What's the process for bottling kombucha?

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benco

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We are fixing to bottle are first batch. As the title says, what's the process? Do you prime, let set at room temp, when do you put in the fridge, when can you drink it. I've read elsewhere some people have some bottle bombs. We have some quart flip top bottles and some 12 oz. beer bottles. Thanks!
 
I just stir it up to dissolve the yeast evenly (otherwise the last few bottles have lots of yeast), then pour it into bottles. If I want carbonation to develop I leave them out but they also regrow scobies and yeast more quickly this way. I drink it pretty fast so I don't have bottles sitting around for a month or more, so I don't have to worry about bottles exploding, only giving off a hiss when they open like soda does.
 
I've brewed a LOT of kombucha...... typically bottling about a gallon a week. I just put 5 gallons in secondary to keg and serve at the local brew pub.

My method.........using 1 Liter flip top bottles (EZ Cap) is to put some sort of bottling syrup into the bottle and pour kombucha in with it. My favorite is a ginger syrup made from freshly grated ginger root. 1 C ginger root, one cup sugar, 2 cups water...... cooked and strained. I put 1/4 cup of this in a 1 Liter bottle. I also put some star anise and cinnamon sticks in when I'm cooking it frequently to add a more complex flavor.

These bottles will develop a LOT of pressure if you aren't careful. The EZ cap flip tops vent themselves, but I put a rubber band through the bail to hold the cap down rather than flipping the bail down into the lock position. This if done correctly limits pressure to about 30psi, which is a good pressure for carbonation (room temp). It will be considerably lower at refrigerator temps, but will gush at room temp.

I also use a blackberry "syrup" frequently which is nothing more than blackberries run through the food processor with just enough kombucha to make a pourable sludge. I normally put this in a one gallon ice tea jar...... 1 cup of it and top with kombucha, and leave for 24 hours, then bottle using a strainer and funnel. This will pressure up rapidly also.

Don't even consider using crown cap bottles......... they can easily turn into bombs. The flip tops are expensive, but worth every penny!!

H.W.
 
Don't even consider using crown cap bottles......... they can easily turn into bombs.

I've also brewed a lot of kombucha and almost always use crown caps. Never had anything even resembling a bottle bomb. Currently I have about 150 0.75 l bottles ageing away (at room temperature!).

I think it's a myth that flip top bottles will vent themselves.

Don't even consider using some sort of bottling syrup.......... this can easily lead to bombs.
Kombucha usually has plenty of residual sugar left at bottling time. Since you basically have no idea how much, adding extra is probably not a very good idea...
 
Thanks for every ones help! Here's a pic of our first 2 gallons were going to bottle in a few days when taste and ph are ok, wanted to do a 5 gallon from the start. KYT said we need to do a starter and step it up. Still learning. Our is to put it on tap. ImageUploadedByHome Brew1398136956.284437.jpg
 
I agree with syrups being a bad idea. Yes it would work, but a syrup is going to be concentrated. Compounding on this, Owly's syrup would not be just a simple sugar, and you cannot guarantee the sugar levels.
Owly has his own ritual/process and has worked out the kinks to work for him. Your mileage WILL vary. I would not recommend that method to someone starting out.

Another detail to note, adding the fermentables to the bottle is not a good choice either. You cannot know exactly how much is going into each one and you'll have differing carbonation levels. "Yea I do, I put a teaspoon!" No you didn't, you just think you did.
Owly can get away with this for various reasons, which I won't get into because it's not a good practice.

So what would I say to do?
Use this to determine how much simple sugar to add at bottling for the desired carbonation levels:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

When you are ready to keg, there is no need to prime:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/keg-carbonation-calculator/

In the bottle priming calculator you'll notice there are 3 options, Corn Sugar (dextrose), Table Sugar (sucrose), and DME.
Dextrose is the most simple sugar, it is glucose.
Sucrose is the next most simple sugar, it is (1) glucose and (1) sucrose.
DME is the most complex of the 3, it is a bunch of different things but mostly maltose (2 glucose) and a whole bunch of other stuff like flavor compounds, proteins, etc etc etc.

