Recent content by MakeshiftBrew

Fellow fermenters, I wanted to create a thread where we could share our knowledge to brew up a list of acceptable ingredients used to make Kombucha. Other than green and black tea, what teas/herbs have you used; what were the results? Apart from the sworn upon green and black teas, I have...

My first batch of Kombucha was made using White Tea. It turned out great, tasted like a light pear cider. I would be really interested to know and accumulate a list of other acceptable teas/ingredients to use. I like my Kombucha rather dry, so the idea of controlling flavor through primary...

Thanks. I just bottled it today, turned out great, and it will be even better when it's cold and carbonated. :D

Make sure it's warm enough for fermentation, if that doesn't work, re-pitch a small amount of yeast to kick start it.

Ahoy! I just brewed my first batch of kombucha this evening but ran out of table sugar to make 1 cup. I had some "Sugar in the Raw" which is Turbinado sugar, so I used some of that to top it off. Will this hurt/kill my SCOBY? I didn't think it would be an issue since it's actually more natural...

Yeah, he was their previous brewmaster. They fired him and he took his christmas ale recipe with him. 12 Dogs is where it's at.

Go with the original. 12 Dogs of Christmas. :drunk:

Take a gravity reading. Or just make sure the airlock isn't bubbling. The amount of sugar for carbonating depends on how carbonated you want it to be and the volume of cider you're making. For 5 gallons try ~4.5 oz of sugar, that will give you ~2.5 volumes of carbonation. I wouldn't personally...

What I meant when I said is that (perhaps) if you understood the science (in this case, of secondary fermentation) you may find that it is indeed unnecessary, or in other instances find that a method/practice is necessary, but with that be able to modify it or improve it based on your...

To understand the different brewing practices and brewing 'styles' it really helps to know the science behind them. If you understand their science you understand the cause of their effect, and are then able to manipulate the way in which you brew; to manipulate the process based on the desired...

Ahoy! Does anyone have experience with Greenburg Hops? I am thinking of using them for flavor/aroma in a future brew and only know what BeerSmith says about them, which is very little. I'm looking for first hand knowledge, I'm more than capable of googling. :cross:

Thanks for all the help. I was already considering Galena, so that may end up being my choice, I just wanted a few extra opinions and ideas. I know the hop character in this style is minimal, but I still feel I should give enough attention in selecting the right hop. I also tried to imagine what...

Ahoy! I'm currently designing a recipe for a Scotch Ale, or, Wee Heavy, and I want to use all U.S. ingredients. However, I'm having trouble deciding on hop selection, any suggestions? I'm looking for a unique american character that will work well with the style.

Get a hydrometer or refractometer to measure the SG or Brix of your fruit juice, and factor in the dilution when you add it to your Kombucha. 1 Brix is 1g of sucrose in 100g of liquid, you should then be able to use a carbonation tool (free online) to figure out the rest. Just a little backwards...

Well I can GET a SCOBY, I don't need to grow one. And yeah, pasteurized kombucha seems like it defeats its purpose (other than tasting delicious). I've had GT's Kombucha many times, the particulate in it seems a lot different, texture wise, than others I have had, it seems more grainy and less...