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

[Brewnanza]

I'm making fruit soda from scratch( pineapple, ginger) still no luck on getting it carb right.
After reading this thread, I want to try to carb the water first and later add the mixer( pineapple, ginger with sugar and lemon rinds & juice) 4 gal of water with 1 gal of mixer. I have 1 week from carb the water to adding the mixer and ready to be serve for the event. Can anyone tell me the time frame and steps of what I need to do What psi and temperature? Do I need to purge it and then shake to fasten the process. If I shake it how many days it would be ready to add the mixer. Any advise would be appreciated.

 

[TomSD]

I always slow carb so I won't be much help with that. For me set the PSI to 30 and forget about it for a week or two works.

If you are premixing it I would make the syrup, add it to the keg, top off with water, shake the snot out of it then carb it however you decide to do it. I guess adding the syrup after carbing would work too but I'd think the other way around would be easier since mixing the syrup in is going to take a lot of the CO2 out of suspension.

What have you tried when you say "still no luck getting it to carb right"? Also, what are your line lengths? Are you using bayonets? What PSI are you setting? How does it pour? Is it carbed out of the tap then dies fast? Is there just no body? Not really enough info in what you've posted to try giving you suggestions.

EDIT: Ahh I skimmed over your other posts. Not much I can add it looks like you got some good advice.

 

[Brewnanza]

Thank you, TomSD. As you mention you set it at 30 psi what is your temp. and did you shake it. would it be ready to drink in a week? I mixed water and the fruit mixer before poured in the keg. I follow the Crockett brewing chart with volume 5 for soda with 40psi@ 40-41f shake it. I'd shake it about 10 mi once a day, couple week later it's just foam and lightly fizz. I have 3/16 with30' line. I though I might over carb it. I read somewhere that I should purge it and reduce the psi, so i did at 30psi with 40f, It'd been 4weeks and still foam and little fizz. My second batch I did the follow the easy shake method from the same Crockett brewing but this time I 'd set at 30psi with 40f for 4+ volume I purge, then next day shake for 30mi. I still didn't get it carb enough as they said. I'd tasted every day with 30psi and 30" line and it still light fizz it'd been about a week with light fizz on my tongue with some light foam. I hope it would get better in time. Please tell me what I'm I missing here. Then I saw your thread with carb the water fist and wan to try it. If anyone ever try carb water first then add syrup into the keg would it be raedy in a week please let me know.

 

[TomSD]

Well I carb water and add syrup per glass so not really the same deal. Are you using any maltodextrin or other additives for body?

As for being ready in a week I have no idea. I carb straight water at 40 psi and around 42f for about a week and it is about ready... two weeks is for sure. I never shake it, I set and forget.

 

[Brewnanza]

No, I want it to be all natural ingredients. I think I will post the new thread for advices on carb water first and add syrup into the keg or I'll try to find the old thread in that topic.
I'm very new in soda any info would help.
Thank you for your time

 

[IrishBrewer74]

Has anyone used beer bottles for soda? I was thinking of making a full batch of Sprecher Rootbeer and bottling it all right away as apposed to having it sit in the keg. mainly for the convenience of not going to the basement bar to get one, but also thinking limited time in the keg may keep the rings from picking up flavor.

I don't want to buy a bunch of PET bottles and was wondering if glass beer bottles would be ok. The only concern I guess is the higher pressure. But I remember a time when all soda came in glass bottles with pry off caps.

Thoughts?

 

[TomSD]

I would think you would be fine doing that. You could even bottle condition instead of force carbing. Might want to Google around some to be sure though as I've never actually done it.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Has anyone used beer bottles for soda? I was thinking of making a full batch of Sprecher Rootbeer and bottling it all right away as apposed to having it sit in the keg. mainly for the convenience of not going to the basement bar to get one, but also thinking limited time in the keg may keep the rings from picking up flavor.

I don't want to buy a bunch of PET bottles and was wondering if glass beer bottles would be ok. The only concern I guess is the higher pressure. But I remember a time when all soda came in glass bottles with pry off caps.

Thoughts?

Yes, beer bottles work just fine. I have some Nittany Ale bottles that I'm using for that, as well as some Corona Extra bottles and some Guinness bottles, as well. I can attest to the fact that they work just fine.

The only time that they would explode is if you actually carbonated in them, in which case you'd be building up lots of pressure, sometimes without enough time to let it dissolve into solution.

When carbonating from a keg, you will get some pressure build up, but not any more than what's already in the keg. If you bottle from a BMBF, and you hold the stopper on until the flow stops, then you've equalized the pressure in the bottle with that of the keg. If it hasn't exploded at that point, then you should be fine.

Now if you heat them up from there, that's a different story.

I would think you would be fine doing that. You could even bottle condition instead of force carbing. Might want to Google around some to be sure though as I've never actually done it.

