Is this normal? Can i drink it?

[Kito]

Hey people
So i got this scoby and made 1 liter first (left it for 5 days or so) and then used half of that and the scoby to start a new batch of 3-4 liter (mostly black tea, but with some green tea)
First the scoby was on the bottom, but then rose up to the top, leaving brown yeast on top of it.
It also is very thick. Did it really grow that much in a few days? Or maybe is there gas building inside it?
Does it look good or contaminated with some mold or something to you?
Im afraid that maybe i didnt let the first batch ferment longer, and maybe therefore the ph isnt acidic enough to kill everything foreign?
I taste tested it today (day 5) and it definitely tastes like kombucha. Still pretty sweet, but it does have a slight bitter taste to it. I assume thats maybe because of the black tea? (First time using black tea)
Here are some photos
Thank you already soo much

 

[Kito]

 

[zipper8650]

looks like dead yeast, looks good to me!

 

[TorMag]

That is mold, I would dump that batch.

 

[snarf]

Mold?? Where?

 

[TorMag]

on top of the scoby

 

[snarf]

That's (most likely) yeast. And it's not on top of the SCOBY, but in it. There's actually SCOBY on top of the SCOBY...

 

[TorMag]

That's not healthy looking scoby

 

[snarf]

I don't see anything that could be wrong with it.

 

[TorMag]

You asked for an opinion, I gave it. If you google kombucha and mold, you will see pictures that look just like that. Go for it if you want, I am not trying to argue with you. I've brewed buch for several years.

 

[TorMag]

If you want a better answer, post your picture and question here. kombucha.ning.com/

 

[hockeyrounds]

I vote mold.

 

[snarf]

I've brewed buch for several years.

So what? I've probably brewed at least a thousand gallons of kombucha in the past 12 years. So what?

Mold is fuzzy and dry. This doesn't look fuzzy and dry, so I vote "not mold".

 

[TorMag]

So what? I've probably brewed at least a thousand gallons of kombucha in the past 12 years. So what?

Mold is fuzzy and dry. This doesn't look fuzzy and dry, so I vote "not mold".

Dude, like i said, I am not trying to argue with you. You came on here and asked for an opinion. I gave mine and you don't seem to like it. Do whatever you want. I don't give a rat's ass. I was just trying to help.

 

[snarf]

Do whatever you want.

I sure will
BTW I also just gave my opinion, I'm not the OP....

 

[theDREWery]

I'd be wary of anything that looks blue or green, but that just might be the picture.

Also, that looks like a carboy, which may encourage alcoholic fermentation over acetic due to limiting oxygen intake. Not necessarily bad, just might not be what you're looking for.

 

[Kito]

thank you all for your reply especially snarf ^.^

TorMag i think you confuse snarf with me. i asked the question. snarf just answered me. he is not the one that asked the original question ^.^

i honestly think snarf is right, its just yeast on top of the scoby. not mold.
but tormag youre also right in that it looks strange. but does anybody know why it looks so strange?
and why is it so thick?

theDREWery its not green or blue. its just brown the white scoby growing over the brown stuff makes it look blueish.
you say the opening is too small? should i try to get something that has a wider opening?

i drank about half a liter of it yesterday and didnt get sick or anything lol, it does taste quite normal honestly.
but im afraid that the scoby is about to get sick or something D:
does the dead yeast on top of it hurt in any way?

should i maybe wash it off and put it into some kombucha that i ran trough a strainer?

 

[Sagatho]

for my experience that scoby looks bad, take a sample if it taste like "!"#$!" dump the batch and burn the SCOBY XD.

if it taste "ok" well drink at your own risk.

 

[snarf]

It's just yeast. Kombucha can look quite nasty sometimes due to the strands of yeast growing in there. Just google "kombucha yeast" and you will see some pretty repulsive stuff. Do it at your own risk, though, because after that you might never want to drink kombucha again

 

[Kito]

i drank about 1.5 liter over the course of 3 days now and feel perfectly normal ^^
it does taste amazing and like kombucha.

snarf i googled it, not too bad tough haha looks a little bit like my own scoby.

one last question tough: if it tastes good, is there still any chance that its not perfectly fine?