honey pop

[AlpineJean]

I saw a mention of "honey pop" on a web site recently. I am wondering if you know how to make it and if it's like mead but just not as long or complicated to make.

Also, guys, what does "gf" stand for when it's being used for a wife? I figured out SWMBO

[Ben Brewcat]

It's usually non-alcoholic, and the yeast is used to carbonate a beverage sweetened with honey. Be careful with these recipes! Most of them are recipes for bottle bombs, as they have no provision for stopping the ferment. Avoid (well, change) recipes that call for champagne yeast; use a dry ale yeast instead. Make one bottle in a plastic soda bottle. Then you know when it's carbonated... it gets rigid. Then put the whole batch in the fridge, where ale yeast goes dormant.

Let us know what you're looking at recipewise and we can suggest some safe, yummy possibilities I'm sure! Having made some serious amounts of soda over the years, I can't overemphasize the safety risk of bottle grenades which most "grand-paw"-type recipes allow .

But the main difference is that although you use yeast, it's only for carbonation. And since the tiny amount of fermentation that carbonation requires rarely uses all the O2 in solution, there's no alcohol bacause the yeast never switch to anaerobic fermentation (aerobic fermentation does not produce ETOH). Neat, huh?

[AlpineJean]

Very neat. I don't have any recipes at all and wondered where I might find some. Also, my husband brought home some regular yeast like for making bread....obviously that's the wrong kind for mead etc. So, where is a good place to get the appropriate yeasts and yeast nutrient? I see that Dadant carries it but don't know if that's really the best vendor for this sort of thing.

[Ben Brewcat]

I'm not sure where Alpine is, but check around your area's yellow pages for a homebrewing or winemaking shop. Also online are William's Brewing, Beer Beer and More Beer, and lots of other good vendors. There's even one in Texas somewhere Saint Pat's Homebrew Supply , though I've heard some pretty spotty reports about their customer service (no personal experience).

As far as recipes go, I've never made straight honey soda. I've sweetened soda recipes with honey instead of sugar... I like the rainbow extracts 'cuz they're inexpensive and I like the flavor. I make five gallons out of the four gallon concentrate, because I like a less intense (and certainly less sweet) soda than the Mountain Dew generation has become habituated to. The Gnome extracts in B3 or Williams I've tried but are not as much my style. Here's a page on homebrewing soda; they recommend Hoptech's extracts. I haven't used them personally, but they are a class outfit (they were one of our suppliers when I managed our local homebrew shop) with good service and attention to quality.

Are you looking to make mead, soda, or both?

[AlpineJean]

Both ! Do you still have a shop?

[Ben Brewcat]

Nope, I've moved on since then but still consult with a lot of the old crew that came. Had a, uh, difference with the ownership that proved insurmountable, and parted on good terms. This forum has been great too; I'm a totally new beekeeper, and I like to think I can make a little contribution in return here. Be sure to check out the Intro, found on the meadmaking page for a brief summary of some meadmaking tips/techniques if you're interested.

[AlpineJean]

Right, thanks I will check it out.

[wayacoyote]

Anyone doing this?

[PCM]

Brewcat;
You stired up old memories, during the war everything was rationed, but home brew was made by most everyone. In shotgun houses with no cellers the brew was stored under the beds, in the middle of the nite one or two would "uncap" by itself you would wake up real quick.

When you opened the bottles you did it very carefully, so as to not bend the cap, so they could be reused if possible.

PCM

[Barry]

Anyone doing this?

did it!

http://www.beesource.com/eob/hs.htm

[Zane]

Thanks Barry, Thats a nice recipe and description. I'm gonna try it too!!!!

I've used EC Kraus(Its local) and Williams Brewing and recommended from Brewcat above both are helpful and quick shipping. You might also look in the phone book for "Homebrew Supplies" you might be surprised there may be one close. That saves you time and maybe shipping but normally they cost a little more washing the shipping cost. If you have a Homebrew shop close? see if they have a brewclub and/or brewclass' to get an idea how VERY VERY simple it is!!
One thing to note on this recipe. If you use rootbeer extract is permeates into the bucket and could give you off flavors to your next beer/mead batch so have an extra bucket for rootbeer induced recipes if possible. I've made many styles of rootbeer years ago and have my own bucket for it. I was up in the attic and smelled it 10' away after 6 yrs since my last brew!!!!

