Small scoby, in a big container

Hi,

I grew a scoby from scratch and now am trying to brew 2gallons of kombucha. Seems to be going good. However I don't know if the top of the scoby will dry out or if I should submerge it and grow a new full Scoby that fits the big container. Have a look at the photo after 4 days. suggestions? Should I let it float or submerge it?

View attachment 1430001095911.jpg

I had to google that, it looks pretty gnarly.

posting to sub to this thread because that looks weird. Carry on.

There seems to be an obsession with the so called "scoby" among kombucha brewers. The scoby is NOT what produces kombucha, and it is NOT a living organism. It's a mat of biocellulose which is produced by the acetobacter as a byproduct of their metabolism. There are bacteria and yeasts on the surface of it, but in reality the fermentation of kombucha is largely the result of the yeasts and bacteria in the liquid. Don't obsess about the scoby. It is an indicator that the acetobacter is doing it's job, and little more than that. I've split batches numerous times, putting half the brew in a new container, and leaving half the brew in the original, topping both up with sweet tea. It takes about 7 days for each to reach maturity. The one with the scoby is slightly faster, and of course the other one is forming a thin new scoby.

I do continuous brew............. draining off about 25% of the kombucha every 4 days or so, and simply pouring fresh sweet tea over the scoby to replace it......sinking the scoby and tumbling it around. It re-floats after it's "bath" and has enough acidic kombucha on it to prevent mold.

H.W.

Great!

The kombucha board would love this thread...