Carbonation doesn’t stay suspended when chilled

[KookyBrewsky]

I’m on my 10th or so batch of kombucha. The carbonation from 2F doesn’t stay suspended no matter how long I put it in the fridge for.

10-14 days 1F
1-3 days 2F (hot Florida) with 1/4 cup fruit purée/juice per bottle

I have not seen a single case of this to troubleshoot on the internet.

Every bottle without fail is a gusher, and when I pour it to strain, there’s 0 carbonation left. This is the opposite of a soda for instance. No gushing when opened, pours with a huge fizz and keeps bubbling for as long as you need it to.

What is going on here? Is my starter/SCOBY ruined somehow?

 

[Kee]

I’m on my 10th or so batch of kombucha. The carbonation from 2F doesn’t stay suspended no matter how long I put it in the fridge for.

10-14 days 1F
1-3 days 2F (hot Florida) with 1/4 cup fruit purée/juice per bottle

I have not seen a single case of this to troubleshoot on the internet.

Every bottle without fail is a gusher, and when I pour it to strain, there’s 0 carbonation left. This is the opposite of a soda for instance. No gushing when opened, pours with a huge fizz and keeps bubbling for as long as you need it to.

What is going on here? Is my starter/SCOBY ruined somehow?

Either the bottles are over-primed or you have an infection. Are you confident that the amount of simple sugars ion the fruit juice is not too much? That would depend on the amount of simple sugars in the juice and the size of the bottles.

You may want to discard that batch. Bottle bombs are dangerous.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Either the bottles are over-primed or you have an infection. Are you confident that the amount of simple sugars ion the fruit juice is not too much? That would depend on the amount of simple sugars in the juice and the size of the bottles.

You may want to discard that batch. Bottle bombs are dangerous.

It's not just this batch, it's every bottle I've ever made as I had said. Every single batch so far... I'm guessing my SCOBY has an infection of some sort. I used a relatively low sugar fruit this time, strawberries. I let the fermentation go for 14 days to ensure it was completely done... No luck. I'm going to have to dump this entire SCOBY.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Here's a bit of a discovery. For some reason I decided to invert the bottle to mix up all the fruit puree/sediment at the bottom after 2F and a few days in the fridge... When I did that, NO GUSHER! Too much nucleation? Regardless, all the carbonation stayed suspended and it was actually a bit UNDERcarbonated, of all things.

settled sediment == gusher
mixed sediment == under carbonated.... who would've thought!

I've never seen this mentioned anywhere, does this indicate anything? My entire SCOBY is infected? I clean my bottles with vinegar/STARSAN/soap every time.

Or is this an indication that all is well with my booch?

 

[Kee]

. . . I decided to invert the bottle to mix up all the fruit puree/sediment at the bottom after 2F and a few days in the fridge... When I did that, NO GUSHER! Too much nucleation?

Excessive sediment can help a bottle to gush, but it's difficult to know if that's the only problem. If the bottles are strongly gushing, there's probably something else going one.

BTW, what temperature are you chilling the bottles to? You can always take some from the frig and further chill them in the freezer for 20 minutes, maybe a little longer. The colder the beverage, the less chance it will gush.

 

[hottpeper13]

I let my 2F go for 3-7 days depending on temp,then I invert them on the way to the fridge just to make sure there's no sugar stuck on the bottom.
I use the 16 oz flip tops and fill to just 1/2" above the shoulder ,maybe a little more head space then my brews.
Also The Big Book says to only use vinegar not sanitizer,that's what I do and have never had a problem.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

I chill my bottles to fridge temps... Above freezing, below 36F or so.

The only reason I had ever tried sanitizer leftover from brewing is because the vinegar "didn't work". I am relatively convinced the nucleation points on the bottom, or settled sugar/pulp, whatever it may be if it's not stirred, has been causing the gushers.

If I don't stir there's so much carbonation I can't even fathom how it's in there. And if I stir there's a tiny bit of foam on top and the rest remains suspended, almost to the point of being undercarbed as I said. It's quite difficult to identify kombucha infections, there are no obvious signs besides mold. Is my SCOBY invaded by some sort of pesky bacteria? I don't know..