Two kegs in and I'm sold using syrups for variety rocks!

[TomSD]

Yeah it is like those gourmet jellybeans with all the flavors. Some of them don't sound at all appetizing, lol.

 

[jonp9576]

http://southernsnow.com/sugar-free-diet-snowball-syrup.htm

how do these prices compare to the way you were are making the "diet" syrup at home?

 

[TomSD]

http://southernsnow.com/sugar-free-diet-snowball-syrup.htm

how do these prices compare to the way you were are making the "diet" syrup at home?

It looks like 8 gallons of the SB (snowball) syrup makes less than 8 gallons of the PM (prairie moon) syrup but is actually cheaper in the long run. I went with 8 gallons since that was full bottles and made the "what it costs" math easier.

For SB you would need a quart of the concentrate ($9 ea) and 8 gallons of the base syrup ($5 ea)... that's $49. Makes 3000 oz (23.44 gal) so is $2.09 per gallon at suggested serving ratio.

For PM you would need eight bottles of concentrate ($3.50 ea) and 88 cups of Splenda or generic, that would be about 7 and a half of the big bags I buy ($8.00 ea)... that's $84. Makes roughly 4434 oz (34.64 gal) so is $2.42 per gallon at suggested serving ratio.

Looks like they are pretty close to the same price. This assumes their "makes 250 12 oz snow cones" is equivalent to 12 oz sodas since that is how I based their mix ratio.

Doing the poking around for pricing and whatnot I realize I am mixing my drinks WAY weaker than the recipe calls for. PM calls for 3 oz syrup in 10 oz seltzer water... I use a 1 oz syrup in 15 oz seltzer. I just tried it at their suggested and it is way to syrupy for me. I guess it is about the equivalent of commercial soda but then I'm not a big commercial soda fan so I guess mixing to taste is a good thing for me.

Oh and at that ratio my six bottles of concentrate would only make like 26 gallon... not 96. With all that in mind the pump doesn't make much sense for someone that would mix at suggested levels. That is a crap load of pumping per glass, lol.

 

[TomSD]

Oh and I got those bayonetts in from McMaster... makes a big difference in the pour pressure. I like using one or two of those over having to add another ten feet of tube then not being able to use anything else off that particular tap without changing tubing out.

 

[crc32]

Regarding the inserts, you can order them online, or if you have a Fastenal nearby, you can go pick them up from them:

Made by 3M
Fastenal Part No. (SKU) 0204176
Manufacturer Part No. 00051131049017

I use them in my soda keg with a direct draw (no hose) faucet. Works great!

 

[TomSD]

Well two of those bayonetts in each keg make a HUGE difference in the pour and CO2 retention. I also like that they are in the keg and not the lines so I can swap out however i like from tap to tap without having to change lines.

So the ones that ended up ordering stuff... how do you like it?

 

[jonp9576]

well...i have a keg of water carbing up right now. i still havent found those bayonets that i have around(i know i have some somewhere). the concentrate just came today, so i hope to report back with a review of the flavors this weekend. i ordered lemon lime, cola and rootbeer

 

[Devo2k]

So I ordered 6 flavors from Prairie Moon (Cola, Vanilla, Sarsaparilla, Strawberry, Orange, and Grape). I'm not sure how I feel about everything yet. I picked up a few different artificial sweeteners to see which one I like best, and I made one bottle with sugar for reference.

Sweeteners I used:
Brand -- Ingredient -- 2 3/4 Cup Sugar Equivalent
SweetLeaf -- Stevia -- 5 tbsp
Truvia -- Stevia, Erythritol -- 1 Heaping Cup
Ideal -- Xylitol, Maltodextrine -- 2 2/4 Cup

So far, SweetLeaf has too much of its own flavor that's bleeding into the syrup. Truvia and Ideal seem to be ok. I think i'm going to try some splenda (sucralose) next, see if it is closer to the regular sugar flavor.

The one thing I'm struggling a bit with is masking the sour flavor of plain carbonated water with the syrup. I'm not sure if maybe I'm running a bit more carbonated than what regular pop (I live in Michigan, here, we have pop, not that soda crap!) runs, so the water is more acidic = more sour flavor, or what.

This is just my first batch though, and this is still a learning process for me yet.

 

[TomSD]

I really like the results with Splenda... well the store brand but same difference.

I don't mind the taste of the plain carbonated water so I guess in that I'm lucky. I'm not a big fan of syrupy drinks so drink mine way on the lite side... more flavored seltzer than soda/pop. If I didn't like the bite of the carbed water I would be screwed.

 

[MVKTR2]

I'm gonna be ordering up some of these concentrates and mixing them in the kegs rather than as syrups. My boy simply loves dispensing it from the keg. I'll let you know how it works out in a month or so. Thanks for the info, I've bookmarked the referenced sites.

Schlante,
Phillip

 

[TomSD]

If you do that keep one tap and one keg just for soda. My understanding is they can impart flavors to the o-rings, tubing, etc.

 

[Devo2k]

I really like the results with Splenda... well the store brand but same difference.

I don't mind the taste of the plain carbonated water so I guess in that I'm lucky. I'm not a big fan of syrupy drinks so drink mine way on the lite side... more flavored seltzer than soda/pop. If I didn't like the bite of the carbed water I would be screwed.

I actually really like plain carbonated water a lot. I think it's just that I'm trying to get the water to taste like regular pop. That may be my problem. If I don't expect it to taste exactly like store bought pop, perhaps I'll like it even more.

