Using Cordial To Make Pre Mix Drinks

[billerwell]

Hi,

I was in the process of fermenting 8kg of sugar using a turbo yeast for the purpose of further processing when a thought came to mind

I was wondering if it would be possible to use the pretty much flavourless alcohol to make a pre-mix drink by simply adding cordial (lemon, lime, raspberry, etc) and bottling it with sugar to make bubbles.

Obviously this was a spontaneous thought as I'm becoming more unsure the more I think about it, so here I am in search of some guidance.

My initial concerns are:-

1. Will the cordial completely lose its flavour (sweetness) by the follow on fermentation that happens in the bottle?
2. Will the sugar in the cordial ferment and therefore I need to take that into consideration before adding sugar so as not to blow up the bottles?
3. Is the fermented sugar flavourless (haven't done just sugar before) or will it totally ruin the taste?

And please add any other flaws that I've missed

Thanks,

Markus

 

[DUANNE]

wouldnt a bottle of metho be cheaper and easier. probly taste better to.

 

[Mr.Moonshine]

If you use the "processed products" in the premix, it will probably work, but strikes me as alot of effort given that you can just mix cordial and soda water together to get basically the same effect. The yeast will most likely eat the sugar in the cordial, making it fairly sour/dry, and could cause overcarbonation if you bottle prime as well.
If you're talking about not "processing", then I've heard that the yeast by products on turbo yeasts are fairly incredibly nasty, and you could well wake up feeling like death. If you're keen on the idea, then you could probably try using a sugar free cordial and the final polished result of the turbo yeast ferment and then bottle prime to get a fairly decent result (depending on the sorts of preservatives in the cordial, which could stop fermentation).
I beleive I read an article about an alcohol they make in finland on the cheap by just mixing plain white sugar, water and bakers yeast, so presumably you'll be able to get just enough carbonation from bottle priming for this to work (bakers yeast will ferment to 9%-12% given the right conditions), but you may get fermentation byproducts going on as a result of the complete lack of nutrients.

Cheers, and good luck,

Mr.Moonshine

 

[billerwell]

Thanks for the comments and advice (I'll check on some metho prices next week :blink: )

Just to clarify, beer for me, lolly water for the wife

The price was what got me thinking in the first place; turbo yeast with 8kg of sugar produces up to 22% alcohol, so 23l watered down to 5% makes over 100l. Divide that by 330ml makes over 300 bottles of the sweet stuff for under $20 total (all ingredients included). So compared to $12 of 4 bottles (1.32L) I thought I'd have to at least check it out.

Based on Moonshines feedback I think I'll play it safe and try a small amount using a sugar free cordial and see the result (processing the rest). I'll let my other half provide feedback :icon_vomit:

Cheers,

Markus

 

[bullya]

Hi Markus,

A little info that may help, I have brewed cordial before using champagne yeast. I boiled up 6lt of cordial and 500gm lactose added to fermenter topped it up to 20lt and threw in the yeast. Fermented as per usual then bottled. The resulting fluid wasn't as sweet as i had hoped but was far from undrinkable. I think with some artificial sweeteners or some tweaking of some sort you could produce quite the sweet lolly drink.

Good luck
Bull

 

[manticle]

Hi,

I was in the process of fermenting 8kg of sugar using a turbo yeast for the purpose of further processing when a thought came to mind

Best of luck with that.

 

[bum]

Give the sugar-free varieties of soda stream flavouring a bash.

This isn't a recommendation, just the easiest solution I see to your situation.

Not sure how good a look sediment floaties will be in a Cruiser though.

 

[litre_o_cola]

Not sure how good a look sediment floaties will be in a Cruiser though.

It's just fruit pulp

 

[billerwell]

Thanks again, much appreciated.

It's good to see it's been tried and not a total fail. I'll look around at the suggested options out there (artificial sweeteners, sugar free cordials and soda stream flavours) and try them out to see what can work (there's more than enough fermented sugar to play with).

Go the ala-naturale look

Cheers,

Markus

 

[spazhead]

I always have a keg of soda water in the fridge and have cordial on the floor next to it. We go through about a keg a week to be mixed with or without "spirit". That way everyone can have the flavor they want. No complaints here.

 

[Bribie G]

I did something similar in my earlier brewing days, made a 7% ABV very dry ginger beer with a few kilos of sugar and served it in a jug with extra Ginger Cordial, some tropical lime cordial etc and it turned out very alcopoppy as well as getting smashed out of my head for a couple of bucks.

I think the end product of sugar and turbo yeast would be a bit nasty - I used a sparkling wine yeast and some yeast nutrient. If you did something similar it only works if you mix it up on the day to prevent it fermenting out all the sugars in the cordials. However you can certainly bottle the "base liquor", prime it with normal beer amounts of sugar, and get your fizz in the finished 'cocktail'.

 

[pcmfisher]

What about some Oz Tops

 

[wynnum1]

Are you going to filter the 23 l to get out sediment and yeast and then carbon filter to remove taste 14 % may be cleaner then 22%

 

[Nick JD]

Those turbo yeasts produce the same kinds of nasty (Fusels) stuff as any other yeast at high temperatures. Further processing will remove these nasties. If you are not further processing it would be wise to ferment at as low a temperature as possible. Like 15C.