Alcoholic Fruit Sodas

[Bell]

Is there a way to make a soda alcoholic? I made a raspberry soda recently with ginger bug, sugar, raspberries, water. What would you do to it to make it boozy?


Please do not come up with one of those annoying "Why would you want to do that? You could just bang in vodka" answers. I have no interest in that. I want to make a fully fermented drink.

[Tim Hall]

Bell, it's actually very simple. Let the ferment go longer. You may also want to add more sugar. More sugar = more potential alcohol.

Look for recipes for "country wines" or beers made from things like molasses or other sugars. Also mead making. These will give you a go-by as far as how much sugar to use. Basic brewing or winemaking principles can be applied directly to soda recipes.

[Bell]

Thanks for that Tim, but doesn't the wild yeast from the ginger die off at a very low alcohol amount? Would it be better (if it's possible) to use wine/some other yeast, rather than the ginger bug?

[Tim Hall]

You certainly can use other sources of yeast. Some soda recipes even call for beer yeast. You can also get these kinds of yeast from the skins of fruits like grapes.

It's possible that most of the yeast from a ginger bug can only tolerate low levels of alcohol. But yeast is very adaptable, and you might be surprised how far it can go, if you let it.