Re: Kombucha
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:50 am
BTW if anyone has a spare scoby they can mail out my way i can cover shipping. my batches got some mold on them and i need to start over.
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Re: Kombucha
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:54 am
I'm somewhat interested in trying my hand at this too. Has anyone made it successfully?
Re: Kombucha
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:23 am
So maybe to reduce the acetobacter contribution (and therefore the strong vinegar) - we can use a conventional air lock? The pictures that I saw were just of a pickle jar covered with several layers of cheesecloth...
Mylo
Mylo
Re: Kombucha
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 12:08 pm
BadRock wrote:I'm somewhat interested in trying my hand at this too. Has anyone made it successfully?
yes. many times.
mylo wrote:So maybe to reduce the acetobacter contribution (and therefore the strong vinegar) - we can use a conventional air lock? The pictures that I saw were just of a pickle jar covered with several layers of cheesecloth...
i'm not sure if mike's experiment used an airlock, interesting idea.
Re: Kombucha
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 4:13 pm
BadRock wrote:I'm somewhat interested in trying my hand at this too. Has anyone made it successfully?
Yes several times. I just use a large glass jar, a torn square of an old t-shirt and a rubberband to fasten it on.
Re: Kombucha
Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:08 pm
Im actually brewing my first batch right now. The few things that I have learned is that:
You do NOT need to buy a scoby to start! Go to a Wild oats or similar and get some raw, unpasteurized kombucha and make sure that it says "live cultures" on it. GT's is a good brand to use. Then brew like usual. ie make some sweet tea (i used 1 cup sugar to 3 quarts water with 2 tablespoons loose tea brewed strong in a teaball) cool and pitch the entire bottle into your vessel (give it a good shake to loosen all that culture at the bottom, you should have a mini scooby in there). It will take a couple days longer (about 10 day primary ferment time) but will form its own baby so that the next time after you drain your kombucha out you can just dump some more cooled sweet tea on top. Subsequent batches you should remove the baby to give away or use in the next batch since you dont want half your jar filled with scooby.
the second thing that I found out is that 60 F seems too cold for fermentation and thats what room temp is in my house currently. so what I did is got a reptile heating pad and stuck it to a small pane of glass and set my gallon jug on there. It now sits at a perfect 80 F. The reason to use a reptile heating pad is that you can leave it on and it will never get over 80 F.
hope this helps, and if all goes well I should have my first gallon of kombucha done by monday, altho im gonna secondary ferment it in a bottle since I like it fizzy
You do NOT need to buy a scoby to start! Go to a Wild oats or similar and get some raw, unpasteurized kombucha and make sure that it says "live cultures" on it. GT's is a good brand to use. Then brew like usual. ie make some sweet tea (i used 1 cup sugar to 3 quarts water with 2 tablespoons loose tea brewed strong in a teaball) cool and pitch the entire bottle into your vessel (give it a good shake to loosen all that culture at the bottom, you should have a mini scooby in there). It will take a couple days longer (about 10 day primary ferment time) but will form its own baby so that the next time after you drain your kombucha out you can just dump some more cooled sweet tea on top. Subsequent batches you should remove the baby to give away or use in the next batch since you dont want half your jar filled with scooby.
the second thing that I found out is that 60 F seems too cold for fermentation and thats what room temp is in my house currently. so what I did is got a reptile heating pad and stuck it to a small pane of glass and set my gallon jug on there. It now sits at a perfect 80 F. The reason to use a reptile heating pad is that you can leave it on and it will never get over 80 F.
hope this helps, and if all goes well I should have my first gallon of kombucha done by monday, altho im gonna secondary ferment it in a bottle since I like it fizzy
Re: Kombucha
Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 5:44 pm
I have been continuously brewing this for about 12 years. I can't seem to give it away so I throw out the cultures when they take up too much room. It is so much simpler than brewing beer, and I don't employ near the same measures for keeping contaminants out. Just make sure I have clean hands. Any one need a culture? PM me.
I have been curious too about using it to sour a beer, but afraid of the acetobacter. My kombucha tea is usually on the vinegar side of things. Maybe an airlock is just what the doctor ordered? I have a gallon or so of a Belgian Pale Ale sitting in a carboy that wouldn't fit into a keg. Maybe I'll dose it with the Kombucha and see what happens? BTW, I don't have any trouble with cross contamination, but I did lable my kombucha funnel just in case.
I have been curious too about using it to sour a beer, but afraid of the acetobacter. My kombucha tea is usually on the vinegar side of things. Maybe an airlock is just what the doctor ordered? I have a gallon or so of a Belgian Pale Ale sitting in a carboy that wouldn't fit into a keg. Maybe I'll dose it with the Kombucha and see what happens? BTW, I don't have any trouble with cross contamination, but I did lable my kombucha funnel just in case.
Re: Kombucha
Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 6:57 pm
Actually, in retrospect.... I think my suggestion was naive. If you put in an airlock - the fermentation would be anerobic, and you'd end up with a tea-flavored, all sugar lambic. I believe the reason its not alcoholic is that the cheesecloth allows for gas transfer and oxgen contact with the "wort" or whatever you call sweet tea with a funky culture in it.
Mylo
Mylo