7
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How to know if kombucha is alcoholic?
The problem is that the hydrometer is used the amount of sugar in the solution, not the amount of alcohol. So you can measure the original gravity (OG), and the final gravity (FG), but in kombucha the ...
- 3,655
6
votes
How SCOBY is grown?
This question kind of brings up some more fundamental questions about fermentation (like whether or not you could even call something kombucha if it's not made with a 'proper' SCOBY, given that a ...
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5
votes
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Is there a way to tell if fruit flies have laid eggs?
Fruit fly eggs are yellow 1/2mm long and will generally hatch into larvae in ~30Hours, so if they are still there 2 days later then they are specks of stuff, if the hatch then they are larvae, which ...
- 6,993
4
votes
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Kombucha fermentation time(s)
"Primary fermentation" with SCOBY is really about inoculating the brew. Three days should be enough after which one can remove the SCOBY (kombucha "mother") and use it elsewhere. How long to leave ...
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4
votes
What is the proper way to store SCOBY?
My ginger beer SCOBY has grown in a jar for over 9 years. If kept hydrated and fed (with ginger and sugar and occasional fresh lemon juice) it seems to keep well enough. If I do not produce/bottle ...
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4
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Stopping fermentation in soft drinks
Cold alone is not really an option, since yeast will not die but become dormant, and could be reactivated after heating a little.
There are a few ways to acheive this:
Pasteurization
This will kill ...
- 4,806
3
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Measure remaining sugar in kombucha brew w/ hydrometer?
You can always measure the specific gravity of any liquid with a hydrometer, but unless you know the starting gravity (as in, pre-fermentation), the reading won't actually tell you much. This on top ...
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3
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Specific Gravities for Kombucha
My recipe
1 cup sugar (5.7 oz)
6 liters water (1.58 gal)
1/4 cup loose black tea
I've never measured the OG or the FG, but the recipe calculates to OG 1.014.
The reason why I've never measured the ...
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3
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Specific Gravities for Kombucha
Suggested OGs are around 1020-1030 from a number of forums, but people are making big 1090 OGs.
Regarding FG I recall they end quiet dry as there is often only simple sugars and very little tri-...
- 6,993
3
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Flavoring Kombucha with herbs
Don't add anything with oils (eg. herbs, herbal and fruit teas) to your initial brew. The flavours will stay in your scoby and the oils will go rancid and impair future brews. Add it to your bottles ...
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3
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Why do we want an oxygen rich environment for Kombucha but not for Beer?
Because the fermentation of kombucha proceeds in two steps.
In the first step, the sugar in the tea is fermented into alcohol. Yeast can do this with or without oxygen. This is done by yeast, a single-...
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2
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How do I ferment homemade brewed tea - a black tea
Basically, you need something with sugar for the yeast to eat to ferment anything.
If you're trying to make Kombucha, you just need sweet tea and a starter SCOBY. Here is a good how-to A scoby is a ...
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2
votes
Is my kombucha scoby safe?
Basically, nothing short of a scoby being fuzzy, hairy, bright blue or green, smelling like a diaper pail or biting you is all ok! Mold is pretty much the only absolute no-no. If it isn't moldy and ...
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2
votes
Where to find clear glass beer bottles?
If you are willing to drink a lot of beer and recycle the bottles, then Newcastle Brown Ale comes in clear cap-able bottles.
Thats where my clear bottles come from.
Enjoy!
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2
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Does Kombucha lose calories while fermenting?
Well in your specific kombucha I won’t be able to tell you but I can give you some math that should help you figure it out and should be able to be used by any brewer to figure out the caloric effect ...
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2
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Flavoring Kombucha with herbs
We use flavoring ingredients like herbs and berries during the initial steep. We don't add anything after the fermentation. We use mint in one of our recipes, and it works well. The advice I would ...
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2
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Why is my Kombucha getting thicker?
Yes, it will probably be related to the large Scoby. Either trim the scoby, or use a larger container. That seems a very short ferment too though. What size is your scoby, and what volume of tea are ...
- 186
2
votes
Bleed pressure from swing-top bottle?
During secondary fermentation (bottling stage, aka 2F) of kombucha brewing, there is a correlation between sugar as an input and carbonation as an output. If you increase the sugar in the 2F ...
- 21
2
votes
Pitching kombucha starter instead of yeast
If you want to play it safe, over-pitch (sorta) by pitching a regular amount of yeast to ferment the beer, and as a secondary fermentation pour in a bottle of your favorite basic kombucha with no ...
- 5,964
2
votes
Accepted
What is the proper way to store SCOBY?
This site recommends you keep culturing for less than 6 weeks. For longer, they recommend two options.
"Feeding" the scoby every 4-6 weeks, where "feeding" consists of draining off the existing ...
- 2,168
2
votes
How to avoid SCOBY in the Kombucha bottle? (second fermentation)
Not sure it's possible. SCOBY does what she wants. She likes to make floating pancakes. The best you might hope for is a high fill with a super narrow neck to keep the SCOBY as small as possible.
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2
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How to know if kombucha is alcoholic?
Kombucha contains a variety of micro-organisms, the most important ones of which are brewing yeast (Saccharomyces Cerevisae) and Acetobacter. The S. Cereviseae converts sugar into alcohol, after which ...
- 2,418
2
votes
Stopping fermentation in soft drinks
Commonly in wine and apple cider production, potassium sorbate and sodium metabisulfite are used to control yeast (and bacteria).
The potassium sorbate stops the yeast from multiplying, while the ...
- 2,060
2
votes
Kombucha lacks vinegar taste
During the fermentation of Kombucha, yeast (a S. Cerevisae strain) turns sugar into alcohol, and a bacteria (an Acetobacter strain) oxidizes it into acetic acid (vinegar). There's more going on that ...
- 2,418
1
vote
How to avoid SCOBY in the Kombucha bottle? (second fermentation)
You could heat treat / pasteurise the kombucha in the bottle, (once it's done carbonating).
Obviously this would kill off the beneficial bacteria, but it's those bacteria that make the floaty bits.
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vote
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Kombucha starter: minimum quantity for successful brew?
More time is fine. Due to growth rates, if you use only 1 pack then you will need approximatley 2.5 times as long in the fermnter.
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vote
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Cold crashing kombucha
In my personal experience, cold crashing does help to clear the booch a bit.
I'm a homebrewer who has started to brew kombucha. I've only got 4 kombucha brews under my belt and I've been kegging ...
- 310
1
vote
Cold crashing kombucha
Some info about Cold Crashing.
Cold crashing will definitely help that problem of cloudiness and yeast sediments on the bottom. I recommend 10 days at as close to 0 celsius as you can. e.g. 1 degree ...
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1
vote
Kombucha has dark, green grey dust/moss inside liquid
When I grew Kombucha it looked quite like the pictures supplied. Kopmbucha is a SCOBY that does not conform to any one typical shape or colour pattern. I have often heard the growing SCOBY compared to ...
- 5,631
1
vote
Accepted
Bleed pressure from swing-top bottle?
What you're describing is a "gusher infection", wild yeast that can consume normally unfermentable sugars like dextrins. Usually leaves a beverage with little body and other issues.
In beer ...
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