Newb brewer here, got questions

Hi all,
I have been buying kombucha for a while and decided time to save some dough and make my own for my family.

So I bought a kit and started my first batch last Thursday. I'm already wondering about future batches as I'd like to have a continuous batch brewing at all times to keep us stocked.

As for supplies I have 1 big glass continent for brewing. I have 12 grolsch style bottles on the way, ph strips, granulated sugar and large bag of loose leaf organic black tea. Do I need anything further?

My current batch is brewing with the scoby provided. I get a little confused at this part about what happens when the first batch is done. I understand I scoop out the Scoby place in a container with a cup of the tea and then use that in the next batch.
But How many scobies will there be at the end of the first batch? Should a new one form?
On top of, or around the one I put in initially?

Can I cut it and then have two batches brewing in two containers? I plan on getting another glass brewing container.

Thanks in advance all!

I'll gets me pics up soon?

You have a scale for the tea right? Sounds like you are all set. When the second batch comes around you can add both scobys or just one and "hotel" the other.

zipper8650 said:

You have a scale for the tea right? Sounds like you are all set. When the second batch comes around you can add both scobys or just one and "hotel" the other.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.
Do you mean a scale for measuring loose leaf tea? If so, i have a kitchen scale. If something else, no I don't.

I don't have my kit instructions in front of me but if i remember correctly it said to use 3-4 tbsp of tea. Does that sound right?

I use a gram scale for my measurements, not sure on measurement, sorry

Farbybrew said:

My current batch is brewing with the scoby provided. I get a little confused at this part about what happens when the first batch is done. I understand I scoop out the Scoby place in a container with a cup of the tea and then use that in the next batch.
But How many scobies will there be at the end of the first batch? Should a new one form?
On top of, or around the one I put in initially?

Can I cut it and then have two batches brewing in two containers? I plan on getting another glass brewing container.

Click to expand...

A new scoby may form, or it may just add to the one you started with. SCOBYs tend to form at the top of the liquid, so whether or not it makes a new one or adds to the existing one depends on how well it's floating.

In any case, scobys tend to form in layered pellicles, and are easily split.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the "scoby" so much. The fermentation bugs required for kombucha brewing come from the starter tea/tea from a previous batch. The gelatinous puck that people call "scoby" is mostly just a fermentation byproduct. A new one will form whether or not you have one in your batch of booch.

Thanks for the reply. i'm about 5 days into the first brew. It's keeping at around 68-70 degrees. I will get pics up soon.

thanks again!

Farbybrew said:

Thanks for the reply. i'm about 5 days into the first brew. It's keeping at around 68-70 degrees. I will get pics up soon.

thanks again!

Click to expand...

At that temp, it will take your brew longer than you expect. The little buggers are cold.

i was expecting two weeks or so?
right now I am seeing a nice whitish layer forming a solid the top, with lots stringy stuff hanging down underneath, one or two of which actually pretty long and thick

Here are some pics, hopefully you are able to see whats brewing!
Looks ok right? i don't see any mold. I hope it's going ok, I'm excited!

Looks like a SCOBY. Congration.

Couple more q's

Does the SCOBY get thicker the longer I brew it? I'm going to start tasting tonight and checking PH level of the brew to see where it's at.

I'm not moving the jar so it's hard to tell, but the original scoby I think is slightly underneath. When the time comes to bottle, I'd like to use the old scoby in a jar to begin another batch, and the new scoby in a different jar for another batch.

If the SCOBY is now all just one SCOBY, can i tear it into two pieces to allow for two batches to be brewed at once? I've read that you can, but wasn't sure if there was a downside to this. I'm pretty sure I should be able to peel off the old one from under neath and have two that way.

Patience... You will get a second scoby, then a third... I don't know if it would harm the process to tear it into two, I just know that eventually you'll be giving them away to friends and family.

Farbybrew said:

Couple more q's

Does the SCOBY get thicker the longer I brew it? I'm going to start tasting tonight and checking PH level of the brew to see where it's at.

I'm not moving the jar so it's hard to tell, but the original scoby I think is slightly underneath. When the time comes to bottle, I'd like to use the old scoby in a jar to begin another batch, and the new scoby in a different jar for another batch.

If the SCOBY is now all just one SCOBY, can i tear it into two pieces to allow for two batches to be brewed at once? I've read that you can, but wasn't sure if there was a downside to this. I'm pretty sure I should be able to peel off the old one from under neath and have two that way.

Click to expand...

You probably need to do a couple more brews before you split them. You can tear in half, but they should just peel easily apart.

Farbybrew said:

Couple more q's

Does the SCOBY get thicker the longer I brew it? I'm going to start tasting tonight and checking PH level of the brew to see where it's at.

I'm not moving the jar so it's hard to tell, but the original scoby I think is slightly underneath. When the time comes to bottle, I'd like to use the old scoby in a jar to begin another batch, and the new scoby in a different jar for another batch.

If the SCOBY is now all just one SCOBY, can i tear it into two pieces to allow for two batches to be brewed at once? I've read that you can, but wasn't sure if there was a downside to this. I'm pretty sure I should be able to peel off the old one from under neath and have two that way.

Click to expand...

It will continue to get thicker with each successive batch. You can split it apart by layers, or just throw the whole thing in the garbage.