Strawberry Soda

We drink a lot of milk, water and tea here at the house. I pretty much don't keep soda at the house since neither of us really drink a whole lot of it. It's really too sweet for my taste except on rare occasions...(root beer floats are an exception :D). The last time I got sick, I found and tried a recipe for homemade ginger ale. Ginger is supposed to be good for upset stomachs, coughs and sore throats, and since I don't believe storebought ginger ale has an actual ginger in the ingredient list, I decided to make my own. (I also get bored when I get sick!!)

So, anyway, the ginger ale recipe wasn't too bad really. Today, I was bored with our usual list of drink options, so I decided to try something new..... strawberry soda. Who knows what it will turn out tasting like, but might as well try and see what it turns out like! Here it is brewing on the back patio table.


And in case you're wondering what goes in this brew:

• 1/4 tsp regular yeast, (not rapid rise kind; also, I hear the yeast used for making beer leaves less of a "yeasty" taste but I've always just used the regular kind of yeast you would make bread with)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• ~10-12 frozen strawberries that were nuked in the microwave for a minute to thaw and then mashed into pulp and juice
• water to fill up the 2-liter bottle

Combine all ingredients in the bottle, shaking to mix the sugar and yeast with the water and strawberries. (It's easier to shake up if you fill the bottle partially with water, shake until dissolved, then fill the rest of the way with water). Then let sit (without opening the bottle top) for somewhere between 12-36 hours (time depends on environment, mainly temperature), until the bottle feels hard on the outside - like soda you buy in the store. Then put it in the fridge and drink when it gets cooled off.

The way it works:
When the yeast and the sugar combine, they produce two biproducts. Carbon dioxide, which gives you the effect of soda, is the main biproduct. If you don't refrigerate after the bottle gets pressurized, the yeast will continue to "eat" the sugar and continue to make carbon dioxide and eventually blow up the bottle from the pressure. I've not ever done this, but could be messy, entertaining or dangerous depending on where you are and what you're doing :) (Of course, this is also why it's a good idea to use plastic and not glass for your brew container).

The other bi-product is sugar alcohol. However, unless you let it sit for a long time (taking care to make sure the bottle doesn't explode!) you will only get trace amounts of it. Not enough to notice at all. Apparently this is how you make homemade beer. I didn't realize the sugar alcohol was a biproduct until someone I work with that prides himself on a good homemade brew brought it up. Learned something new :)

Anyway, I'm setting it outside to try and speed up the whole "bubbly" process. I'll let you know how it turned out!