A couple questions first time brew

[marjen]

Hello all. Looking to brew my first batch of this stuff this weekend. Honestly never heard of it but I guess my daughter really loves the stuff and she will be home from college this weekend so going to brew some with her. Can I just use my standard sanitizer I use for beer brewing? I assume so but see people using white vinegar and was not sure if there was a reason to do something different for this.

Also for the 2nd stage fermentation. Not quite understanding the carb process. I see people say leave it for a couple days then its ready to drink. Others say pop the tops daily so the glass bottles don't explode. Wouldn't constantly opening them make the drink flat? Can you just carb and open when you want to drink them?

 

[Back2Brew]

I picked up my starter kit from a local Kombucha shop and that guy told me that he used star San to sanitize all his stuff, but he did rinse everything afterwards as well. A spray bottle of white vinegar is helpful too to help along the way. I’ve only done 2 full batches but I use a mixture of both. Rinse and sanitize with star San and rinse, and then white vinegar along the way.

I’ve read both methods for 2F as well and I’m not sure what the right answer is. I’ve had my swing top bottles at room temp here in florida for 10 days, unburped and they’re still not overly super fizzy. I have read to be careful with beer bottles and caps tho. Apparently it’s a thinner glass and more likely to explode.

Hope this kind of helps.

 

[Sajbrewer]

I think both are overly conservative. Of course cleanliness is important, though I don't think it is as critical with kombucha as it is with brewing beer. I've done probably 10 gallons or so, and simple washing with hot soapy water and a vinegar/water rinse has been just fine (I agree you can't be too careful, but it's my opinion that StarSan is probably overkill). Regarding the "burping" I don't do it with the swing-top bottles (I like to keep the bubbles in the liquid!) One good idea is to use a small clean water bottle (I use a 10oz bottle) to check on pressure. When you bottle for 2F fill the small water bottle and use it to judge pressure by squeezing to see how "hard" the bottle has become. Usually pretty "firm" after 3-5 days.