Bottling Kombucha and other beginner questions

[mChavez]

Hi All,

I would be grateful for some advice from experienced kombucha brewers.

I had a scoby quite a few years ago (long before I got into beer brewing) and really enjoyed kombucha for about 6 months before the scoby got contaminated. I now decided to try brewing kombucha again and I've ordered a scoby, but having done some beer brewing, I now have a few questions about how to do it right.

1) Bottling.
I've read that there is a lot of sugar remaining in the brew when it becomes nice to drink and is ready to be bottled (a week old brew).
I've had homebrew explosions before, so sugar + bottling doesn't seem like a good idea to me.
I've also read that hydrometer is pretty much useless with kombucha, so how does anyone deal with the potential explosion problem?
I guess I can bottle and then keep releasing the gas until it stops fermenting but that seems like a lot of work.
A plastic bottle with one of those pressure valve tops looks like another possibility.

2) Using malt instead of sugar and adding hops for flavour.
According to mad fermentationalist, you can use malt instead of sugar (and tea!) for a different tasting kombucha. I also read successful reports of adding hop tea to the brew, so I'm wondering if anyone actually succeeded in making a malt/hop brew? Even if you exclude hops, it seems like the flavour can be altered by using different malts and steeping grains. Kombucha stout anyone?

3) Kegging.
I assume that due to the acidic nature of the brew, storing it in 5 litre aluminium beer kegs is not advised?

4) Best before.
Once bottled, how long would you store your combucha for?
I know it's about 5 years for beer, so I guess it's even more for kombucha? Or does it turn into vinegar after a few months?

5) Temp control?
Do you get a significantly better tasting brew if you keep the temp steady at 21C? I've got a diy controlled temp wort cooler for summer brewing but can rework it into a heater for kombucha if it's worth it.

6) Introducing new yeast?
I've got a good yeast bank, so I wonder if anyone tried introducing different yeasties to the scoby? Say, a wheat beer strain to add some banana flavour?

Thanks,

Chavez

 

[hunter_le five]

After you bottle the kombucha , stick the bottles in the fridge. The cold temp will halt fermentation in the bottle. No explosion.

 

[mChavez]

Thanks.

So you just keep a small amount in your fridge? I was thinking of stocking up the attic for those hot sunny summer days.

 

[hunter_le five]

I only brew a gallon at a time, which is enough to last me ~1 week. It takes ~1 week to make a batch. 1 gallon's worth fits easily into the fridge. Endless kombucha. No storage issue.

 

[emvy]

I have the same questions about bottling. Kombucha brewers seem very cavalier with bottling. When I bottle beer, I calculate out exactly how much sugar I need to add. A lot of Kombucha brewers seem to just stuff random fruits or sugars in bottles, or bottle while it's still fermenting and hope for the best. It makes me nervous. I'd like to make a 5 gallon batch at once, bottle it and store it in my cellar, but I don't want Kombucha bombs so I guess I'll have to just experiment with some small batches.

 

[NeoBrew]

I don't think Kombucha cellars well. I find that peak flavor is about three weeks from "brew day". I let it ferment in the primary for two weeks then bottle. I prime with two teaspoons of sugar, let it sit 3-4 days in bottles at room temperature then refrigerate. I also bottle in PET plastic bottles so I can squeeze them to determine the level of carbonation.

 

[snarf]

It makes me nervous.

Me too.

I don't think Kombucha cellars well.

If you know what you're doing, you can cellar kombucha for a very long time. In my opinion it only improves with age...

 

[zipper8650]

my two cents...
1 - I like mine on the sour side so i usually let primary run for 14-18 days before bottling, if i add flavoring i keep it at room temp and burp them from time to time, when they are tasting where i want, out into a cooler in the garage, NY winter is keeping them cold for me, no bomb issues yet but my sugars are pretty low
2 - not sure on the malt question but you may try slowly introducing it more and more in each brew until you think your scoby is ready for a full amount. There is a commercial brewer that adds hops and i have heard good things. My concern has always been the anti-bacterial properties of the hops will kill off wanted bacteria...if you dont care about the bacteria its supposed to be really good
3 - hopeing to keg one day, kegging is fine as far as i know
4 - keep it cold and it should maintain flavor. I recently had a Cran/orange/cinnamon batch get better aging in the fridge, it was a cinnamon bomb but mellowed in the fridge
5 - warmer temps will keep the ferment steady, some argue lower temps and slower ferments adds to flavor. I keep my cabinet at 70-75 and seems to be fine. I dont buy the better flavor from lower temp because the only 2 constants from start to end on a batch is caffeine and tea flavonoids
6 - great question and wonder the same, i would love to load up a batch with brett!! My only concern is upsetting the yeast/bacteria ratio

have fun!!!

 

[clarksurfer]

Does any one have any experience in kegging the kombucha and making 5 gallons at a time?

 

[zipper8650]

5 gallons yes, took some time to build up a nice scoby for that size container, no experience kegging....yet

To get the scoby good for the larger container (glass, barrel shaped) I added multiple scobys and after drawing off what i wanted to drink i left enough in the bottom to match diameter at top and let it run to vinager multiple times, took about 4 full brews but its pretty big and healthy now

 

[BGBC]

If you know what you're doing, you can cellar kombucha for a very long time. In my opinion it only improves with age...