You can't bottle condition Sprecher because it's got preservatives. Other extracts you could bottle, but the thing you have to remember with soda is that because of the sugar content, fermentation will continue until all the sugar is gone, the only way you can stop it is with pasteurization, and as noted above, heating up pressurized bottles is not a good idea. That's the only time I've had a bottle accidentally explode.

 

[IrishBrewer74]

Thanks for the replies... I'd be carbing in the leg and just moving to bottles for storage and serving.

 

[TomSD]

Was grabbing something from Target and out of curiosity I grabbed a couple sodastream concentrates... the energy drink one and the root beer one. The main reasons for grabbing them were the price was decent, I have no desire to make an energy drink syrup by hand but do like to drink one on occasion and from a lazy stand point they seem like a perfect alternative for someone with carbed water on tap.

The math works out to about 2 tsp per 8 oz but if you've been following this thread you know I like my soda weak so I did 2 tsp per roughly 16 oz (seems to be the standard size for plastic serving cups you can get about anywhere) which came out about right. I might give 3 a shot just to see but it'll probably be too strong for me.

The root beer is pretty good and the energy drink tastes kinda like a Red Bull I think which was never my favorite of the energy drinks but I never really drank them for their flavor so it isn't a deal breaker. I can see me trying out some of the others as a lazy alternative to making syrups when I am not in the mood or want to try something different.

Oh and the mouth of the bottles is huge... big enough for my 2 tsp measuring spoon which saves me pouring and risking spillage or drips or whatever. I just open, dip the spoon in and go.

 

[toast26]

Just poured my first root beer using the carbed water and syrup method. Brilliant. The level of control and variety is going to be great going forward. Thanks, Tom, for the info. Using the bayonets for flow restriction, and even at 50psi I can pour a glass that holds carbonation for an entire pint. This thread should be pinned to the top of the forum, as it is perfect information for anyone looking for basic info on soda making.

I picked up a 6 pack of syrups from Prairie Moon, and could not be happier. I went from looking for a basic root beer recipe, and ended up with a home soda fountain. I am planning to start developing some syrups on my own, but these are perfect for starting out.

I'm curious, what flavors and brands are people having good luck with?

 

[jtcweb]

At one restaurant in Disney World they served Birch Beer, which I liked a lot. I would love to do this if anyone knows of a place to get the concentrate.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Rainbow, the brand in the brown and yellow boxes that you see at your LHBS, has a Birch Beer extract. I haven't tried it myself, but I do plan to in the near future. I have a coworker that's begging me to knock off a white birch beer, so we'll see how that goes.

 

[FTJoe]

Great thread. Just got a Sodastream and wanted to play around with some other flavorings. The idea of the PM extract intrigues me (and seems cheaper). We're sugar free consumers so I guess a Splenda or Equal generic is the best choice to create a syrup? Anyone have any recommendations as to what artificial sweetener to get and where (preferably online)?

Anyone familiar with this?

 

[Neilyboy]

Just shot my order through!!

Syrup Concentrate - 6 Pack
Flavor 1: Root Beer
Flavor 2: Blue Raspberry
Flavor 3: Chocolate Malted
Flavor 4: Sarsaparilla
Flavor 5 : Orange Dream
Flavor 6: Tigers Blood

Excited to give it a go!! Thanks for the great thread!!

Neil

 

[adivito]

Been doing this with the Prairie Moon concentrates for a little while now, and wanted to share the bottles I have been using.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=27656&catid=535&clickid=searchresults
super easy to mix, measured pours and fit in the fridge.

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=27656&catid=535&clickid=searchresults

 

[Neilyboy]

Been doing this with the Prairie Moon concentrates for a little while now, and wanted to share the bottles I have been using.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=27656&catid=535&clickid=searchresults
super easy to mix, measured pours and fit in the fridge.

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=27656&catid=535&clickid=searchresults

Thanks much for this!! I just ordered six!!
Grand Total: $19.72

 

[jtcweb]

Check out http://sweetzfree.com/ for what is basically liquid Splenda. It sounds expensive at $64 for 4 oz, but that is equal to 96 cups of sugar and goes a long way. For example I use only 2 drops for a 16 oz glass of iced tea.

 

[Mickeymoose]

Has anyone tried using Torani syrups? They come in tons of flavors, and I have easy access to them. Will they work with this soda water method?

 

[KingPin]

@TomSD -- I recently tried the PM concentrates but am having a heck of a time with getting the strength of the syrup right. I have followed 1 oz concentrate to 20 oz water and about 2.5 to 2 3/4 cups sugar then using, currently, up to 4 Table Spoons of the mix to 16 OZ of carbonated water.........its coming out very weak even at that point.

I'm wondering what i'm doing wrong....any suggestions?

