Premix and postmix

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Premix (also pre-mix) and postmix (also post-mix) are two methods of serving – usually
carbonated – soft drinks that are alternative to bottles and cans.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Premix
o 1.1 Carbonation tester
• 2 Postmix

• 3 References

[edit] Premix
Premix refers to the ready-mixed, ready-to-drink softdrink that has usually been packaged
in 5-gallon stainless steel tanks. The premix itself is identical to the beverage of the same
brand that is being sold in bottles or cans, and is already carbonated. The softdrink is then
dispensed from a simple premix dispenser, which does nothing more than refrigerate the
container and dispense the drink.

A premix dispenser is suitable to outlets which regularly sells the respective softdrink,
but in relatively small amounts.

[edit] Carbonation tester

This Premixed Soft Drink Carbonation Tester is constructed of tempered glass and
stainless steel with a quick connect on the bottom, and a 100 psi gauge and a relief valve
on the top. Used in the 1960s to check the pressure of premixed soft drinks before
shipping them off in 5 gallon tanks by truck, it is operated by connecting the tank to the
quick connect, bleeding off gas to allow the glass to fill and then shaking it up. The
pressure is then read from the gauge.

At the soda plant, a quality control manager would periodically check the carbonation
level of the premix tanks with a carbonation tester before they were shipped out.

[edit] Postmix
Postmix refers to the system where a special syrup (concentrate) of the softdrink is
shipped to the outlet, usually in a returnable tank or a disposable bag-in-box container.
On location, the softdrink is mixed to order from the postmix syrup, chilled and purified
water and carbon dioxide (from a gas cylinder), and usually served directly from a gun-
type nozzle.
A modern bar soda "gun".

Such a postmix dispenser is a much more sophisticated device than a premix dispenser.
The postmix system is suitable to outlets that require to serve large amounts of softdrinks
fast, such as a sports stadium or a busy fast food restaurant.