Brewcat- thanks for the info on the "gnome" brands I always wanted to try them but the cost always sent me to the others Williams had. I might try rainbow if I can find it. Also Which Brewery did you manage? I may have partook of your malted beverage's and not known it! I've been known to try a few breweries to quench the thirst! or test for freshness or help out a local business or

[Ben Brewcat]

It was a homebrew shop actually. I never wanted to wear the boots for a living, you just don't get to experiment enough!

[wayacoyote]

Is dry ale yeast dry "ale yeast" or "dry-ale yeast"? I found some liquid "ale yeast".

[Zane]

Some like the liquid yeast better. I like it too but the cost is what holds me back. "Dry" Dry yeast is type of yeast. Just like Dry wine it gives a "dry" finish like a Cabernet or Merlot and sweet is more like a Chardanay. for example in comparison. I'm not a big wine guy so just use this as an example.

[Ben Brewcat]

It's confusing! But dry ale yeast is ale yeast that's been dried. A beer's attenuation (degree of sugars fermented out) is determined way more by the mashing process than by the strain; most ale strains attenuate pretty similarly to each other (though there are differences). Beers have a lot of unfermented sugars (except for the Frankenbeers) so dryness isn't a term you hear in beer analysis a lot. You could use liquid but for these purposes it doesn't matter at all.

[wayacoyote]

Thanks, Ben.
So I'll try to pick up some dry "ale yeast" and give this a try.

[wayacoyote]

Ok, we've got the ingredients and the plastic bottles, now i'm ready to "brew". One of my favorite carbonated drinks is "Squirt". It is flavored with Grapefruit. I also like "The Switch" which is a brand of carbonated fruit juices... And I have a few pounds of citrus fruit that I purchased just to make some of my own.

My wife mentioned that our juicer machine makes fruit juice. We're concerned that adding water will dilute the flavor. Yes, we could use a "flavor" additive, but we're trying to avoid that.

What do you think I should do to get the fruit juice carbonated without diluting the flavor?

[mattoleriver]

What do you think I should do to get the fruit juice carbonated without diluting the flavor?

I'm sorry, but it's late and I'm getting just a little confused. Are you trying to carbonate fruit juice or are you trying to carbonate an alcoholic beverage?
If you carbonate fruit juice with yeast you WILL get alcohol. The yeast will consume the sugar in the fruit juice producing alcohol and CO2 so the resulting beverage will be quite sour---really, really sour!---and full of CO2.
It would be very simple, though not inexpensive, to use bottled CO2 to carbonate fruit juice in 2 liter soda bottles. I often carbonate water and nothing could be easier. Unfortunately I probably have $150-$200 invested in CO2 tank, regulator, hoses and fittings. Once you have the hardware the CO2 is very inexpensive.

George

[wayacoyote]

George,
Yes, I'm trying to make honey soda pop- non alcoholic. It is commonly done but done with "flavor additives." I'm hoping to make something all-natural. With Ben Brewcat's guidance, I've purchased dry ale yeast for the recipe instead of Champain yeast. It becomes inactive when refridgerated. The process is to allow enough fermintation to occur to carbonate the beverage, and then refridgerate it to stop the process before it goes alcoholic.

While this is common practice, do you think the fruit juice will mess it up and make me a wine maker instead of a pop maker? I would think that the chilling temperature would stop that. So my concern, unless I need to add more concerns, is how to flavor the beverage with natural fruit juice.

Thanks, George

[Baloo]

Ben Brewcat is right on.


You can carbonate the juices the same way, just make sure that they don't have any preservatives. If you are adding yeast for carbonation, I really don't think it would make it to the point where you are getting any alcohol. Even if you did it would be a trace amount, probably even less than non-alcoholic beer. There is a book at my work that you might want to order if you are getting into sodas:

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/produc...ducts_id=10177

As long as you keep them cold (after they are carbonated), you shouldn't have any "hand grenades". Just make sure if you are putting these in bottles they are NOT the screw off kind.