Thanks,
King

 

[mappler]

You are still using less syrup than specified by Prarie Moon. Tom, and many of us, prefer less syrup. You may not. 4 tablespoons = 2 oz. You are using 2 oz + 16 oz water, or 2oz of syrup for an 18oz drink. Prarie Moon recommends 2 oz syrup + 10 oz water, or 2 oz for a 12 oz drink. 3 oz of syrup in an 18 oz drink would give you the same 1/6 syrup/drink ration.

This assumes you made the syrup to Prarie Moon's specs, which it sounds like you did.
-Matt

 

[KingPin]

So what would the appropriate ration be for a strongly flavored 16 OZ drink??? assuming I made the syrup to PM's specifications........

 

[mappler]

They just specify a 1 / 6 ratio. So, for 16 oz that would be 2.6 oz of syrup, and then filled up with carbonated water. If you want more flavor, I would us 3-3.5 oz.

-Matt

 

[FTJoe]

Check out http://sweetzfree.com/ for what is basically liquid Splenda. It sounds expensive at $64 for 4 oz, but that is equal to 96 cups of sugar and goes a long way. For example I use only 2 drops for a 16 oz glass of iced tea.

Hey jtcweb (or anyone with an opinion) I see references to folks saying Ezsweetz is cheaper than Sweetzfree. I notice the Ezsweetz site shows the 2 oz bottle makes 10 lbs of sugar equivalent and costs $13. So the 10 lbs is roughly 18 cups which seems to cost a little more than Sweetzfree. But there's also a concentrated form of Ezsweetz that costs $22 for 1.5 oz which supposedly makes roughly about 26 cups so about the same price point as the more diluted version.

Anyone have any experience with both and can offer an opinion? I am still struggling with how much PM concentrate and sweetner to use in a 30 oz bottle of carbonated water especially when based on "drops". I use 2 teaspoons of PM concentrate and around 20 drops of the concentrated Ezsweetz but I'm at a loss as to how much that actually is sugar equivalent wise. Supposedly that would be around 3 quarters of a cup of sugar as they claim 6 drops is a quarter cup equivalent but that seems like alot.

 

[mugzz819]

Has anyone tried using Torani syrups? They come in tons of flavors, and I have easy access to them. Will they work with this soda water method?

I used to work for a coffee shop that put them over ice and added seltzer water...it's not quite like the soda we're used to but it was tasty. I think they called them Italian sodas but not sure about any authenticity behind that.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

I used to work for a coffee shop that put them over ice and added seltzer water...it's not quite like the soda we're used to but it was tasty. I think they called them Italian sodas but not sure about any authenticity behind that.

Having lived in Italy: no, I don't believe there's much authenticity behind that. Unless it's a regional thing somewhere I didn't stay.

Typically an "Italian" soda is a "less sweet" soda than what you would find elswhere. Which I guess may be authentic, as Italians don't tend to prefer things as sweet as Americans. If you want a frame of reference, buy yourself some San Pellegrino Chinotto.

I've used the Monin syrups and was very pleased with the results. They're targeted at the same market as Torani and are very similar.

The Granny Smith Apple makes a great soda that tastes like an exact match to the Jones Green Apple soda.

 

[Lisn2me]

Great thread.
Now that I have my Kegerator my Family wants Soda so I ordered some PM concentrate earlier this week. Reading through this I will need to start carbing the Water today if I want it ready for the 4th, we do a big shin dig with a great fireworks show at the end and soda on tap would be a good addition for the kids and adults that don’t partake in my beers.

For those that are using maltrodextrin in your syrup, how much are you adding to the concentrate? I like the idea of additional mouth feel but not too much.

Thanks.

 

[msa8967]

Tried reading every page of this thread to find the answer to my question but couldn't isolate it.

If I want to make 5 gallons of this for precarbed soda how much of the 4 oz bottle should I use? I have been using other brands but most don't knock my socks off as one poster said so I am wanting to try something new and also try using a sugar alternative like splenda or nutra sweet. Can anyone recommend which might be the best alternative to sugar to use?

 

[opteek]

Yeah about an ounce of syrup makes 16 ounces of soda... it will be to flavor of course so your mileage may vary. I wish the pumps had a bigger draw on them but sixteen isn't as much work as it sounds, lol.

As stated in the thread, it's flavored to taste but a good starting point is right here 1:16 so using that ratio you would need 40 ounces of syrup for 5 gallons (640 oz) of water. So 10 4 oz bottles, or you could get a bigger one

 

[adivito]

As stated in the thread, it's flavored to taste but a good starting point is right here 1:16 so using that ratio you would need 40 ounces of syrup for 5 gallons (640 oz) of water. So 10 4 oz bottles, or you could get a bigger one

This is incorrect because you have to figure the concentrate ratio first. (19 oz water & 2 3/4 lb sugar) 1 oz of that concentrate is what you are referencing so its not 40 oz.