Buying commercial soda in kegs?

[Paradigm]

Hi guys,

I know this isn't technically soda brewing, but I figured you all would be the best to ask. Normally we homebrew and keg our beers, but we're planning on a dry spell for a bit and want to keep the kegerator in use.

We're huge fans of Coke Zero, but I can't find any information of getting a corny keg of it. Probably because "soda keg" is a term for the keg itself, not the contents.

Thanks!

 

[Zinc_Saucier]

I'm pretty sure you're out of luck. First because the soda companies have gone to bag-in-a-box containers for their syrup (hence why we can get retired corny kegs). So you'd be hard pressed to find Coke Zero in a keg in the first place.

Second what would be packed into a keg would just be the syrup, so you'd need a way to mix it with water and carbonate at the same time (usually pretty pricey equipment).

Sorry for the bad news. (Of course you could buy a whole lot of bottles and try and fill your own keg if you just want to have it on tap...)

 

[Paradigm]

Argh, damn! Thanks for the reply though!

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Soda is still available in pre-mix tanks. A wise beverage distributor will have it on hand for concessions stands where there is no access to water and/or electricity.
Call up your local Coke bottler and ask about the possiblilty of buying coke zero as a 5 gal pre-mix. I called about getting some Pepsi products for an event about 3 years ago in Idaho and the distributor I called was charging (I think) about $28 for a 5 gal keg and the dispensing unit rental was free if you did 3 or more kegs. Not that you'll need the dispenser.
Anyway, my point is, you'll want to ask about the availability of pre-mix in 5 gal tanks. They'll know what you're talking about. And yes, they will want the empty tank back when you're done. I asked about that, too.

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

Had to pickup soda kegs for a fundraiser in Tamworth last summer, should be no problem. Just lookup the # for the local Coke distributor, I believe that would be in Seabrook for you.

 

[Zinc_Saucier]

Well...how about that. Guess I'll just shut up now

 

[JayDubWill]

If you have Sam's Club near you, they sell quite a few soda syrups in 1 gallon bags. Each bag will make 6 gallons of soda, more than will fit in a corny so you'll need to take 26 ounces of syrup and save it for the next batch. Another option is to buy sodastream syrups. It takes 1.5 bottles for a 5 gallon corny and their cola zero is not bad, orange-mango is pretty good too.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

If you have Sam's Club near you, they sell quite a few soda syrups in 1 gallon bags. Each bag will make 6 gallons of soda, more than will fit in a corny so you'll need to take 26 ounces of syrup and save it for the next batch. Another option is to buy sodastream syrups. It takes 1.5 bottles for a 5 gallon corny and their cola zero is not bad, orange-mango is pretty good too.

I've only ever seen 5gal BIB at Sam's Club. Which comes to 30gal of finished beverage.

EDIT: Just searched and did see some off-brand 1gal BIBs on their website, I didn't know they carried those.

 

[JayDubWill]

If it needs to be coke zero, they have it in 2.5 gallon bags, but it looks like it's not available in all stores. Amazon has it as well, but it's some expensive stuff. You're best bet flavor/price wise would be to give the soda stream cola zero syrup a shot.