haplorrhine

Recipes 

I have a SCOBY that I've continuously replenished with new tea. It grew very thick, and there are bubbles trapped under it. Is this a problem?
I suppose I wouldn't have to risk contamination in the process of releasing the bubbles since the kombucha is so acidic.

mors

Recipes 

I think the only problem would be if the bubbles lifted your scoby out of the liquid...then you could potentially get mold growing on it.

ThePonchoKid

Recipes 

no problem at all. in fact it likely means healthy activity going on. the surface of my scoby almost always rises above liquid. i just keep a coffee filtre over the top of my 4l jar to keep feeding it air without too much airborne debris. never once had mold or contamination. kombucha is very resilient

actually i fill my jar right up to where it starts to narrow, knowing that the scoby will bubble and bulge up. i do this under the assumption that i am creating a little more of a seal around the edges of the scoby, thus trapping more natural carbonation in the brew.

Here's what mine used to look like under a constant 26C-28C aquarium heated brew in a conical vase. It looks this way because it's a much warmer ferment than room temp. Now I use a 4L pickle jar at room temp. Less tedium until I can go continuous ferment. I read somewhere that 26C'ish is ideal for a healthy balance of yeast and bacteria growth. It's not that critical in my opinion, so I stopped using the extravagant set-up.

haplorrhine

Recipes 

That's good to know.

My brother told me that carbonation requires strict measures to get the bacteria doing anaerobic fermentation.

ThePonchoKid

Recipes 

kombucha needs air, and I don't think it hurts to have a scoby creating that loose seal around the edges of the jar with the top of the scoby mostly exposed to air. I did that for nearly three years without any problems. My batches always were full of wee little bubbles of sparkling goodness

I'm not all that aware of anaerobic fermentation and kombucha. I do know that it will cut off certain processes and cultures from flourishing within the brew after a short period of time. Some people do play around with anaerobic fermentation of kombucha to increase the alcohol content, but it's at the cost of the full health benefits.