I'm wondering why my small batches of kombucha taste acidic and pleasantly sour, but my large batches always just taste yeasty with only a slight hint of sourness. I've been adding a cup of already-fermented kombucha from the small batches to the large one as a starter like someone here suggested.
Small batches taste acidic and slightly sour, but big batches just taste yeasty
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About a gallon (actually 4 liters), that's all. I've been brewing both the small and large batches (small batch is 1 liter) for a little over a week. This is enough time for the small batch but I'm thinking maybe the large one just isn't brewing long enough. I brewed one for probably closer to 2 weeks though and I couldn't tell any real difference. It just seems like the yeast like the big jar and I get a lot more of it there.
I've been using 1 teaspoon of sugar for every 500 mL of tea. Is this too much? Maybe the yeast is eating lots of sugar but the bacteria can't keep up with transforming the alcohol as quickly?
I've been using 1 teaspoon of sugar for every 500 mL of tea. Is this too much? Maybe the yeast is eating lots of sugar but the bacteria can't keep up with transforming the alcohol as quickly?
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This one's easy. Chuck the 4l vessel and just brew 4 1l batches.
kyt
Well-Known Member
Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. I personally would rather try to figure out why the 4L isn't working right; the thrill of the hunt.
But it's hard to deny this logic. If 1L volumes produce the product you like, in the time frame you require, it makes sense.
The size and shape of the container you are using can influence the end result.
There is a reason why commercial fermentation tanks are specific height to width ratios, and why conical cones are at the angles they are.
If your 1L vessel is tall and narrow, and the 4L is short and wide, this can influence the way yeasts do their thing. I'm not a high enough level brewer to explain the how and why, but it comes up from time to time from people who know what they're talking about.
Look at the ratios for the two containers, and try to find a new large container that mimics the 1L closer.
If the 1L is 1" by 4" (this is too small for 1L but it's an example for math's sake), then the ratio is 1:4. Find a larger container that is 2" by 8", or 3" by 12". Typically it seems the wider shallower containers make a more sour KT, but you wouldn't want to use a cookie sheet. I doubt that would turn out very well, not to mention it would be hard to cover lol
A suggestion you might want to try. If you put 50ml of vodka in 3L of fermenting KT, it sours really quickly. I've got a document around here some place of and experiment I did with vodka in primary. It doesn't take much, and the bacteria get started on it right away. The problem you may have is, if your yeast aren't performing well, you'll end up with cloying vinegar.
Fix the yeast problem first. Get an empty 20oz soda bottle and fill it half way with finished KT. Dissolve a tsp of sugar in a half cup of warm water, and let it sit out until it cools to at about the same temp as the KT. Then add it to the bottle. Make sure there is at least 1 inch of headspace in the bottle. Then squeeze the bottle with the lid off until the liquid is up to the top. Put the cap on it tight. Every couple days, check on the bottle. The yeast should process the sugar, and release CO2 which you'll capture. If the bottle doesn't fill back out, you have under performing yeast. Or none at all.
Are you using tap water? If so, you need to dechlorinate it before using. Chlorine is added to kill off things in the water. You'd need to boil it, or let it sit out uncovered for an amount of time. You can also treat the water with products designed to remove chlorine, like Campden tablets.
The temperature you ferment at greatly influences the yeasts and bacteria as well.
No, I use bottled spring water. I still keep some little 1 L bowls around, I've got two brewing now. But like you say, it's the problem-solving part of it, plus the big jar takes up much less room than 4 bowls do.
I may try the vodka thing. I'm keeping a kombucha notebook where I'm recording everything I try differently and the results that it produces later.
Also someone said before that if the air can't circulate well over the top of the scoby because the jar is too high and deep, then that could hurt the bacteria processing ethanol into acetic acid. This might be the problem. Maybe I should set up a fan to blow air over the top of the big jar to make sure there's air flow, but how I can do this and keep it covered from dust at the same time will be another problem, lol.....
kyt
Well-Known Member
Keeping a notebook is excellent!
Yes, a bowl and a jar will ferment out differently. The bowl should have a larger area exposed to air, where jars typically have a mouth that is smaller diameter than the sides. Unless its a wide mouth jar of course. When the yeast are producing CO2 this will create a blanket over the surface as it is heavier than air. It's easier for this to blow away in a bowl, exposing surface to oxygen.
If you want to go the vodka route start off with 10ml and step it up each batch until you find what you like. Oh don't be surprised if the pellicle turns to ****. I removed the pellicle from my test batch to see how it would grow. It did form but it was all lumpy and weird.
My document should still be in the Kombucha Nation Facebook board, I'd you'd like to read over it.
Yes, a bowl and a jar will ferment out differently. The bowl should have a larger area exposed to air, where jars typically have a mouth that is smaller diameter than the sides. Unless its a wide mouth jar of course. When the yeast are producing CO2 this will create a blanket over the surface as it is heavier than air. It's easier for this to blow away in a bowl, exposing surface to oxygen.
If you want to go the vodka route start off with 10ml and step it up each batch until you find what you like. Oh don't be surprised if the pellicle turns to ****. I removed the pellicle from my test batch to see how it would grow. It did form but it was all lumpy and weird.
My document should still be in the Kombucha Nation Facebook board, I'd you'd like to read over it.
kyt
Well-Known Member
A thought occurred to me while listening to an aeration episode of Brew Strong. Are you doing anything to oxygenate your new tea before adding it to your big jar?
If not try whisking it for a couple minutes before you add it. See if that helps at all.
If not try whisking it for a couple minutes before you add it. See if that helps at all.
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