Moldy SCOBY? Please help

Hello Home Brew Talk!

I have made probably a dozen 1 gallon batches of kombucha over the past year but I am experiencing something Ive never seen with my SCOBY, Im pretty sure its mold but I want a second opinion before trashing it.

background: I moved back in August of 2014 and haven't made a batch of Kombucha since then, 3 weeks ago i decided to sanitize my gallon jug and make a batch. My SCOBY had been in a zip lock bag with a couple cups of the previous tea since mid August. I brewed a batch, let i ferment for 7 days and placed the SCOBY in a new plastic bag with some tea. At this point everything is normal.

The next day I decided to brew another batch but I was in hurry and only sanitized my jug with hot water. This time i let my fermentation stage last 14 days. Today I went to check on and bottle it and now there is a thick white layer on top of my SCOBY. I can not tell if it is mold or not.

I would greatly appreciate your knowledge or opinion!

I don't see anything that looks like mold. Where in the picture is it supposed to be?

You can see the old SCOBY which is on the top, darker in color. Below that is the new white layer that grew on top, the only thing that has be worried is in person the white layer has a blue tint to it.

The new white layer that grew on top is just a new SCOBY. In the picture it looks quite healthy. The blue tint could very well just be from yeast. As long as there is no dry fuzzy stuff on top, then it's most likely not mold.

Awesome! Thank you for your input, very much appreciated!

They both look fine to me.

Even though they look fine throw them away. They're not needed.

shelly_belly said:

Even though they look fine throw them away. They're not needed.

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No need to tell people what to do! SCOBY's are OPTIONAL: you can add them or not...

Why would I throw them away???

They really don't contribute to kombucha production. You could sell them though as the SCOBY trade is well established.

shelly_belly said:

They really don't contribute to kombucha production. You could sell them though as the SCOBY trade is well established.

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The only really compelling argument I've heard for using them is that they form an additional protective layer over the top of the KT (in addition to the cloth or whatever you're covering the fermenter with). But yeah they're really not "necessary". I suppose they also contain some of the yeast/bacteria needed to ferment, but you're really getting the bulk of that from the starter tea anyway.

At any rate, they certainly don't seem to hurt anything, so I just leave it in there every batch. When it starts to get too big, I just split it in half and throw half away.

Mine would always sink and a new one would grow. I find it easier to siphon with just one in the jar.