Kegging Kombucha

[Lazer Wolf Brewing]

Nitro Booch???? I need that

 

[KatoBaggins]

Beware. I have seen many on the forums hear say that these big mouth carboys actually suck. I guess the lid isn't airtight. Do some searches on it.

The lid being airtight or not is a very minor issue for beer brewing, and pretty much completely irrelevant for kombucha.

The main issue people had with the glass BMB carboys was them shattering when you look at them wrong. But that was mostly gen 1 I think. I haven't heard much about the gen 2 version.

What hunter said...kombucha does better with a loose fitting lid, from my experience. As for the BMB being fragile...could be. But outside of a 30 L stainless steel Fusti ($50 more), the glass 6.5 gal BMB seems to fit the bill for 5 gallon kombucha corny keg filling.

 

[Lazer Wolf Brewing]

What hunter said...kombucha does better with a loose fitting lid, from my experience. As for the BMB being fragile...could be. But outside of a 30 L stainless steel Fusti ($50 more), the glass 6.5 gal BMB seems to fit the bill for 5 gallon kombucha corny keg filling.

My homebrew side came out, my girlfriend does most of the brewing, I do the business and kegging

 

[Ethanfox]

Here's what I use for ~5 gallon batches. It's 20 liters, ~5.25 gallons.

https://www.katom.com/634-9520004.html

 

[mattyb515]

I've been brewing buch for over a year now with great success. I pretty much brew a gallon a week using a 2 gallon glass jar something like this:

I've never kegged anything, but want to get started kegging my kombucha and potentially keg some cider that I'm experimenting with.

Can someone point me to a comprehensive, step by step on kegging along with the necessary equipment?

Thanks,
Greg

I bought that exact jar from target for $14. Kegging is super easy. I watched a ton of beer kegging videos and settled on this, assuming you're at the point of kegging.

Force Carbonating
Set regulator to 30 psi. Tip the keg on it's side and roll vigorously. You'll be able to hear a gurgling noise. It'll take about 10 minutes of rolling for the gurgling to stop. Once it does, put the keg in your fridge. I leave it in there overnight to cool properly. Once cooled burp the keg and then set the regulator to 12 psi for dispensing. The final step - pour and enjoy!

There's more to kegging in terms of sanitizing and setup that you can easily search on YouTube. Again just watch the videos related to kegging beer. It's essentially the same process.

 

[ericbw]

Does anyone have any experience comparing kombucha to soda as far as carbonating and kegging? I see people saying 12 psi like beer, but wonder if that gives it a lot of fizz or just a little. I do soda at 30psi in the keg AND in individual 1 liter bottles.

Just curious if anyone can comment.

 

[user 204491]

I do 3 gallon batches of both Kombucha and soda.

For Kombucha after I keg, I put it on at 30 PSI @ 40F for 24 hours. I then purge the keg and drop it down to 5 PSI for serving.

For soda after I keg, I put it on at 30 PSI @40F for 72 hours, with the gas connected to the liquid out side. I then purge the keg and drop it down to 20 PSI for serving. I use 2 1/2 of the epoxy mixing sticks in the liquid out post to slow it down.

That's on 10 foot liquid lines for both. Hopefully that helps!

I serve most of my beers at 11 PSI @40F for comparison.

11 PSI for soda would be way to low and 11 PSI for Kombucha would be way too high.

This setup gets me about the same level of carbonation you find in commercial bottled Kombucha and about the same you get from a soda fountain.

 

[casesensative]

So...im not new to Kombucha, but I've been thinking about upping my batch size as now friends often want some of my buch as well as what I drink....I was curious about kegging in cornies, and that seems to be a resounding 'yes'....but I'm curious...has anyone tried just fermenting IN a keg? I have a small 2.5gallon keg, and I'm wondering if I could just ferment right in the keg with a piece of cloth on top? How about a stainless steel Kettle with a t-shirt on top? Could you do it that way? Anyone tried this or know enough to answer this?

 

[Ethanfox]

Will work, but the narrow shape will limit the size of the Scoby and oxygen available to it, slowing the fermentation process

 

[hawkeyed]

The prefect PH for Kombucha is 3.5 to 2.5
That is the same as lemon juice, so unless you are storing for months, which you don't really want to do, stainless should be fine.
After all, Coca Cola and other soft drink syrup is equally acidic at 3.8 to 2.8

I'll be testing some second fermentation methods using corny kegs in the next few weeks. Trick is being sure it's done fermenting before tapping the sludge from the bottom. Might do blueberries or strawberries in a glass jar first to see what is left after the 2nd ferment is done.

