Recent content by gnomebrew

Definitely avoid using molasses. I ran out of sugar once and tried using that instead. Just awful! I've also experimented with various spices, and with the exception of ginger, they all did not interact well.

Hm, well I'll see if I can get it into a carboy this weekend and see what happens. I know I've got some yeast hulls somewhere. Thanks for the advice guys!

Pretty basic recipe: 16lbs Texas Clover Honey .25 teaspoon Fermaid K .5 Diammonium Phosphate White Labs Sweet Mead Yeast I also added additional nutrients for the next 4 days, after degassing: .25 teaspoon Fermaid K, .5 Diammonium Phosphate Original Gravity: 1.122 Final Gravity: 1.051 The...

Ok, I could use some help here. I made a batch of mead back at the beginning of April. I used White Labs Sweet Mead yeast. It left a lot of residual sugar, but the gravity has been stable since about since I first racked it in May. I racked it 3 or 4 times total, and didn't see any lees...

That's definitely an infection, I'm just not sure what. It might be a wild yeast pellicle, or it could be pediococcus, or something else entirely. This may or may not ruin it, though it will very likely produce some flavors you weren't expecting. When it's done fermenting, take a small sample...

A couple of things, I think: The culture didn't have the proper nutrients to feed it, and allowed mold the chance to hop into the brew. Kombucha really needs Tea, as in Camellia sinensis: black tea, green tea, or oolong (maybe some others too, I don't recall). You can use rooibos for...

Whoa. Yeah, mine gets pretty sour after about 2 weeks. I usually harvest/feed every week, if I have to wait longer I usually make some effort to rebalance it (e.g., hold back less starter tea). It's fine so long as I do a batch every week, but I've gotten fairly good at rebalancing when...

I'm almost certain that isn't mold. It might be pediococcus: http://homebrew.stackexchange.com/questions/9569/is-this-lactobacillus (see first answer in that thread)

I would cry. I almost want to cry reading this. I fear this sort of thing, I made the small investment to get handles for mine. Much easier to move now and more secure in my grasp :)

You should be safe to skip the vinegar after your first batch or two. The culture will maintain its own vinegar. You might also try upping the sugar - for 2 cups of water try about 2 tablespoons of sugar. The finished product won't be near that sweet. It's also good to experiment to find the...

^ This. Also, it's fine to have multiple scobys in the brew, though it may become increasingly sour over time. Just use your judgment on when to remove extras. Or don't use them at all.

You did a batch with with just yerba mate and it was less tart? That's interesting. I routinely use yerba mate for flavor/secondary ferment, but I never use it as a base for feeding the culture. It's not uncommon for a batch to turn out a little more sour than you'd like. There are different...