Kombucha and Instant Yeast

[StarHairedMama]

Hey brewing friends,
I have a SCOBY going from a store bought bottle and tonight I changed from the bottle I it came in to a larger glass jar. I had this brilliant idea to add raw organic sugar AND... here's the kicker... instant yeast. How do we feel about this? In hindsight I fear that that may not have been a super great idea. Thoughts? Ideas? Reassuring comments?!

XO,
SHM

[mbird]

I'm not sure of your question. You can continue to use the 'scoby' to make more kombucha as long as you feed it the tea/sugar solution. There is no need to add yeast. The kombucha culture I believe is a yeast/bacterial blend. Are you thinking of making beer with it?
mark
www.backyardbrewer.blogspot.com
www.thebackyardbrewer.com

[StarHairedMama]

No. Beer and mead are separate projects. I thought I would try to turbo boost my kombucha with more yeast but I was worried that that might off set the balance or "piss it off" in a sense.
I made a SCOBY from a store bought bottle and have been feeding it sugar and tea. I haven't actually begun the official batch yet, just working on my SCOBY. So do you think that adding the yeast didn't make a difference, it was just unnecessary?

SHM

[mbird]

I don't know alot about Kombucha but yeah, I would say you would "set off the balance" by adding additional, not to mention unique, yeast to the mix. I would let the scoby do what it does unmolested. If you want a faster reaction, a alcoholic and stronger version will result by preparing your sugar/tea blend and just adding your favorite ale yeast.
mark
www.backyardbrewer.blogsot.com
www.thebackyardbrewer.com

[AndrewD]

Instant yeast is designed for fermenting starch in a comparatively dry environment, and might eventually produce nasty fusels.

[AaronWesternNY]

I have grown kombucha for a couple years now. Once I threw a SCOBY into some wort. After a couple weeks it turned cloudy and overall just kind of blah. I highly don't recommend it- if anyone is thinking about it out there. Cheers!