Anybody ever do kombucha?

My wife just got a kombucha kit and started asking if she could use my fermentors, maybe keg some up to have on tap, etc. Anybody ever do kombucha? Should I need much head space? Will it funk up my beer lines?

Yes, yes it will. There are plenty of bacteria and wild yeasts in a kombucha SCOBY that will cause some potential cross-contamination issues. I’d totally be down with that.

But best practice would be to have a dedicated keg and tap, or a dedicated set of bottling equipment. Siphon, bottling bucket… or just trust in the power of star-san.

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I figured if anyone knew, it would be you… do all the folks who put up videos use cheesecloth for nostalgia and style, or is an airlock a bad idea? Trying to decide now batch size and cheap fermentors. Probably going to be a frosting bucket…

I don’t think you’ll get any acetic acid without some oxygen exposure. I’d guess that’s the reason for using cheesecloth, but there are other ways of letting oxygen into the fermenter.

Been getting alot of requests for booch. I’ve tasted a few. Not really impressed but maybe they weren’t a good example they came out of a tap at a coffee bar. Not carbonated. I was planning on bottling which would carbonate it. Any tips. Not planning on going the kit route but maybe need to to get the shroom

Just drink red wine vinegar :grinning:

The kits have a pretty decent SCOBY, but it’s very small and entirely inadequate for a gallon batch without growing it up first. It’ll work, but takes a long time to get going and you run the risk of mold. And the kits are entirely a waste of money, in my opinion. You only need a couple tablespoons of loose tea and some sugar. And if it’s your first batch, some store-bought kombucha to act as the “starter” liquid, which really just drops the pH enough to ward off spoilage bacteria.

But really, it’s pretty simple. Once it’s done, pour into swing-top bottles with a bit of priming sugar (no point in sanitizing) and call it a day.

The stuff I had didn’t taste bad or sour. Actually it was the sweetness I didn’t care for. It’s not for me anyway. For my sister and my wife.

Isn’t that like NA type of stuff? :unamused: Sneezles61

Yep… it’s actually pretty decent when you’ve had too many the night before.

Speaking of which, I’ll post my recipe tomorrow if anyone’s interested, when I’m not sampling the non-NA stuff. Based on the basic recipe from “the big book of kombucha.” Super easy, and one of the NB kits will make 5 or 6 one-gallon batches.

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Yes please do. Wouldn’t brew more than 1 gallon at a time. My wife doesn’t drink alcohol. I believe you have to keep it cold or can it be pasturised

Ok, finally dug out the notes.

Start with a 1-gallon glass jar and use the same water you use for brewing.

Bring 1 qt plus one cup water to near boil in a pan, steep 2tbsp loose tea (black, green, white, your choice, no decaf). Steep for 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, add 2 quarts cool water to the glass jar.

Once the tea is done, mix in 3/4 cup cane sugar to dissolve. Pour the sweetened tea into the jar on top of the cool water. The temp should be less than 100F at this point, no harm in making sure. If not, let it cool until it’s under 100°F.

Add your scoby and 2C starter tea on top. Keep the starter on top to protect the surface from mold. This could be from your previous batch or store-bought. If you buy it from the store, make sure it is all natural, unblended, and not pasteurized.

Cover your jar with a coffee filter and rubber band and place it somewhere warm and dark. Do NOT airlock it, you want oxygen to contact the surface.

Depending on the strength of your scoby, it’ll be done in 2-4 weeks. Just put a straw underneath the scoby and take a sip, bottle when it’s to your liking.

To bottle, I remove the scoby, put it in a clean glass bowl, and cover with a cloth along with about 2 cups of the liquid. Pour the kombucha into a pitcher, through a cloth if you want to strain it. Then pour into swing top bottles. Just clean everything, no sanitizing necessary. I like to prime pint bottles with 1tsp cane sugar.

While I’m bottling, I get the next batch ready and add back the scoby and retained liquid. Clean out the jar if it gets nasty looking, or if you get a lot of yeast sediment in the bottom.

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The northern brewer kits are a decent starting point. But the scoby is too small. For your first batch, cut everything in half. It’ll grow a new scoby on top. After a week, you can make the rest of the batch and top up, and that should get your mushroom big enough for a gallon batch.

The kits have way too much tea for a single batch, so just use it as needed and replace with stuff you get from the store. It’ll make several batches with what they give you in the kit. And just use regular sugar once you use the stuff up from the kit.

In theory, yes, it can continue to ferment and make bottle bombs. But I’ve had it bottled all summer with just light carbonation. That’s why I use swing-top bottles, since carbonation can escape around the gasket.

I’ve had swing tops blow don’t be fooled

True, the best practice is to keep it cold once carbonated.

Mmmmm… floaties…

Just made my first batch, but quick question about the pH strips included with the kit… is it just the very tip that is supposed to change color? I’ve used pH strips before, but this one didn’t change color very much. It did look gray, similar to the 3.8 range, but it’s difficult to tell.

No idea about the strips that come in the kit, but in general pH strips are very inaccurate and don’t provide useful information. At worst they provide bad information. Was this reading before or after fermentation? If it’s after fermentation, try to grab a sample with a clean straw from beneath the scoby and give it a taste. Pure sweet, or getting some tartness?

It was right after I added the scoby/starter liquid. I’ll test it in about a week, thanks. I may have to invest in a pH tester, since I’ve been mulling over getting one for beer anyway.