Hole in Scoby

[Catobird]

I'm new to kombucha brewing and have a question. My scoby has a hole in it. This is the third time using this particular scoby, and the kombucha turns out fine, there's lots of bubbles - both around the edge and in the hole, but the new scoby on the top has the same hole in it as the old one. Why would this be? The attached picture is of the scoby just after I added it to the new batch.

 

[Spaceman]

That is a strange looking hole, but I wouldn't get worried about it. Upon zooming in I don't see fuzz so I doubt this is mold. Sometimes scobies just make weird shapes! Visually it is not very appealing, so if you want to get rid of it go ahead and cut out that section of the scoby and return it to your brew. Be sure to do this in a very sanitary way, you don't want to accidentally introduce contaminants to your booch. I would wait a few days to make sure your batch is fermenting properly and creating an environment that favors growth of the scoby vs. pathogens/mold.

I would also suggest discarding the older scobies and only using the newest one for your next batch. Scobies get old and become less efficient over time.

 

[Catobird]

Thanks for your reply. Good idea just to cut the hole out. When I checked it yesterday, it looks like the hole is closing over in this batch. I've ordered a continuous brewer, so maybe I'll just cut the hole out when I start in the new brewer. I wasn't too worried about mold because it's been like this for a couple of batches.

 

[WarmGas]

Scobies are ugly things. You are fine and I am sure more attractive than your scoby!