Books?

[Super_Dork_42]

I've got some friends and I going into brewing and I decided to be the soda master of the group. I want to know if there are any really good soda brewing books out there, specifically ones that can hopefully be found at the local library or for free download online. What are the best sodamaking books out there that include brewing with yeast?

 

[MrFoodScientist]

I have a list here:http://homemadesodaexpert.blogspot.com/p/links-and-references.html

From that list,
Stephen Cresswell's book was the only one for a while that was wholly dedicated to homemade soda. (Homemade Root Beer, Soda & Pop, 1998). I think this is the most likely to be at your library. It's what got me started, and I found it at the library next to the homebrew books (some of which have decent root beer recipes, though I can't remember which ones).

Andrew Schloss has a handful of yeast recipes (Homemade Soda, 2011), but not all the recipes in the book are adapted to being yeast brewed. Which is not to say they couldn't be adaptable with the right now how. I think you'd probably find that one at your local library.

Sandor Ellix Katz has a smattering of soda "recipes" though it's more of a reference book than a recipe book in that it doesn't give exact amounts. (Art of Fermentation, 2012). I found this at my library recently.

Emma Christensen's book has a decent enough section for sodas and they're all fermented. She has a pretty good discussion on technique as well. (True Brews, 2013) I found this at my library.

My book has fermentation instructions for all the recipes, so there's that shameless plug. (Making Soda at Home, 2014) See the signature below, it's not really on the list referenced above. I don't know if you'll find that one at the library, though. I know mine doesn't have it. (yet) Plus I'm always here to answer questions.

Anton Nocito's book (Make Your Own Soda: Syrup Recipes, 2013) and Andrea Lynn's book (Artisan Soda Workshop, 2012) are strictly syrup recipes. They have good flavors, but save these for when you have a pretty good handle on adapting recipes to yeast carbonation (which really won't take long at all for someone who's brewing beer). I found Nocito's book at the library, but I don't think I've seen Lynn's book there (FYI it's small). I haven't gone through it, but from what I can tell Jill Houk's The Complete Soda Making Book (not on the list above) is also just a syrup recipe book targeted at SodaStream users, which IMO kind of makes the "complete" a bit of a misnomer. May or may not be at your library.

Those are the ones I'm familiar with, there may be a few more out there. I haven't really looked for a while. I hope that helps.

 

[Super_Dork_42]

Thanks. Lots of things to ask for them to get in apparently. They only seem to have one soda making book, one soda history book, and one soda memorabilia book. The one about making soda is Homemade Soda. I also like the idea of finding recipes for syrups for soda stream stuff and adapting it to yeast carbonation. I'll definitely be using you as a resource as I move forward. First thing I'd like to ask is, do you have any experience brewing soda with coconut sugar? I've heard from some beer brewers on reddit that it adds a creaminess to the end product that can be really great, and that they think it would shine even more in soda.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

I've never used it, but I have heard that it has a little different profile than cane sugar, almost like a light brown sugar. It's on my list of things to try, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I would expect it can be used the same way and the same amount as white sugar.

 

[Super_Dork_42]

Would this one be a good book? I saw it on Google Play and put it on my wishlist. https://play.google.com/store/books..._Make_Homemade_Soda_Instantly?id=k7wnAwAAQBAJ

I know it's suggesting buying the syrups, but I think combining it with learning how to make that myself could be a good idea. At the very least it lets me see how to convert a syrup into a soda.

Also, has anyone made a pancake syrup (homemade, not store bought of course) into a soda before? If not there's a really great recipe I'd live to try it with.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Would this one be a good book? I saw it on Google Play and put it on my wishlist. https://play.google.com/store/books..._Make_Homemade_Soda_Instantly?id=k7wnAwAAQBAJ

I know it's suggesting buying the syrups, but I think combining it with learning how to make that myself could be a good idea. At the very least it lets me see how to convert a syrup into a soda.

From the sample that I looked at (which was one page), it looks like it probably has just the basics, stuff that you'd find elsewhere on the internet. The basic recipe states that it's using "syrups" with sugar and yeast, but what they really mean to say is "flavor extracts". The photo shows the Rainbow brand extracts typically found at homebrew stores. There's a difference between "extract" and "syrup" that this book isn't distinguishing.

I've never tried pancake syrup for a soda, but it probably depends on the quality of the syrup. Real maple syrup would probably work out pretty well. Any homemade recipe for pancake syrup is probably perfect if it's just sugar, flavor, and water. If it has any butter or dairy ingredients in it, I'd steer clear. Fruit syrups would be ok, but beware of pulp and seeds, they act as nucleation sites to pull CO2 out of solution. If it's a store bought "pancake syrup" it's likely to have gums in it that will make it difficult to mix if adding to carbonated water and possibly preservatives that will make it difficult to ferment if using yeast.