Dextrose will ferment out the cleanest with the least change in flavor. If you care about GMOs in your product, find organic dextrose. This can be bought at homebrew shops, or ordered online. I doubt you'd find it at the grocery store, but you never know.

Sucrose will take just a little bit longer to process by the yeast because it must be split first (inversion), unless you invert the sugar before hand. It won't change the flavor of the KT, but it could leave more residual sweetness due to the fructose content. Fructose is sweeter than glucose, and the yeast will prefer to process the glucose first, so if you refrigerate before they can work all the fructose, it could end up being sweeter than you expected. Depending on how much you used, even very cloying (means too sweet).
You can find this at the grocery, but usually not at the homebrew shops. This is what I use, I get the Domino brand because it is proudly Cane Sugar. If you get cheapo value brand sugar, you can bet it's probably GMO sugar beet derived.

DME is dried malt extract, it's concentrated beer wort that is dried to a powder. This is made from barley, and could be GMO barley unless you got an organic kind, or one from Briess Malting. I emailed them asking about GMO grain, the half-assed reply I got says they won't buy GMO grain. Before I digress, lets move on. DME will change the flavor of your KT; the amount you use determines how much of a change. If you're curious, try it! You may really like how it tastes. Maltose has to be split, like sucrose, but it breaks down into (2) glucose. DME (or LME which is liquid extract if you wanted) could leave some residual sweetness like sucrose due to other less fermentable sugars like maltotriose (3 glucose), and other longer chain dextrins, but their sweetness is less than that of fructose. http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter12.html

Yea that's great and all, but how the F do I do it, right? Right, that's what you asked.
Get out a small sauce pan (or whatever), put in 1/2 cup of water and the amount of your sugar choice.
Start off with enough sugar for 2.0 volumes of CO2. This will give you some carbonation, but not a gusher. If it's not enough, increase the volumes in the calc next time. Please don't start off at 5.0 unless you like sticky exploding glass. No seriously don't.

Bring this solution just to boil then cut the heat. It doesn't have to boil, you just need it hot enough to dissolve the sugar. It'll need to cool before you can use it. Now's the time to start your bottling process.
Get out all the bottles you're going to fill. Make sure they are nice and clean. No need to sanitize, since you're KT already has bugs in it, but you don't want to fill any that have dip spit or cigarette butts in them.
You're going to need another container to siphon into so you can evenly distribute the priming solution you just made. I use a bottling bucket because it is easy to clean and has a handydandy spigot. Siphon out the amount you want to bottle, leaving behind the starter for the next batch.

What if I don't have another container?
Well, then you have a few options. You could prime each bottle and siphon on top of it; the least consistent option. You could siphon to another container that you do have, like a pitcher or something you know the volume of and make your priming solution in batches tailored to that volume; not as consistent because you could get differing carbonation between batches. You could prime the fermentor. Not the most ideal because you'd be priming your starter too, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but would provide the most consistent results for the situation; you'd need to calculate priming solution for the entire batch size, not bottling volume though.

Once the priming solution is cooled, add it to the volume of liquid in whatever container you went with. Mix it in well. If you're going to use a racking cane and hose, you'll need a hose clamp. If you still have time, stop by your local homebrew shop and get a bottling wand: http://morebeer.com/products/bottle-filler-removable-spring-38.html
It'll make your life much simpler, and they don't cost much. They can be disassembled for easy cleaning.
Still using just a hose and clamp? That's fine, I started there too.
Make sure the clamp is set high enough on the hose so the end can reach the bottom of the bottles. Leave the clamp open while you start the siphon, then put slight pressure on the clamp to slow the flow down while you fill. If you don't, precious KT will come flying out the top and you'll have a sticky mess. Sam's Club sells a pair of bus tubs for like $11, they're great for containing spills and super easy to clean later!
When the liquid gets to the top of the bottle, shut off the flow and pull the hose out. This will leave you with just the right amount of headspace for carbonation. If you picked up a bottling wand, the shut off is automatic because it has a spring loaded valve in the tip :rockin:

