First Batch - Karvana Tea Kit - Day 6 Questions

[knewbrew123]

Hey guys, I started this batch last week. (I am an experienced beer brewer, so I was extra careful with cleanliness etc.)

From the looks of it, I would assume it hasn't even begun fermenting. I could only assume there would be no krausen as an identifier either.

Anyways, if you can please assist me determine if this batch is even brewing or... safe? It has these weird little "bead" things that are about the size of, well, dry yeast...

Thanks

This is the actual product ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9WORXA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 )
It says "62 once"... but it is 1 gallon of kombucha, so that doesn't make any sense.

 

[maffew222]

Looks like the start of a SCOBY! You're ok. Leave it alone. As long as it doesn't get fuzzy you're all good. And if it does get fuzzy, just scoop it out.

There's definitely no krausen in Kombucha, and the ferment is for the most part much slower than beer. Whenever I do a first batch with a new culture, I let it run for a month or more so I know it will form a SCOBY and allow the culture to mature. I usually dump the first batch of liquid and transfer my new SCOBY and some of the liquid to a new batch and the drink the second. The first batches tend to be very acetic (vinegary) for me and not pleasant.

 

[knewbrew123]

Cool, thank you I'll add some more photo to this thread in a week.

 

[knewbrew123]

So, looks like it was a SCOBY after all. Thank you.
You mentioned not drinking this batch? Why is that? It has been brewing for 2 weeks now. You had recommended letting it brew for a month, tossing the SCOBY that came with the KIT and then BREWING another batch with the fresh scoby? How long would I brew that one for? 1 week?

Also, if you look at photo 4, some of the string from the old SCOBY are darkened? Normal?

Thanks

 

[maffew222]

Nice! I only mentioned that I don't drink the first one because it can be really acetic (vinegary). If you like the flavor go for it though.

What I do in general to check the flavor is after 2 weeks of brewing (my house is colder) is stick a straw down the side of the glass between the SCOBY and sneak some out with my finger on the top of the straw( like a pipette) . If I like it I bottle it or drink it. If too sweet still I just let it go.

And yeah, the brown stuff looks normal. Mine has all sorts of stringy things that come and go. I generally pour my Kombucha through a plastic strainer cause I don't like the texture of the floaties.

 

[knewbrew123]

haha "floaties" nice. Thank you!

So, how can you tell when the SCOBY is ready for active duty?

 

[maffew222]

I mean, as soon as the liquid tastes good you can just brew more tea and reuse the SCOBY for a new batch. Sometimes I'll use older SCOBY in addition as well, but no rhyme or reason really, just to keep and eventually pass along.

 

[knewbrew123]

Should I be worried about the sanitization of the straw? Didn't know if the tea had antibacterial properties at this point..

 

[maffew222]

I mean, use a clean one to avoid getting chunks in there. By default this is already bacterial( lactobacillus and others) and it's an open ferment. So it's the acidity and competition for sugars that prevent molds and things from growing. But I've never felt the need to sanitize very much with these kinds of ferments.

 

[knewbrew123]

K, Ill just use a spoon then, due to a straw shortage in these parts.

 

[knewbrew123]

K, Just tasted it. It appears to be slightly carbonated, and still pretty sweet. You think I'll be good to let it do its thing for another week? I'm assuming that will affect flavor, no? wow, that's pretty damn good

 

[mChavez]

If you overbrew it will become unpleasantly vinegary as far as I remember.

Not sure if you can get rid of much sugar in it without getting undrinkable vinegar though.

I got my scoby a week ago and brewed it in a 4L bucket for 7 days, then I bottled 3 litres and loaded a new batch of tea. The stuff I bottled could have done with another couple of days but is very drinkable even in its current state.

My question is what do people do with their "sunk" scobies? Just throw them in the bin?

Thanks.

 

[maffew222]

K, Just tasted it. It appears to be slightly carbonated, and still pretty sweet. You think I'll be good to let it do its thing for another week? I'm assuming that will affect flavor, no? wow, that's pretty damn good

I say if it tastes good, just drink it. No sense of forgetting about it too long. I like mine with a decent amount of acid, and just a little sugar to balance. But I also haven't had the best luck carbonating it in the bottle in my cool kitchen. I've taken to just making smaller batches and drinking them rather than bottling.

 

[maffew222]

My question is what do people do with their "sunk" scobies? Just throw them in the bin?

Thanks.

I'll sometimes just chuck them into a new batch if it seems like the main SCOBY isn't quite big enough. You can give them away to other people as well. Or compost it, or just pitch it in the bin.

 

[mChavez]

Thanks maffew,

I might use them to help start my experimental bucket then.

 

[bojacked]

So I'm about to try my first Kombucha brew and have a few questions...

Do I have to open ferment or can I just use a normal airlock or leave a jar lid loosely capped? I have dogs and I don't want the stuff to get too crazy.

That's all for now. Any beginner tips are appreciated. (Sorry to jack this thread)