Trying again - water kefir

[Srimmey]

It’s been a few years now since I made kefir, since then I took up winemaking. I I am trying my hand at kefir again, this time with all the extra knowledge I’ve gained.

Below is my planned process, would love some feedback on. I don’t want it to be alcoholic. I make enough of that and would rather have something my kids can enjoy.

1. Keep everything under airlock for primary and secondary fermentation. I’ve had enough of bottle bombs, it’s what made me stop making kefir last time.

2. Let juice/water kefir ferment dry in secondary. Allow it to clear naturally or add clearing agents (bentonite or Sparkloid).

3. Rack into keg, add more juice or sugar. Let kefir carbonate when fermentation restarts. Put in fridge once desired pressure is achieved.

 

[Srimmey]

Update on this:

These gains work so goddamn fast. It’s 2 weeks tops from beginning to end and I have water Kefir coming out of my ears.

I haven’t been using finning agents but I do let the kefir go full dry in secondary and wait to rack unit the gunk settles out. Once its in the keg (usually about 3/4 if a gallon) I top it off with more fruit juice or kefir water. It builds up a bit more pressure (usually 10-15 psi), then it goes in the fridge.

This stuff is great, it’s mostly dry and tastes similar to a lambic fruit ale. It’s either alcohol free or very very low alcohol so it’s great for those too young to drink or just trying to cut way back.

I now have finished bottles of cherry and mango that I moved from the keg into swing tops and a gallon of grape fruit in the keg. 1 gallon of pineapple and 1 gallon of apple are in carboys currently.

I’m sitting on almost 2 gallons of finished kefir and am starting to be concerned about storage space!