Konrad,

A simple solution would be to get a Soda Stream. They now have recyclable CO2 canisters.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soda Stream Canada

Yes, ..have looked into this, a local store carries it.
Most complain about the refill's not readily available and pretty expensive.

I thought getting a large, about 20lb bottle,..it will last forever. Fill bottles using a tire valve on the cap/bottle,..fill the same as you would inflate a tire. First, fill juice about about half full, add CO2 then shake, fill the rest from another bottle already carbonated. At times, I want to empty a keg completely, filling about 20, 2L bottles.

But,...I sort of came to the conclusion, CO2 doesn't absorb well into the juice, ...it does a little but it will go flat in a matter of a couple of minutes.

Well...just a idea, if it doesn't work not a big deal, as is, it's very nice, ...if it would have that bubbly fizz, it would be a WOW!

It's a shame, there is so much natural CO2 in in Keg but I loose mostly all when filling.
Had the idea of shaking the keg first, but I'm afraid it would ruin the taste when mixing again with sediments. I need to try this in a bottle first.

Will do more testing with cold water added, ..it might be better for you anyway then drinking straight juice,...is it??

This post was edited by konrad___far_north on Tue, Jan 22, 13 at 1:55

Konrad,

Would it be possible to concentrate your juice? That way you could simply co2 the water and add your concentrate to the water. You would have your sparkling seltzer water yet you could control the fruit taste with your own concentrate added after the co2 process.

for beer, the norm when not fermenting to carbonate is to fill a 5 gal soda keg and then put30-60lbs of CO2 on the keg. you will need a 5lb co2 tank and a regulator as well as the appropriate hoses/connectors.
you leave the pressure "hot" or actively connected to the co2 tank. Then you wait a few days, or if in a big rush shake shake shake....but it works best if your just patient. When ready to sere, you drop the pressure to 5lbs or so.
Works best when everything is cold.

I would thik this would work just fine for juice too.....I hae done it with sweet cider.

I use Robs method, it works like a charm. You need about $100 to invest in some used soda kegs and a CO2 tank. The CO2 and kegs are useful for many things, once you have them you can serve your juice directly out of the kegs just like a beer tap. I also use my CO2 tank to blanket the top of any opened vessel, to minimize contamination. I use no sulphur ever, and have never had a batch go bad in ten years.

Scott

scott,

I am not clear on your last statement. Are you finding the pressure alone adequate to keep spoilage at bay on carbonated juice or a fermented beverage? For how long? under refrigeration?
I only did sweet cider once, and we used it up fro a party within a few days. I assumed other unfermented juice would hae a short lifespan (2 weeks?) without some sort of sulfite or pasteurization?

We make lacto fermented soda pop. Probiotic beverages are good for your gut. Check out the link. The possibilities are endless for recipes, works great with fruit juices and I don't even need to invest in a keg, tank, etc. If you're interested I'll even share my spicy ginger ale recipe (if you give me credit for creating it):-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Lacto Soda Pop article

Rob, by "blanket" I just mean squirting a bunch of CO2 into the open space at the top, so there is never any oxygen or other contamination. Every time I close a carboy I squirt some CO2 in to clear out the O2. The fermentation is not under CO2 pressure, its just with a standard airlock.

WF, have you tried that with fruit juice? It might be challenging to keep the lactic while flushing out the yeast. The lactic starter is likely to have some natural yeast in it.

Scott

Yes, I have tried it with fruit juice. The lactobacilli eat a lot of the sugars to make the carbonation and the result is a bit on the dry side but I like it. Orange juice is a bit funky so I wouldn't recommend that but apple, pear, etc. is yummy. I've also lacto-fermented many store bought juices with good result like mango, cherry, etc.

I did invest in a bunch of grolsch beer bottles....one visit to the liquor store at at time. haha. Bottling needs to be done when the bubbling airlock just starts to slow down. Then once in the bottle it coasts a bit and builds up the carbonation. I like to have one plastic water bottle with the batch as a tester. If I squeeze it and its soft, let it sit out at room temp a bit longer. If the bottle is firm, in the fridge with it all. Home brewed beer will have a bunch of sediment on the bottom of the bottle if not kegged. The lacto-soda will have very little if any sediment. Hope someone tries this! Starting your own culture to begin the whole process is fun and kids love it.

Wow, the thought of fermenting fruit juice in an entirely closed keg scares the heck out of me. I sure hope it has a good pressure-release safety valve!

From making beer and cider, I ferment a batch in a 5 gallon glass carboy, with a bubbling airlock to keep it sterile. But I ferment it until all fermentation has ended, then stir in 1.5 cups of corn sugar (or 1.3 cups white sugar) and bottle it, which yields about 22-one litre bottles or 66 beer bottles.

That added sugar then ferments in the bottles and carbonates the brew. The amount of sugar I add is actually about double what most recipes call for because I like a lot of carbonation. You are obviously using far more sugar than me if you are fermenting the fresh juice in a pressure vessel. Why you lose that carbonation is a bit of mystery to me because home-brewed beer and cider keep their carbonation as well as commercial brews.

Sometimes brewers add "heading agents" to their beer if they have trouble maintaining carbonation. The problem is due to a lack of proteins in the brew, as proteins seem to be needed to hold onto the gas bubbles. Maybe that is your problem... lack of proteins in the fruit juice? Anyway, thought I'd mention it in case you wanted to look it up a little more or talk to someone at one of the local homebrew stores.

One other thought... are you using a commercial wine yeast to ferment the juice? Or relying on natural yeasts that get onto the fruit? I'm not sure that would have any effect on the final carbonation, but a commercial yeast would give a more consistent product.

Thank you all!
You all seem to have a different scenario,..this is a fairly new system I adopted from Europe, kegs made with heavy stainless steel, [see link] beer or soda pop kegs are not save for fermentation,..can explode.

I can determine more or less the outcome on alcohol content,..fill it just about full, less air space = less alcohol, more airspace=more alcohol, sure, sugar content in apple juice will also be a factor, ..I don't add anything.

Here is a link that might be useful: KEGs for juice and fruit wine.

I've been reading a bit more,...guess I'm not alone.

Looks like adding juice into carbonated water is the way to go.

Here is a link that might be useful: What happens if you carbonate something other than water with a Sodastream?

Konrad I know this is an old post but when I was a kid the old guys always made our soda pop in a pickle crock and they would add some dry ice by wearing gloves to carbonate the root beer they made from scratch. Another method for carbonating pop they could use but typically didn't was to add wine yeast to the mix that puts off co2 and alcohol and bottle it up right away and drink within a couple of weeks (about as much alcohol as near beer). Yet another quick method I remember for ginger ale as I got older was adding water, sugar, lemon, ginger and bread yeast in varying amounts to a 2 liter bottle and drinking it later that day or the next day when it carbonated. Has anyone ever canned juice in old bottles? I'm curious if they can be sterilized in a hot water bath canner , recapped and canned like anything else? I found a youtube video where they use glass bottles but not pop bottles like what I would like to use to can juice in.

Here is a link that might be useful: canning in bottles