A soda gun or bar gun is a device used by

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

s 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 In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars ...

, water and

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

. This includes

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

iced tea Iced tea (or ice tea) is a form of cold tea. Though it is usually served in a glass with ice, it can refer to any tea that has been chilled or cooled. It may be sweetened with sugar or syrup. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink that can be ...

carbonated water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

, and plain

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

. When served from a soda gun, these are often known as fountain drinks.

Buttons

Soda guns have buttons corresponding to the drink to be served. Each button is generally labelled with one letter; the meanings of these letters are almost universal.

Comparison with bottled drinks

Dispensing from a bar gun instead results in the drink being freshly carbonated at the same temperature and pressure where it will be consumed. By mixing the syrup with water at the last possible stage, the energy for transporting the syrup is minimised, which has implications both for costs and energy. The main benefit for bars is the time − drinks do not need to be retrieved and they can be poured faster than from a bottle.

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 dispense. 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 to supply the equipment and handle the installation and maintenance. A post-mix soda gun is able to supply any beverage product that can be dispensed in bag-in-box form that does not have pulp.

Pre-mix soda gun

Pre-mix soda guns are connected to a simpler system that closely resembles a

draft beer Draught beer, also spelt draft, is beer served from a cask or keg rather than from a bottle or can. Draught beer served from a pressurised keg is also known as Name Until Joseph Bramah patented the beer engine in 1785, beer was served dire ...

system. The drink is supplied to a restaurant in pressurized canisters that are connected to the pre-mix soda gun. Pre-mix soda guns are primarily used in countries where the supply of water cannot easily be filtered to a level suitable for use in a restaurant.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soda Gun American inventions Soft drinks