Well carbonated kombucha goes flat in refrigerator

Hello,

After about 7-10 days of fermenting, I strain and bottle the kombucha for about 4 days. If I open one of the bottles at this point, it's overflowing and super bubbly like champaign. After a day in the refrigerator it's still great. But after several days to a week, it's almost completely flat.

I use swing-top glass bottles with nice rubber seals.

I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance for tips or ideas!

The carbonation is dissipating in the air space.

Thanks for the reply!

Maybe I didn't describe the issue very well. The bottles are sealed & never opened. If I open a test bottle before refrigerating, it's very carbonated. But the other bottles, after a few days' refrigeration, are often flat despite never being opened.

Thoughts?

If it's well-carbonated before going into the fridge, but flat after, then the only possible explanation is bad seals on the bottle.

hunter_la5 said:

If it's well-carbonated before going into the fridge, but flat after, then the only possible explanation is bad seals on the bottle.

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Same thing happened to me today, actually. Quite fizzy from the jar, straight to bottle and in the fridge. This morning, almost completely flat.

cold liquid absorbs CO@ far better than warm, the CO2 is in there, it just has less desire to get out.... just like beer...

X2
I'll be willin to bet if you take it out of the fridge and let it warm up for a day it'll be the same as before you chilled it.... Bubbly.
Basically, you don't have enough carbonation if it seems flat when chilled.

That makes sense, actually -- that it would seem more carbonated while warm. I've heard people talk about letting new batches carbonate in bottles for far longer than I'm accustomed to. Maybe I'll just try letting it sit for a week+ instead of 3-4 days.

I'll be bottling a new batch tomorrow and will report back in a week or so.

Thanks!

I have noticed something like that also. Tea is very fizzy when I put it in the bottles, but when I put it in the refrigerator I hear air release when I open the top, but it does not seem carbonated.

The cold does seem to suppress the carbonation, but it is still there.

When I shake the bottle, tea it will fizz up and even shoot out of the top like a shaken soda would.

The last batch that I made I left the kombucha in sealed bottles for seven days instead of three, then refrigerated. That seems to have made all the difference. This batch was well carbonated even after several days of refrigeration, ice cold.

Looks pretty flat to me.

My kombucha goes flat in the fridge after about 2 weeks. It not only loses carbonation, but the sweetness is gone, as the sugar is apparently all digested. The color of the pomegranate juice also fades from a dark red to a pale pink at the same time. I'll experiment with lower temperatures. I might also experiment with pressurized glass bottles, but I'm a bit concerned with "explosions."

GregP507 said:

My kombucha goes flat in the fridge after about 2 weeks. It not only loses carbonation, but the sweetness is gone, as the sugar is apparently all digested. The color of the pomegranate juice also fades from a dark red to a pale pink at the same time. I'll experiment with lower temperatures. I might also experiment with pressurized glass bottles, but I'm a bit concerned with "explosions."

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Maybe it's your caps? Air escaping defect somewhere in the seal

No doubt a sealed bottle would help to some extent. Colder temperatures would also help. I prefer to make my batches as I need them. The bottle swelling up is a good indication of the fermentation process. A bottle lasts about 10 days, and I make new batches accordingly.

SleepyCreekBrews said:

X2
I'll be willin to bet if you take it out of the fridge and let it warm up for a day it'll be the same as before you chilled it.... Bubbly.
Basically, you don't have enough carbonation if it seems flat when chilled.

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This is exactly right!! Let it sit out for several hours to get close to room temperature though not warm and you will be golden!

erictoupin said:

The last batch that I made I left the kombucha in sealed bottles for seven days instead of three, then refrigerated. That seems to have made all the difference. This batch was well carbonated even after several days of refrigeration, ice cold.

View attachment 357180

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View attachment 357180Doesn’t look like quality carbonation. Looks like it’s all on top instead of dissolved into the kombucha.