thamnophis
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New to this ... I'm curious about the different processes: water kefir VS kombucha. I am reading a ,to of kombucha advice but don't know how that translates to water kefir -
In quart jars I mix up a 1/4 cup sugar with a teaspoon or so of home made molasses (made from sugar bets we grow). stir until dissolved and then add maybe a tablespoon of kefir seeds and cap lightly.
After 2 days I have a great drink: tastes a little like a lambic beer with distinct green apple flavors. We just pour it through a couple layers of cheese cloth to strain out the kefir seeds and keep the drink in the fridge.
I would like to experiment with a 2nd ferment to boost carbonation and try different flavors.
For a 2nd ferment, do I strain out the chunks of kefir and just let the remnants ferment what I add? Or do I include the kefir in 2nd ferment too?
After my initial ferment, the drink is about as sour as I want it. Will it continue to sour during a second ferment? Will fermenting longer at cooler temps reduce the sourness?
How do I know if I should add sugar to a 2nd ferment, or how much? Lets say I boil some malted roasted barley with a few hops, let it cool then add it to the quart of 1st ferment. IS there any guide to the ratio of 1st and 2nd ferment I should mix?
Do I try to read potential alcohol and then adjust sugar? Or doesn't kefir work that way?
And finally, how long would a 2nd ferment go, relative to temperature? I plan to bottle in those flip tops and will try fermenting in the house (68-70F) and the mud room: (50-55F) When should I start opening and trying them out? A week?
Thanks for any help with all these questions!
In quart jars I mix up a 1/4 cup sugar with a teaspoon or so of home made molasses (made from sugar bets we grow). stir until dissolved and then add maybe a tablespoon of kefir seeds and cap lightly.
After 2 days I have a great drink: tastes a little like a lambic beer with distinct green apple flavors. We just pour it through a couple layers of cheese cloth to strain out the kefir seeds and keep the drink in the fridge.
I would like to experiment with a 2nd ferment to boost carbonation and try different flavors.
For a 2nd ferment, do I strain out the chunks of kefir and just let the remnants ferment what I add? Or do I include the kefir in 2nd ferment too?
After my initial ferment, the drink is about as sour as I want it. Will it continue to sour during a second ferment? Will fermenting longer at cooler temps reduce the sourness?
How do I know if I should add sugar to a 2nd ferment, or how much? Lets say I boil some malted roasted barley with a few hops, let it cool then add it to the quart of 1st ferment. IS there any guide to the ratio of 1st and 2nd ferment I should mix?
Do I try to read potential alcohol and then adjust sugar? Or doesn't kefir work that way?
And finally, how long would a 2nd ferment go, relative to temperature? I plan to bottle in those flip tops and will try fermenting in the house (68-70F) and the mud room: (50-55F) When should I start opening and trying them out? A week?
Thanks for any help with all these questions!
