Seltzer with Lemon Safety (Off - Topic)

[skokott]

I know I probably won't make any friends with this clearly off topic question but maybe I'll catch some homebrew experts in a good mood (You guys usually are).

I want to fill one of my Cornys with water and lemons and carb it.

Any chance of infections?

I imagine not with carbed water but not sure if the acid from lemons/limes will aid in staving off nasties due to dropping pH or invite it

 

[daft]

No idea but sounds interesting and not so off topic. So many folks like the idea of carbed water but the reality around here is ghastly. I think I figured out why. All our water comes from porous volcanic rock, and the labs rate it as extremely pure. But now I can put my finger on the taste - the horrible sulphuric etc outgas of an active volcano. I thought the lab checked for dissolved gasses but we seem to have it in spades.

 

[passedpawn]

I don't see a problem. I think lots of people here carbonate water.

 

[skokott]

Yeah carbonated water I don't see any problem with but once I introduce the lemons, not sure what that will do

 

[tjmac5071]

I have been planning for a year to make a lemon tincture and add it to the keg of water but still have not tried this. I haven't even got around to carving up just water yet but I'll change that today and try the tincture in a couple weeks and report back

 

[passedpawn]

Yeah carbonated water I don't see any problem with but once I introduce the lemons, not sure what that will do

Sorry, I missed the lemon part. I don't think you'll have a problem, especially if you remove the O2 from the keg. You could use storebought lemon juice concentrate, which is pasteurized. If you do use a real lemon, just spray it down with starsan before juicing. The inside of fruits is sterile, and any contamination would be on the surface of the lemon (or on the juicer).

 

[Yooper]

Assuming the keg is in the fridge, the lemon water should last as long as any other soda, I'd think. The lemons may fall about and clog up the diptube, though, so I probably would use the zest (in a muslin bag) and juice and not the whole lemon.

 

[skokott]

I've asked a number of people in my HB group, on Quora including food safety people, homebrewers and chemists and the consensus seems to be that the sugar in the lemon and the low pH would invite breeding of nasties and is generally considered a bad idea.

Refrigerated the estimate was about 4 days.

I think they were being conservative but it'd probably take me about 4 weeks to drink 5 Gallons Seltzer.

A recommendation I got was to use that crappy pasteurized lemon you can buy at the grocery store and/or add the lemon afterwards.

I'm trying to decide what's more important to me. A decent lemon taste (definitely not the mass produced pasteurized version) or not having to cut up a lemon every time I want to have some seltzer.

 

[passedpawn]

4 days when refrigerated? That's nuts. I've kept the same keg of root beer (tons of sugar) on gas for many months, never a problem. If you purge the O2 from the keg, and make some attempt to keep everything sanitary, I'd guess you could keep that water on gas for a year.

I would NOT put whole lemon slices in there - just use the juice.