Foam when bottling from a continuous brew

[eileenclaire]

Hello, I am new to kombucha brewing. I started out with a regular brew and was able to get a good carbonation. I began a continuous brew about a month ago, and I find that when I bottle the second ferment, there is a lot of foaming at the top.

The foaming prevents me from filling the bottles up to within a half inch; instead, it takes days for the foam to settle out, and by that time I have over an inch of space at the top.

Now I don't have a good carbonation. I have tried filling it up more a few days after bottling and adding sugar, but that hasn't helped.

Does anyone else experience this with a continuous brew? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[BierMuncher]

This is why I stopped continuous brewing. The active CO2 churning away makes it difficult to bottle without excessive foaming. It tastes great out of the fermenter, but doesn't lend itself to priming and bottling. I just brew, ferment, and bottle with about 1/2" of white grape juice in the bottom of the bottles as a primer. Then set at room temperature for about 5-8 days until I get a nice fizz when the top is opened.

 

[hunter_le five]

Huh, weird. I get a lot of foam sometimes too, but it always settles out within 30 seconds or so. Care to share your recipe/process?

 

[snarf]

... it takes days for the foam to settle out, ...

Days? Really? In my experience it's gone within a couple of minutes max...

 

[eileenclaire]

Well now I realize I'm probably doing it wrong. I fill it up to the top , including the foam, and then lock the top. I should probably be letting the top off until the foam settles out.

I'm just afraid of fruit flies getting in. Maybe I'll cover the tops with a towel until the foam settles. Thanks.