Just cap and store at room temperature for a few days to a week. The time you need to let them sit depends on several factors, like what is room temp, yeast viability, and the type of priming solution used. Put one in the fridge after 4-5 days of sitting out, then a day later put another one in the fridge, and drink the one you had in there. Keep doing this until you find the number of days that works for your process and choices made.
If you find that you like how the bottle that sat for 10 days is carbonated and tastes, put the rest of your bottles in the fridge now, because they'll be 1 day behind that one! Now you'll know for next time how long to let them sit. If you change the amount of priming sugar used, you'll have to let them sit a little longer as not only will there be more sugar to process, but the CO2 produced needs time to dissolve into the liquid; which it doesn't want to do at room temps. Gasses will dissolve better in colder liquids, than warmer ones. So when the KT is warm, you've got some in solution, but the rest is pressurized in the headspace. If you open a warm one, you've just let out most of your gas.

I know that's a lot, let me know if I missed something.
 
Hey I'm still new and learning....sort of confused by all the variation within the whole process of making kombucha.

Is priming necessary? How do you know how much to use if you do?
"Start off with enough sugar for 2.0 volumes of CO2." I don't know what you mean by 2.0 volumes
 
I know that's a lot, let me know if I missed something.

You make it sound very scientific, but you completely neglect the point that there's usually plenty of residual sugar left at bottling time!!! To me adding adding extra sugar sounds like a disaster waiting to happen!
 
Nope not neglected. If there is residual fermentables left, that is an indication of incomplete fermentation. Ideally your KT should ferment out almost dry. If it isn't, then your yeasts are not very attenuative. In which case you may find that adding priming sugar makes your KT even sweeter and would have little to no carbonation. Good ale yeasts can ferment out almost everything fermentable in sometimes as little as 48-72 hours.
 
Ideally your KT should ferment out almost dry.

Doesn't that make your KT way too sour and essentially undrinkable??

My (completely unscientific) guess is that in most brews (both home brew and commercial) there's still about half of the original sugar left in the finished product...
 
Doesn't that make your KT way too sour and essentially undrinkable??

My (completely unscientific) guess is that in most brews (both home brew and commercial) there's still about half of the original sugar left in the finished product...

Nope, it makes it dry. Think dry wine, or champagne. Those are extreme examples, but that's the dry taste. Sourness is a different sensation, caused by the acetic acid. Now, if you used a whole lot of sugar, and we'll say your yeasts fermented all of it out (100%), that would provide quite a bit of ethanol for the acetobacter to oxidize, and you'd end up with either a good amount of souring. Unless your acetobacter weren't doing too well, then you'd end up with extra ethanol lol obviously.

If you're ending up with 50% attenuation, that is not good. Simple sugars are relatively easy for yeasts to process, they should be used up pretty quickly.

If you'd like to perform an experiment:
Get 2 containers of the same volume, and a drilled stopper with an airlock for each.
Make a new batch of tea with your usual amount of sugar in it.
In container A put a measure of starter plus the new tea.
In container B put the same measure of starter plus same new tea, also add a little new ale yeast. About 1g will do ya for a small container, maybe Safale 04 or 05.
The point is to watch the airlock activity, note the lag time, how vigorous fermentation is, and how long it ferments for.
If your yeast are only working 50% of your sugars, you'll notice that the new yeast bottle will be much less sweet (dry) than the unadulterated bottle.
You'll be making tea wine because the lack of oxygen will keep the ethanol from being converted as quickly, if at all.
You can drink these if you want, they'd be perfectly fine, but the one that's more dry probably won't be very tasty.
I did this same thing with some champagne yeast once. They really get out the sugars, but you're left with funny tasting soda water lol

If you have a hydrometer, you can measure the gravity of each bottle and see what it ended up being. This doesn't work so well when fermented openly because a hydrometer is designed to measure sucrose in water, and doesn't work properly when acetic acid is added in solution.
Then you'd know what the observed attenuation really is, and you can calculate for real attenuation.
 
If there's hardly any sugar left and it doesn't taste sour, what was the sugar then converted into? Alcohol? How much sugar do you actually start with?

