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Bright tanks for soda manufacture? Oxygen?

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  • Bright tanks for soda manufacture? Oxygen?

    We currently make our cream soda and rootbeer by doping individual Hoff-Stevens and kegging with carbonated sugar water.

    Does anyone have experience making bulk soda in a bright tank? I can't dedicate a tank to soda making, so I'm considering dedicating a set of gaskets and valves. My belief is that the stainless will come clean with CIP'ing so the risk of tainting and flavor carry over comes from the rubber and plastic material.

    I'm not about to do something I'll regret am I?

    Also any thoughts about oxygen and soda? We now heat an entire batch to make our sugar water. I'd like to make a smaller, concentrated batch (say 30-50% of the present volume) and dilute with carbon filtered tap water enroute to the bright. Is the oxygen content of the tap water something to be concerned about? Could it be addressed with ascorbic acid?

    One thing I still need to do is talk to our extract distributor.

    Thanks a bunch.

    -Clarke.
    Clarke Pelz
    Cynosure Brewing

  • #2
    Soda in Bright Tank

    You have the right idea to be concerned especially with Root Beer. I have produced Sodas this way with out problems, but I was bottling. Don't put Root Beer on tap unless you are ready to replace the draught lines you use. Having a second set of gaskets, and sight glass if its not glass is a good Idea! Check with your extract supplier, and he will recomend a way to eliminate any problems. Good luck

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    • #3
      I've made rootbeer and other sodas and successfully removed the flavors left behind in brewing equipment by being diligent with cleaning. I agree, however, that tap lines used for rootbeer can cause issues and should be avoided.

      We would use the brewkettle to heat our sugar and water mixture and then run it through the heat exchanger to cool it down. We had a flowmeter so we could then measure the volume and then the sugar level in the bright tank and add more water as needed via the flowmeter. Immediately after we would CIP with caustic and then acid (phosphoric/nitric blend). To ensure no off flavors remained we would taste the rinse water after the acid cycle.

      For bright tanks the same CIP cycle would work but we had to add one more step; a white distilled vinegar CIP. I can't remember the exact concentration we used, but it helped remove any residual rootbeer flavor/odor without having to change out the gaskets. Another consideration is that the longer the rootbeer is in contact with gaskets the more likely they will become impregnated with the flavor. We normally bottled and kegged within a few days.

      Cheers,
      Aaron

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