Corking kombucha

The flip-top bottles I'm using on my second ferment have some really weak tops ie. I don't think they're sustaining enough pressure. I'm thinking about just corking them, would there be a problem with that? Should I go with natural or synthetic corks?

Do you have any screw-top bottles lying around? Your theory is that pressure is leaking out of the flip-tops, but if you poured your primary ferment into some screw-top bottles at the same time, you could verify that you're getting carbonation at all. If there's no carbonation in the screw-top bottles either after 3-4 days, you may have exhausted all the sugar during primary ferment, or if you've added sugar/juice to the secondary then you many have a dead culture.

i use natural tapered corks. This works just as well as the grolsch/ fischer/ flip top bottles, and it eliminates the need for the plastic/ rubber gasket on this flip top bottle (I know a lot of people are worried about leaching chemicals into the elixir).

Just make sure that they are in there good and tight. If not, what can happen (as this happened to me) the cork can fly off in an explosion of kombucha. If under pressure, do not shake the kombucha at any time, it may cause the cork to fly off. This most likely would not have happened if I were to have used a corking press thingy with regular, non tapered corks. I use tapered corks because I do not need a cork screw to uncork them or any other extra tools. Its very simple. Sometimes I even add a capsule over the cork (the foil on top of the cork) to make it look especially professional and to add a proventive measure in case the cork flies off.

Zapped said:

Do you have any screw-top bottles lying around? Your theory is that pressure is leaking out of the flip-tops, but if you poured your primary ferment into some screw-top bottles at the same time, you could verify that you're getting carbonation at all. If there's no carbonation in the screw-top bottles either after 3-4 days, you may have exhausted all the sugar during primary ferment, or if you've added sugar/juice to the secondary then you many have a dead culture.

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No, I don't have any screw-top bottles available and am very confident its due to a weak flip-top since I did add sugar and the previous batch was a least a little more fizzier.

applepipe419 said:

i use natural tapered corks. This works just as well as the grolsch/ fischer/ flip top bottles, and it eliminates the need for the plastic/ rubber gasket on this flip top bottle (I know a lot of people are worried about leaching chemicals into the elixir).

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I plan on getting these, thanks! The foil over the cork is a nice precaution.

applepipe419 - I tried using natural tapered corks and my KT actually had less fizz than after the primary ferment! I'm certain that the bottle I'm using is too wide for the ones I bought. Do you hand cork it or use a corker tool?

Well surfer, as stated before, I use no tools. There shouldnt ever been "less fizz" if you have used corks. The only explanation there is you used a broken cork, or a cork with a freaking hole in it!!! Happy corking!