Secondary fermentation: why is a new scoby forming everytime ?

Hello community !

I'm quite new at kumbucha brewing. My kombucha tastes great and the scoby is all white and looks healthy but I like fizzy kombucha, so i try a second fermentation in sealed glass bottles making sure the mixure is still tasting a bit sweet or adding a bit of sugar to make sure it goes on with fizzing, but it comes together and forms a new scoby like blub after only 24h. And it doesn't get bubbly
So my questions are:
- is it normal ?
- how do you guys make a fizzy kombucha ?
Thank you !!!

Very normal. You'll need to let secondary fermentation take more time than 24 hours. Patience, grasshopper.

Yes of course, i've read 2-8 days. So now it's been 6. Still not fizzy.
What is your process ?

Chichon said:

Yes of course, i've read 2-8 days. So now it's been 6. Still not fizzy.
What is your process ?

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I don't typically second ferment, so hopefully someone else can give you their process.

don't second ferment is a good start to your new process

Well thank you all. Although I was hoping for some discussion around the subject.

Does anyone know if it's possible to make kombucha with a secondary fermentation without baby scobies like they do on the market. And how to give a kick to the fizziness.

Thanks for sharing your tricks annd experiences.

Trying to brew something good here in Québec.

I've secondary fermented nearly every batch for the past year, and have never had a scoby in the bottle. How are you transferring to bottles? Do you remove the scoby from the primary container before draining into the bottle? Do you use a spout? Perhaps using a muslin cloth over your spout will keep crud out and prevent the secondary baby.

My process for secondary is to add about 10% juice to the bottle before draining into it, let it sit at room temp for 1 week, then refrigerate. Fizzy fruity goodness

Hi wow thanks,

Well yes I remove the mother from the primary container and then filtrered through a plastic strainer into the bottles. I will try with a fine mesh next time ! I'll let you know if there is a difference.
For half of the bottles I added a tea spoon of sugar and the other half none.
Left it 8 days on the counter and refrigerated one bottle with no sugar added to taste. Still a bit to sweet and just a tiny fizz. Going to let the others sit a while longer.

Thanks for the tips !

Another thing to check would be bottle seals. Some don't seal well, and that can cause CO2 to leak out. If it's bad enough O2 can get in, which could cause scobys to form in the bottle.

You could also look into a racking cane and bottling wand, they can help get away from filtering. I've found filtering and bottling with a funnel can mix in some O2, which may also contribute to scoby formation.

If you're looking for more consistency, you could always get into kegging.

That is some good info.

Thanks alot for sharing !

Going to go and experience all that.

Cheers !

About the O2 would it be a good idea to fill the bottles all the way to almost the top so they have less contact with air ?

I left half an inch to an inch in 500ml bottles maube it's too much..

Definitely leave some headspace, I think eliminating it may cause some blown caps or exploding bottles.

Add some simple syrup at bottling. Not too much.

I'm new to kombucha brewing myself, being only on my third batch. But for both my first 2 batches I did secondary brewing. Jut removed the scoby, removed 2 cups for next batch, poured into bottles and waited about 12-16 hours before refrigerating. I did one bottle plastic so I knew when it was done (rock solid). I didn't add anything or strain anything the first batch. the second batch I let it sit in jar with peach slices for 1 1/2 days before bottling.

basic recipe was 14 cups of water + 8 tea bags + 1 cup sugar + 2 cups last batch.

I've read of other people having this same problem.

As for scoby, I get it in some bottles but not all. I think it probably has to do with the combination of yeast/bacteria in your bottle.

Good luck!

I think you're bound to get a SCOBY in kombucha unless you filter with a sterile filter (.5 microns or maybe 1 micron - way smaller than a tea strainer). Or if you pasteurize it. Many commercial booches have a small SCOBY in it or will develop a tiny one.

My solution is to drink it faster

Re new SCOBY each time, of course, part of the by product of this ferm process is cellulose, which forms that white mass. We have a continuous brew Kombucha going and each addition results in a new SCOBY.

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Curtis2010 said:

Re new SCOBY each time, of course, part of the by product of this ferm process is cellulose, which forms that white mass. We have a continuous brew Kombucha going and each addition results in a new SCOBY.

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Great pic!

+1 on bottle seals -- what kind of bottles are you using? If your carbon dioxodie is able to force it's way our you'll get no carbonation.

I don't add sugar to mine after I bottle mine, they do have a bit more sweetness to them when I bottle to with the expectation that that sugar will get converted into CO2 and it largely has been. I get a nice carbonation that isn't too fierce, GT's often explodes out to the bottle for me and I'm happy to be south of there. I keep them at room temperature for a full week, then toss them in the fridge for 3 days before I start drinking them. When they first get refrigerated the CO2 levels will back off a wee bit and rebuild over the next day or so in my experience.

I also don't strain anything ... yeast and small bits of scoby .. they all wind up in my belly

Finally got a nice secondary fermentation. Bottled with some juice and left on the counter for a full week.

Chichon said:

Hi wow thanks,

Well yes I remove the mother from the primary container and then filtrered through a plastic strainer into the bottles. I will try with a fine mesh next time ! I'll let you know if there is a difference.
For half of the bottles I added a tea spoon of sugar and the other half none.
Left it 8 days on the counter and refrigerated one bottle with no sugar added to taste. Still a bit to sweet and just a tiny fizz. Going to let the others sit a while longer.

Thanks for the tips !

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What is your temperature? Maybe you could increase it a bit, somewhere between 70F to 75F.

Concerning scoby growing during secondary, just try to reduce your head space. Good luck!