Care to expand on this?

 

[snarf]

Care to expand on this?

With kombucha you always have to aware of the potential of bottle bombs. Therefor, you have to make sure that the brew is well fermented at bottling time. Also it's not a good idea to add sugar, fruit or other fermentables when bottling. If you then bottle in strong bottles (personally I prefer champagne bottles capped with crown corks) you should be able to store it for a long time (but I give no guarantees!). I keep my 'buch at room temperature (actually it's slightly below, because it's in the cellar) and never had trouble. Currently I have about 250 bottles cellared, with the oldest being almost 2 years old.

I find that kombucha stored this way becomes more mellow, with a nice champagne like sparkle...

 

[BGBC]

Interesting. A few questions:
- How long do you ferment before bottling? Do you ever do a secondary ferment on these?
- Do you do anything to ensure fermentation is complete prior to bottling (hydro readings, etc)? Or is it just based on experience?
- What sort of flavor changes do you get with that kind of age?

 

[BGBC]

And to answer some of the OP's questions, I've been using flip top or plastic bottles for kombucha and add carb tabs at bottling.

I just did one batch where I dry-hopped with a couple different varieties of hops in a secondary ferment. I like them a lot and will definitely be adding that to the rotation.

 

[mattmmille]

I bottled two bottles from my first batch of kombucha, added about a half teaspoon sugar to each bottle. Crown capped and left at room temp for about a week and then refrigerated for a couple of days. Opened one and had zero carb. Does it need a little yeast boost or what? I have batches 2 and 3 going now. I'll need to bottle some, because I will never drink it all! If it winds up "still", that's not the end of the world, but I like carb.

 

[shelly_belly]

I make 3 quart batches with 1 cup of sugar. I shoot for 3 weeks to bottle but sometimes it may be 2 months (too much in the pipeline). What I harvest (all but 9-10oz for the next batch) I blend with 3 quarts of fresh made flavored tea with 1 cup of sugar and bottle in beer bottles. I fill 1 plastic water bottle to monitor the carbonation. Bottles are stored at room temps which at my house range from 65-74F. When the water bottle is rock hard I start drinking that batch. If I have room the bottles will go in the keezer. I've left bottles out for up to a year and so far no bottle bombs. And so far, the 1 year old kombucha was the best. I haven't been able to hold on to any any longer than that so far. Oh, and I always throw those damned scobys away!

 

[BGBC]

I make 3 quart batches with 1 cup of sugar. I shoot for 3 weeks to bottle but sometimes it may be 2 months (too much in the pipeline). What I harvest (all but 9-10oz for the next batch) I blend with 3 quarts of fresh made flavored tea with 1 cup of sugar and bottle in beer bottles. I fill 1 plastic water bottle to monitor the carbonation. Bottles are stored at room temps which at my house range from 65-74F. When the water bottle is rock hard I start drinking that batch. If I have room the bottles will go in the keezer. I've left bottles out for up to a year and so far no bottle bombs. And so far, the 1 year old kombucha was the best. I haven't been able to hold on to any any longer than that so far. Oh, and I always throw those damned scobys away!

Interesting. Do you get scobies in the bottles?

 

[mattmmille]

I just pulled a batch today and rebrewed with 1/2 green tea and 1/2 Earl Grey...because I ran out of green tea

I bottled a single as a test from the green tea batch, before refrigerating it. (That might have been my issue last attempt.) Added about 1/2 T. sugar.

@snarf If you ferment all the way out, 1) Isn't that going to be a very strong vinegary flavor? and 2) If you don't prime it, and it is fermented all the way out; then how do you get carbonation? Just wondering.

 

[mattmmille]

Oops...duplicate post.

 

[snarf]

@snarf If you ferment all the way out, 1) Isn't that going to be a very strong vinegary flavor? and 2) If you don't prime it, and it is fermented all the way out; then how do you get carbonation? Just wondering.

It's not fermented all the way out: there is some sugar left, just not very much. It takes quite a while to get a nice carbonation (several weeks), but eventually it gets there...

My brews usually don't taste very vinegary. I guess more gluconic acid than acetic acid is produced.

 

[shelly_belly]

Interesting. Do you get scobies in the bottles?

Not any that I've noticed. I do get some sediment.

 

[shelly_belly]

@mattmmille I let a 3 qt batch go for 6 months that yielded 1 qt. I saved a shot of it before I bended and bottled the rest. It was very sour and tart but not very vinegary at all. I wish that I wouldn't have used it up because it was delicious as it was.

 

[shelly_belly]

@BGBC
I rescind my previous statement. Upon closer inspection I have found that all of my bottled kombucha do have very thin pellicles.

 

[BGBC]

Cool, well, I ended up bottling a couple bottles from my last batch and setting them aside (no sugar added, just to be safe). I'll check on them in a couple months. I might keep doing that every few batches just for kicks since others seem to like it with some age.

 

[cujocon]

Quick Kombucha Thread Hijack here -
Did any of you read in Popular Science last month about making clothes out of kombucha Scoby?
Wildly interesting.
edit to add link:
http://www.popsci.com/meet-woman-who-wants-growing-clothing-lab