Just for fun I looked up the nutrition facts of GT's original kombucha: there's about 30 grams of carbohydrates in 1 liter of that stuff. Of course I have no idea how much sugar they start with, but 30 grams is actually quite a bit! Their attenuation can't be very good...
I tried GT's a couple of years ago (don't live in the US), but if I remember correctly, it didn't taste very sweet...

If you want something more scientific:

http://www.happyherbalist.com/analysis_of_kt_cornell.htm

They start with sweetened tea with 10% (that's 100 gram per litre) sucrose and after nine days end up with:

* pH 2.5
* 3.3% total acid
* 0.7% acetic acid
* 4.8% glucose
* 0.6% ethanol
 
Here's 30g of sucrose. I didn't keep track of how many teaspoons it was sorry. Like 4 or 5 I think.
.1kg/L is what I use too.
Glucose isn't as sweet as fructose, and sucrose is half and half.
So 100g of sucrose would be 50g glucose and 50g fructose. If they were only left with a % of glucose and no fructose, that would explain why you didn't perceive it as being very sweet.
GTs only lists the microbial package in the bottle, do you know what they actually ferment with? They could be fermenting with a different strain, then filtering it out and adding a different strain at bottling; one that doesn't produce as much alcohol so they don't have recall all their product again.
This bottle here says it contains S. Boulardii which grows at 98°F. A probiotic that comes from mango skins. Weird. If it likes body/tropical temps, its not going to be doing much of anything at fridge temps, like producing alcohols.
Looks like they prefer glucose, and biochemical analysis shows the cells are 85% polysaccharides of which 80-90% is glucose. So I wonder how much of that 30g could have been derives from those cells. I don't know the math for such things, but I can't imagine it being too much.
In my KT I use S. cerevisiae as Safale US-04 which has a max attenuation of 75%. So I'd be left with around 25g/L or 12.5g per 500ml bottles. But that doesn't account for any other microbes using some of the available glucose and fructose so it would be less in the bottle.

What do you think?

1398298043947.jpg
 
Hey I just looked at this bottle again and it says Sugars 2g.
That sounds about right. Were did you find 30g?

1398299875886.jpg
 
Yes, 1 liter is around 33.8 oz, so 7 grams in 8 oz translates to around 29.6 grams per liter...
(sorry, I'm European and can't think in terms of ozzes, cups, gallons and pounds).

I have no idea what the process is that they use for making GT's. They don't seem to reveal a lot about it. Just that they ferment it for 30 days, which is pretty long. Also I have no idea what the other 5 grams per 8 oz of carbohydrates could be. It was just an example. My guess is that if you look at the nutrition facts of other commercial brands that you'll find similar figures.

I also start with 100 grams per liter and ferment for pretty long. The finished product hardly tastes sweet. However, I don't have the illusion that there's now sugar left.

If you start with 100 gr/L and all the sugar would ferment to alcohol, then you would end up with 5-6 % by volume, so essentially tea beer :mug:. If it would all ferment to acetic acid then it would also be something like 5-6 %, which is similar to what you find in vinegar, so we'd have tea vinegar :drunk:. Since KT is usually is not tea beer or tea vinegar, that means that there must be other substances in there as well. Another major compound in KT is gluconic acid. And then a substancial part of the sugar is simply still there.

I have no problem with 30 or 50 grams of carbohydrates per liter, as long as it doesn't taste sweet. It's still a lot less than what you find in soda or fruit juice. I guess I just wanted to point out that there's a lot more sugar left than most people think. For bottling your brew that could actually be a problem...
 
<Pedantic_mode=ON>He said 30g of carbohydrate per liter.
So, if a liter is roughly 32z, 32/8=4. 7*4=28.
He's right. :)
<Pedantic_mode=off>

Oh damn you serving size!
But don't worry about estimating ounces, its a 500ml bottle lol
4x2g sugar = 8g/L
Not all carbohydrates would be fermentable in kombucha.
The thing that has always pissed me off about nutrition facts is, they never tell you which kinds were found. Which proteins? Which carbs? Ugh!
 
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