Definitely going to give sucralose a shot on the next round of syrups.

 

[HeavyBrew]

I just tried mine out tonight. Ordered cola, rootbeer, vanilla, orange, black cherry, and the pink lemonade. Used regular sugar and dd the 2.75 cups in the 19 oz of water and the 1 oz of concentrate in the qt. bottle. Tired out the rootbeer and cola in a 16 oz glass with some cubes. Pumped in 16. Still a lil dry for my taste. Might have to wind up putting a lil more sugar in.

 

[NWMOBrewer]

I'm wondering if you put sugar (splenda - store brand) in the water in the keg, or just plain water? I'm planning on doing this when I force carb my beer for the SWMBO. I'll have a regulator that can carb at different pressures so i'm not worried about that. I'm just not sure if you sugar the water thats getting carbed.

 

[TomSD]

Nope just poured a 5 gal jug of my bottled spring water into the keg and carbed it. When you make the syrup you add all the sweetener and flavoring you need.

HeavyBrew ... give more squirts a go. The actual suggested is 3 oz syrup to 7 oz water but to me that is WAY too sweet/syrupy. I do it at 1 oz syrup to 15 oz water if that tells you anything. The 16 squirt thing is only 1 oz to 15 oz water... you could double or even triple it and still be below what they suggest, lol. I do find myself adding more of the sarsaparilla and root beer to give it more bite but even then it is nowhere near their suggested ratio.

 

[brewingkitty]

and the silicone orings im told are less likely for the soda (ie, root beer) to adhere to. i ordered 100 packs of them from mcmaster super cheap.

 

[TomSD]

Yeah flavor exchange is one of the reasons I like just carbing water. That and I REALLY like having the variety.

McMaster rocks for that I have enough gaskets to cover me for pretty much ever plus I've gotten all kinds of random stuff from them (tap inserts, bayonets, quick connects, etc).

 

[nostalgia]

My order is in for a half-dozen flavors. Any issue with keeping the pumps clean?

-Joe

 

[azscoob]

I will be doing this soon, I love seltzer water as is, and I also love a good Italian soda, so from now on I will be making my own seltzer water! I already have the syrups in the pump bottles. I typically make my sodas with Pellegrino and milk (I do 50/50 seltzer and milk, usually with peach syrup). Now I will forgo the store bought water and make my own! I don't know why I haven't thought of this before.

 

[bommarkm]

Tom, what length of beverage line are you using right now for your water?

 

[TomSD]

My order is in for a half-dozen flavors. Any issue with keeping the pumps clean?

-Joe

Nope. I keep mine in the fridge though. If you kept them out I could see there being a problem with mold and bugs and stuff.

 

[TomSD]

Tom, what length of beverage line are you using right now for your water?

The same as my beer which is around ten feet. I keep it at 30 psi and use bayonets to keep the flow rate down.

 

[HeavyBrew]

Nope just poured a 5 gal jug of my bottled spring water into the keg and carbed it. When you make the syrup you add all the sweetener and flavoring you need.

HeavyBrew ... give more squirts a go. The actual suggested is 3 oz syrup to 7 oz water but to me that is WAY too sweet/syrupy. I do it at 1 oz syrup to 15 oz water if that tells you anything. The 16 squirt thing is only 1 oz to 15 oz water... you could double or even triple it and still be below what they suggest, lol. I do find myself adding more of the sarsaparilla and root beer to give it more bite but even then it is nowhere near their suggested ratio.

Thanks, that helps. I won't be so stingy. I was being to think I did something wrong.

 

[HeavyBrew]

I just pumped 32 pumps of the cola into about 14-15 ozs of water. Much better, but the cola isn't that great, lol. I'll try my others later tonight. Thanks for making me brave Tom, lol. If you think about it, a can of coke is about 140 calories, an oz of syrup is 70 cal. I guess there has to be some kind of relation to getting that right flavor..

 

[TomSD]

Yeah the cola was 'meh' at best but I use it to mix with vanilla which comes out good. Sarsaparilla and root beer are great though I think.

I really like that it is no calories, if you go with sugar substitute, or caffeine though. That and flavor to taste since most sodas I don't care for... too syrupy/sweet.

 

[HeavyBrew]

Yeah the cola was 'meh' at best but I use it to mix with vanilla which comes out good. Sarsaparilla and root beer are great though I think.

I really like that it is no calories, if you go with sugar substitute, or caffeine though. That and flavor to taste since most sodas I don't care for... too syrupy/sweet.

I hear ya, thanks for showing us. It all started with me wanting to make some rootbeer at home. One of these days I'll have to figure out how to make some from scratch..

 

[HeavyBrew]

Having some of the rootbeer right now. Really good!

 

[bommarkm]

This is next on my list. I have a keg of Sprecher root beer carbing for the kiddies for Halloween. Once that is gone, I'm planning on carbing water and using your syrups. I've been drinking too much caffeine in the evening and this seems like a great way to get great carbs drinks without the caffeine.
I just hope I can get the root beer taste out of my keg.

 

[nostalgia]

I just made the mistake of looking at the ingredients. Proplylene glycol? Well, at least my blood won't freeze in the winter

-Joe

 

[nostalgia]

Om nom sarsaparilla! The recipe calls for 1 1/4# of sugar. I used 3/4# and it's plenty sweet for me. I went with 20 pumps/pint for the first try and I like it so far.

Thanks for the thread!

-Joe