbonate water. It is great if you enjoy soda water instead of plain tap water. And they have a whole bunch of kits for making flavored soda water and sodas. So I bought one for its intended purpose, but then while driving home thought to myself "hey, I've got a GREAT idea... I can use this for force carbonate my IPA so I can try some before it is done carbing!".
Note to self: Whenever you have a GREAT idea, remember to set up the camera first to record the event. That way at least I can have video to post on youtube
Anyway, I got home, and gently poured a bottle of my IPA into the sodastream 1 liter plastic bottle. I screwed the bottle into the sodastream, and pushed the carbonator button a few times. Hmmm, I think to myself, that beer looks awfully bubbly! I better be careful when I unseal it! (again, kicking myself for not taking a few pictures...) So, I gently unseal the bottle from the sodastream and...
BEER GEYSER!
...It looked kinda like those mentos/diet coke geysers you see on youtube! Very exciting! My wife was laughing her ass off! It took about half an hour to clean up. By which time the foam that remained in the bottle had settled, and I was able to salvage about a cup of fine tasting IPA.
RDWDAHB! And next time... wait for the carbonation to complete the normal way!
PS: If anyone else has succeeded with carbonating using the sodastream system for force carb your beer, let me know. It seems feasable to me. Perhaps I just need to do it a little slower next time? Seems like a neat way to be able to carb a small amount of beer for tasting without having to keg and/or bottle it.
Well... I was at Sam's Club the other day and saw they had SodaStream carbonators on sale for around $30 bucks. The Sodastream is a small self-contained system that lets you carbonate water. It is great if you enjoy soda water instead of plain tap water. And they have a whole bunch of kits for making flavored soda water and sodas. So I bought one for its intended purpose, but then while driving home thought to myself "hey, I've got a GREAT idea... I can use this for force carbonate my IPA so I can try some before it is done carbing!".
Note to self: Whenever you have a GREAT idea, remember to set up the camera first to record the event. That way at least I can have video to post on youtube
Anyway, I got home, and gently poured a bottle of my IPA into the sodastream 1 liter plastic bottle. I screwed the bottle into the sodastream, and pushed the carbonator button a few times. Hmmm, I think to myself, that beer looks awfully bubbly! I better be careful when I unseal it! (again, kicking myself for not taking a few pictures...) So, I gently unseal the bottle from the sodastream and...
BEER GEYSER!
...It looked kinda like those mentos/diet coke geysers you see on youtube! Very exciting! My wife was laughing her ass off! It took about half an hour to clean up. By which time the foam that remained in the bottle had settled, and I was able to salvage about a cup of fine tasting IPA.
RDWDAHB! And next time... wait for the carbonation to complete the normal way!
PS: If anyone else has succeeded with carbonating using the sodastream system for force carb your beer, let me know. It seems feasable to me. Perhaps I just need to do it a little slower next time? Seems like a neat way to be able to carb a small amount of beer for tasting without having to keg and/or bottle it.
