Soda gun
Encyclopedia
A soda gun or Bar gun is a device used by bars to serve various types of carbonated and non-carbonated drinks. A soda gun has the ability to serve any beverage that is some combination of syrup
, water and carbon dioxide
. This includes soft drink
s, iced tea
, carbonated water
, and plain water
. When served from a soda gun, these are often known as fountain drink
s.
) to supply the equipment and handle the installation and maintenance.
Syrup
In cooking, a syrup is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but showing little tendency to deposit crystals...
, water and carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
. This includes soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
s, iced tea
Iced tea
Iced tea is a form of cold tea, often served in a glass with ice. It may or may not be sweetened. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink. It can be mixed with flavored syrup, with common flavors including lemon, peach, raspberry, lime, passion fruit, and cherry...
, carbonated water
Carbonated water
Carbonated water is water into which carbon dioxide gas under pressure has been dissolved, a process that causes the water to become effervescent....
, and plain water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
. When served from a soda gun, these are often known as fountain drink
Fountain drink
A fountain drink is a soft drink, prepared locally from a supply of flavored sweetened syrup, carbon dioxide, and water, either manually, in a device called a soda fountain, or in a vending machine which is essentially an automated soda fountain that is operated using a soda gun...
s.
Advantages
The advantages of dispensing from a bar gun instead of bottles include lower cost of transport (because water is added at the point of sale), convenience (no need to locate and open bottles or cans; a single canister contains much more product than a bottle), a freshly carbonated drink for the consumer, and a much more profitable product for the venue (a glass of post mix costs about 1/40th the price of the same amount of drink from a bottle). Postmix systems result in significantly decreases green house gas emissions due to reduced weight in the supply of the concentrated bag-in-box syrup versus supply and recycling of bottled beverages.Disadvantages
If the system is not properly maintained it will serve an inferior drink. If the bar owner chooses, he or she can set the ratio of syrup to water to a lower than optimal rate, thus saving the restaurant money in syrup costs but resulting in an inferior drink.Post mix soda gun
A post mix soda gun combines concentrated syrup from a bag-in-box and mixes it with filtered tap water, either carbonated or non-carbonated at the point of expense. For a post mix soda gun to function it must be connected to a bag-in-box system, including pumps, a chiller, water filtration system and a carbonator. Due to the complexity and expense of purchasing and configuring the entire system that runs the soda gun, in most cases the restaurant relies on their beverage supplier (in most cases Pepsi-Cola or Coca-ColaCoca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
) to supply the equipment and handle the installation and maintenance.