So I have never actually bottled any kombucha. I was wondering how long between readings should I wait before it is safe to bottle? Is it more like a sour brew where I should wait until I have consistent readings a month apart to avoid bottle bombs?
Bottling Kombucha question
- Thread starter spenghali
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elielilang
Active Member
i bottle mine and its fine. i let it sit for around 2 weeks and then put in in a bottle without priming sugar. the bottles dont carbonate that much. one thing that does seem to happen is each bottle grows a little scooby in the neck of the bottle. its not a big deal but you either need to fish it out or pour it into a cup before you drink it. I mix mine with fresh grapefruit juice. sooo good.
Vance71975
Well-Known Member
To carb it up, add 2 teaspoons of sugar to the bottle,seal it up, and let it sit at room temp for 3-5 days then chill. This will carb it up. If you bottle it to soon into the fermentation you can end up with exploding bottles, so make sure its good and done before you bottle! Put bottles in a plastic tub with a lid while you wait for them to carb, that way if any do explode the mess is contained and you are not hurt by flying glass!
Vance71975
Well-Known Member
Nope i just let it go 7 days, add a the sugar(i use a ginger sugar syrup i made) and let it sit a few days then chill.
CHERYLinND
Active Member
I have personally not found a hydrometer useful for estimating if the fermentation is done. After awhile, it seems the nose knows...
OP
OP
spenghali
Well-Known Member
Well I just started a new batch, OG 1.024, I'll post results in a week or two. It seems like the scoby will just keep eating ALL the sugar though, leaving you with vinegar. So the whole safe bottling thing is a conundrum. Maybe I'll just keep drinking it as a still beverage, drawing it off the spigot as needed.
It surprises me that people have not had good success with souring beers with a scoby, seems like throwing a scoby in once your beer hit FG from the sach would work well...
It surprises me that people have not had good success with souring beers with a scoby, seems like throwing a scoby in once your beer hit FG from the sach would work well...
That's a damn good idea.
The reason the scoby isn't very good for souring beers is because of the kind of acid it creates. The scoby produces acetic acid (vinegar). This is the wrong kind of acid for most beer styles. The styles that do allow for this kind of acid only allow for it in smaller quantities.
I agree with this statement. But i was thinking that the scoby needs oxygen to produce the acetic acid. So if you toss it in a secondary fermenter, blanketed with co2, and toss an airlock on it and let the other players in the scoby go to work while choking out the acetobactor, you could probably get a near Flanders style brew.
ThePonchoKid
Well-Known Member
Fermentation is never complete until the solution has turned to vinegar. A pH meter is the prudent measuring device to use if you want to go beyond taste
