Anybody ever do kombucha?

Me did use strips. For a while. Did invest in a ph meter. Did compare strips not acurate at all

I wouldnā€™t trust that reading if itā€™s at the start of fermentation. The starter liquid should just drop it into the range of preventing spoilage bacteria, so 4.5-ish at the lowest. I wouldnā€™t invest in a pH meter for just kombucha, since the process is pretty much failproof. If youā€™re going to use it for beer, thatā€™s a different matter and budget for around $100 to get a good reliable one. For kombucha, though, I think you can get away with taste being the indicator.

How large was the scoby that came with your kit?

It was about 2 inches x 1.5 inches and maybe 1/2 in thick?
Something like that anyway.

Yeah, thatā€™s pretty tiny. Not really adequate for a 1-gallon batch, so itā€™ll probably take a good 3 or so weeks to develop any sourness. But NB has a pretty good culture, so your second batch will be even better with the new scoby thatā€™ll grow on top of your first batch.

Starting brewing my first batch of kombucha. A friend gave me their scoby as they fled NYC for a more remote isolation.
It looks like my baby is on the bottom of the mother. I thought it always was on top.

Iā€™ve upped my game to a 1.5gallon big mouthed bubbler with spigot and bottling wand.
I batch prime and bottle right from the fermenter after taking out the Scoby and 2 cups of starter tea.
I use the priming calculator here on NB to determine carbonation for juice or sugars.
Iā€™ve had such success getting my target 3.0 of carbonation using this method that I feel bad that itā€™s not common knowledge in the Kombucha community

Sooooooā€¦ Real or Well ā€¦ ?
Sneezles61

Really well

bump. Anyone give brewing Kombucha a shot lately?

Iā€™ve been brewing kombucha for over three years now. I have found it to be similar to making beer, and that it is much more forgiving. I donā€™t even worry about sanitation or oxidation that much (I donā€™t use star san or a siphon/hoses - I just do the transfers via pouring from one container to the other). I have also never cleaned the primary fermentation jars in over three years.

This is my basic process:

Brew up a big pot of tea and let it cool over night. The next morning I add the table sugar and transfer the previous batch of kombucha onto some thawed crushed berries that were stored in my freezer. I donā€™t transfer all the kombucha - I leave a quart or so in each jar and then pour in the sweet tea, put the SCOBYs back in and let it ferment.

After three days, I remove the berries from the secondary fermentation jars and then strain the booch on its way to the tertiary vessels. I cold crash those for a day and proceed to bottling.

For bottling, I pour the kombucha through a strainer and funnel into swing top bottles and those sit out at room temp for 10 days or so and then they go into the fridge. I donā€™t add any priming sugar as there is still enough sugars in the kombucha to do the job. I have a small glass every morning along with my oatmeal and coffee.

I do a new batch every two weeks. Iā€™m pretty much on auto pilot at this point and it doesnā€™t feel like work.

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So that Scobyā€¦ Looks like a big mushroom kinda thingyā€¦
I do not think Iā€™ve ever had kombuchaā€¦ Maybe a store boughten little jug, but thenā€¦ even worth mentioningā€¦?
Perhaps if I find someone that has some going, Iā€™d give it a tryā€¦ You have to like it to wanna make it, right?
Sneezles61

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Scoby-Doo? Where are you?

Iā€™ve had Kombucha just onceā€¦a free sample while we were in Vermont. Need to try it again as my first impression was that it tasted like liquid sauerkraut.:joy:

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I have tons of berries to use up where do you get the Scooby? Ive had some i didnā€™t like and some i did so its like beer in that way

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Read its a Lacto campā€¦ yogurt side
Sneezles61

The souring is done in the aerobic phase. You can limit how sour it gets by bottling earlier then it only takes up the amount of oxygen that is in the headspace of the bottle.
@CS The cranberry second ferment is a nice idea. I get my flavor from bottle conditioning with juice and while my carbonation is always perfect, you cannot pack that much flavor in that way.

@brew_cat you can buy a SCOBY from our host or ask in a community forum. Many of the store bought kombucha are pasteurized. I think different SCOBY yield different qualities of flavor. Eventually the whole culture will morph to your home environment as a sourdough starter would.
@sneezles61 its more acetic acid than lactic acid.

this website has the most good free information in one place IMO

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Banana Kombucha

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You can grow a scoby from a bottle of kombucha purchased from the store.

Most producers pasteurize bottles. But yes you certainly can if you find one that does have one in it. It also is helpful to use the kombucha that it is in as the bulk of the yeast is there I think

Quite like our brewing hobby, they have the ā€œyeast/bacteriaā€? Is there different strains then?
Sneezles61

The SCOBY, or Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, is variable. I would Imagine that the culture eventually adapts to be local to wherever it is. A kombucha SCOBY is completely different than a vinegar mother. Donā€™t be fooled about that.:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: