If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I am a big advocate of probiotics and enzyme-rich fermented beverages and homemade soda.
A survey of ethnic drinks from around the world reveals that enjoyment of the unique, health-boosting refreshment furnished by traditionally fermented beverages is nearly universal.
These drinks are the healthy sodas of old, minus the additives, chemicals, GMO high fructose corn syrup, and artificial colors and flavors.
Plain water pales in comparison to the effective manner in which a homemade soda or fermented drink quenches thirst after a sweaty round of yard work, exercise or adventure in the outdoors through rapid replacement of lost electrolytes. Traditional beverages also promote the thorough digestion of food by supplying additional enzymes when sipped with meals.
When carefully made with quality ingredients, alcoholic fermentation is replaced with lacto-fermentation with complex flavors and a slight effervescence the very enjoyable result.
With nearly all ancestral cultures boasting at least one delicious, artisanal fermented beverage made from the local bounty of the fields, the modern addiction to sugar and synthetically sweetened sodas suggests that our desire for a bubbly drink is a most basic and primal need.
Homemade fermented beverages are indeed the answer to the modern addiction to soda!
If you haven’t yet embarked on a fermented beverage adventure in your kitchen, there are numerous how-to’s on this blog to help you get started or expand your repertoire as needed.
Here are a few of the video and/or written lessons listed in order from easiest to most difficult:
- Hindu Lemonade
- Beet Kvass
- Orangina (fermented orange juice)
- Water Kefir
- Kombucha
- Ginger Ale
- Ginger Beer (coming soon!)
- Kombucha Advanced Topics
- Root Beer
While all of these beverages will yield a satisfying, slightly effervescent drink, some people find that they wish for a substantial amount of fizz similar to the tongue tingle supplied by a modern soda.
This is possible, but an extra step  – bottling – is required to produce extreme effervescence.
In the video below, I demonstrate the various options for bottling your fermented beverages to achieve a level of fizziness comparable to store soda.
Where to find the right bottles, how much to fill them, how long to leave them on the counter, and how to open them properly without an explosion which makes a big mess are all discussed.
Note that bottling is only done after a fermented beverage is successfully brewed and ready for consumption.  It is an extra step and only performed to achieve extra fizz.  Bottling of fermented beverages is not necessary if you are already enjoying your homemade drinks just the way they are.
Don’t have time for any of this? Try this 5-minute homemade soda recipe that my son invented and taste-tested as his school Science Fair project.
How to Bottle Homemade Soda
Instructions for easy bottling of homemade soda for extra probiotics and enzymes as well as a huge boost in fizziness!
Ingredients
- 2 quarts homemade fermented beverage see list above the recipe for ideas
Equipment
- 8 12-ounce homebrew bottles
- 8 bottle caps and capper
- 8 swing top bottles with attached cap optional (if above equipment is not available)
Instructions
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Thoroughly wash and dry homebrew bottles with warm soapy water. Do not use the dishwasher.
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Fill each 12 ounce homebrew bottle two-thirds full (about 8 ounces). In other words, do not fill beyond the lower neck of the bottle. This leaves ample room for carbonation so the bottles don't explode and blow off the caps!
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Attach bottle caps with capper -OR- secure caps on swing top bottles securely.
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Leave on the kitchen counter for 2 days.
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Refrigerate for a full day to make sure each bottle is very, very cold.
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Open each bottle only when very cold and crack each cap slowly to gradually release the pressure from the carbonation without making a mess. I recommend opening the bottles in your kitchen sink.
When I open my refrigerated beverages, I always put my left hand on top of the bottle, while in the sink, and slowly start to pop it open – that way I can close it really fast if it seems like it might be coming out too quickly, I’ll put it back in the fridge and do it again each day until I can actually pour it into a glass, but i also try to pour close to or in the sink so I can clean up any mess.
Can you bottle in a mason jar?
Hey Sarah, why is it ok to use colored glass for bottling but not for the brewing jars?
I was curious about the same thing? I bought some clear glass bottles, but am curious about the colored ones in the video.
Great post on traditional drinks. I have been brewing my own root beer for years. I’ve started making my own hard cider as well but that is for a different post. 🙂
I love the videos and my all time favorite drink is ginger ale so I am going to try your recipe. Ginger ale has been my favorite part of flying on an airline since my earliest years. Thanks for the inspiration.
THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!!!!! I’m going to go do it RIGHT now! 😀