So Sodastreams.....

[stu]

Today, my cheep-cheep sodastream turned up. And my lager is flatter than a witches t*t (something I'm determined to find out. The only witch I know is a fella).

So I decided to try force-carbonating my lager.

Things I learned.

1. Put the lager in a proper sodastream bottle. A grolsch bottle is not a suitable container for putting directly onto the gas pipe.
2. When the lager is in the bottle (filled to the line), it isn't a good idea to take the bottle off as soon as you have gassed it. It has a tendency to simply remove itself from the bottle in the form of foam.
3. If you gas it and you gentle remove it, let a bit of air out, tighten and repeat, after about 3 or 4 times it stops foaming up.

However, it's still not particularly fizzy. I would call it lightly sparkling. I gave it 4 squirts, but I'm a bit worried about doing any more in case the bottle explodes or isn't capable of taking that much pressure.

Any ideas how I can get it like really fizzy?

 

[Zedilly]

The soda stream bottles won't explode as there is a blow off valve within the machine to stop over pressurising (there is in mine anyway), you'll know when the valve is working coz it sounds like a wet fart being passed through tissue paper over a comb.

 

[scott-ayling]

put lager in the freezer first before putting in sodastream? as the colder the liquid the more co2 absorbed

 

[stu]

It's one of the new-fangled Genesis ones and apparently, yes, it does have a valve.
Tomorrow, I'll load it up until the valve starts.

Any ideas how many squirts that'll be?

Scott, not sure about freezer, but I'm happy to try it with some heavily chilled bottles.

 

[Zedilly]

It's one of the new-fangled Genesis ones and apparently, yes, it does have a valve.
Tomorrow, I'll load it up until the valve starts.

Any ideas how many squirts that'll be?

Depends how big your squirts are, mine usually farts after 4 good ones but mine isn't a Genesis.

 

[Andyhull]

Just hold it down until it starts gassing off.
Not sure you'll get the sort of carbonation your looking for from a soda stream though, i tried it once and got the same results (OK but not great)!
It takes a while for the gas to be absorbed properly so you will only get a slight sparkling effect to it.

Why is your brew flat?

 

[stu]

Just hold it down until it starts gassing off.
Not sure you'll get the sort of carbonation your looking for from a soda stream though, i tried it once and got the same results (OK but not great)!
It takes a while for the gas to be absorbed properly so you will only get a slight sparkling effect to it.

Why is your brew flat?

When I primed it, I left it in the kitchen (14c) and 2 weeks later it's still flat.

I took some of the bottles after week 1 and put them in the airing cupboard so I have hope.

 

[Andyhull]

I have never had a flat brew :pray:

They need the same temp to secondary ferment in the bottle as the whole brew does in the FV.
I usually do 2 weeks minimum secondary at around 20c and have never had a flat brew.
I used the soda stream once as i wanted one of my bottles after only 2 days in the bottle, never again :lol:

They'll be good in the end if you keep them warm for a couple of weeks :thumb:

 

[stu]

I have never had a flat brew :pray:

They need the same temp to secondary ferment in the bottle as the whole brew does in the FV.
I usually do 2 weeks minimum secondary at around 20c and have never had a flat brew.
I used the soda stream once as i wanted one of my bottles after only 2 days in the bottle, never again :lol:

They'll be good in the end if you keep them warm for a couple of weeks :thumb:

I will move some over once the others have been in the airing cupboard a couple of weeks.
I have aquarium heaters in the FVs to maintain temperature.

I can only get ~20 in at a time. I have 50 odd bottles and I'm about to do the same to 40 pints of Pear Cider which is currently sat in secondary @20c so I'll then have 75 bottles queued up.

 

[Andyhull]

I just sit mine next to the radiator in the kitchen, usually holds temp from 15c on a night to 22 durin the day (we turn the heating off on a night time.

I have had them behind the couch before in the livingroom but we have a cream carpet now instead of polished floor boards so SWMBO said NO to that now. :cry: :lol:

 

[stu]

I just sit mine next to the radiator in the kitchen, usually holds temp from 15c on a night to 22 durin the day (we turn the heating off on a night time.

I have had them behind the couch before in the livingroom but we have a cream carpet now instead of polished floor boards so SWMBO said NO to that now. :cry: :lol:

And there lies the problem.

I have a 30 foot kitchen with 1 small radiator. It gets proper cold in there.
Everywhere else (apart from bathroom) has carpet. We keep the bathroom windows ajar (for obvious reasons).

I'd like to do the hot cupboard thing, but SWMBO says I'm not allowed to spend any more money.

Roll on the summer when this shouldn't be a problem!

 

[Andyhull]

Can you not put them in a box?

http://www.therange.co.uk/clear-42l-und ... oduct/6715

Just a thought!

 

[stu]

Can you not put them in a box?

http://www.therange.co.uk/clear-42l-und ... oduct/6715

Just a thought!

HOw would I do that?

After the tub leaked, I'm wary about having water in anything that isn't specifically designed for it (I live in a first floor maisonette so don't fancy a leak through to downstairs).

 

[Andyhull]

:lol:
I don't mean submerge them in water, what i mean is stand the bottles upright in it to avoid any spillage whilst on the carpet in a warm room!

 

[stu]

:lol:
I don't mean submerge them in water, what i mean is stand the bottles upright in it to avoid any spillage whilst on the carpet in a warm room!

Ah I see. Good idea.

One of my son's is only with us every other weekend. His room is the warmest in the house. I'll put them up there.

 

[Andyhull]

:thumb:

 

[ScottM]

Hahahaha, if only you had asked before you tried it I could have saved you a LOAD of hassle as I went through all this.

Firstly, not sure if it's been mentioned, you can vent the gas by pulling the bottom of the bottle towards you while still tightened onto the sodastream. This is a feature to vent off excess pressure before unscrewing. It works fantastic and makes keeping things clean and foam free soooo much easier.

Ok, the process...

1 Fill up Sodastream bottle with beer.
2 Place filled sodastream in the fridge for a few hours, or the freezer for 30 minutes.
3 Attach bottle with beer to sodastream and give a few injections until the gas vents.
4 Leave it well alone for at least 20 minutes, or until the foam dies all the way down.
5 Lever the bottom of the bottle, as described above, to vent off the excess pressure. Once it starts to foam, leave it again for 20 minutes or until the foam dies down.
6 Repeat until it is safe to unscrew the bottle from the sodastream.
7 Place the lid on the bottle and put in the fridge till the desired temp is reached.
8 Enjoy.


I've not tried this with beer, I've only done it with cider. With this in mind, beer has a lot more body than cider so getting a decent fizz in there might be a bit harder as the increased body will lead to foam that is hard to dissipate.

Good luck with it anyway, let me know how you get on with it. I've got a LOVELY lager here that's still priming in the bottle but I would love a premature taste of it fizzy (already had a premature taste of it flat and it's fantastic).

 

[GaryG]

I cant help tasting a bottle of mine every other morning. Thats about 8 bottles gone now : Lovely but still a tad flat and thats been 11/12 days in a warm room. I do put the bottles in the freezer for 15 minutes with the glass to cool it down. Its such a lovely pint. :drink:


Gary.

 

[loady]

you'll know when the valve is working coz it sounds like a wet fart being passed through tissue paper over a comb.

:rofl: how did you discover that noise LOL...that is so going in my book of profannities.