 

[ericbw]

I do 3 gallon batches of both Kombucha and soda.

For Kombucha after I keg, I put it on at 30 PSI @ 40F for 24 hours. I then purge the keg and drop it down to 5 PSI for serving.

For soda after I keg, I put it on at 30 PSI @40F for 72 hours, with the gas connected to the liquid out side. I then purge the keg and drop it down to 20 PSI for serving. I use 2 1/2 of the epoxy mixing sticks in the liquid out post to slow it down.

That's on 10 foot liquid lines for both. Hopefully that helps!

I serve most of my beers at 11 PSI @40F for comparison.

11 PSI for soda would be way to low and 11 PSI for Kombucha would be way too high.

This setup gets me about the same level of carbonation you find in commercial bottled Kombucha and about the same you get from a soda fountain.

I don't think I understood this before. I recently kegged a batch of booch and set the pressure at 30 PSI (that's my soda line). It was nicely carbonated after a couple of days. Then I had to rearrange some kegs, and the booch was WAY to foamy and spraying out. I decided to release the pressure over several days and then set it to 10 PSI, same as the beer. It's taken me a a few weeks to get it to settle down, but this is a lot better.

Now I re-read this and see that you do 30, then drop to 5. I think that would work even better than what I am doing. The problem is that I have 2 regulators, one at 30 and one at 10-12. I guess I would need to add a 3rd regulator to set it to 5? I don't know if that's worth it to me. Next batch I might try setting it at 12 (or 30 for a day, then lower to 12) and see if it is better.

Always learning something!

 

[user 204491]

I don't think I understood this before. I recently kegged a batch of booch and set the pressure at 30 PSI (that's my soda line). It was nicely carbonated after a couple of days. Then I had to rearrange some kegs, and the booch was WAY to foamy and spraying out. I decided to release the pressure over several days and then set it to 10 PSI, same as the beer. It's taken me a a few weeks to get it to settle down, but this is a lot better.

Now I re-read this and see that you do 30, then drop to 5. I think that would work even better than what I am doing. The problem is that I have 2 regulators, one at 30 and one at 10-12. I guess I would need to add a 3rd regulator to set it to 5? I don't know if that's worth it to me. Next batch I might try setting it at 12 (or 30 for a day, then lower to 12) and see if it is better.

Always learning something!

Yeah, anything above 5 PSI and the Kombucha is way to foamy for my taste, not at all like commercial Kombucha. To each their own though! I've get 6 taps, each with an independent regulator, so I can have all sorts of things going on.

 

[ericbw]

When I force carb in plastic bottles, 30 is just right.

I guess the only solution is to buy more regulators.

 

[Tommydee]

My girlfriend and I started a Kombucha company in Southern California and I've been helping her get the Kegging figured out (we sell in pint and quart glass jars currently, but have many bars and restaurants begging us to keg). Here is our process, almost seem to have it perfected.

Brewing:
1. Brew in 1 gallon glass jars (a ton of them) for two weeks.
2. Pour 5 gallons into keg.
3. Add fruit/pulp/spices/whatever mixture to a Muslin bag and drop into keg.
4. Let keg sit for a week or a bit more to secondary ferment.
5. Hook up to kegerator. We leave the co2 turned off to the keg while it's not in use so as not to get a full carb on it, we prefer it that way.



This process has worked in my kegerator. We are still dialing it in. I believe next time we will use a bag with a tighter weave, the Muslin let a bit too much sediment through and I'm worried about a clogged dip tube. Also, note that we try to get some sediment and pulp to come out of the tap to mimic our bottled product. May try a nylon bag or something next time to ensure no blockage. The Muslin bag almost allowed a blockage but I turned up co2 and blew it out.

Wife and I did this with berries and some sugar in a leftover hop bag from wilserbag, and it turned out great, thanks for the tip! It's slowly getting more carbonated by the day sitting at 10 psi with my beer, so maybe this will force me to buy another regulator...never ends with this hobby.

 

[Yooper]

I only have three taps on my kegerator, so I was thinking about doing a 3 gallon keg of kombucha, and using a picnic tap. I wasn't going to use any plastic at all in the 'buch but I am thinking that dispensing with a plastic picnic tap shouldn't be an issue at all.

What might be an issue is trying to keep it at less than 11 psi, which is what my beers are held at. My spare regulator has soda water at 30 psi and 30' of line, so that one is out.

I guess I"ll have to try and see what carb level I like it at.

 

[Tommydee]

I only have three taps on my kegerator, so I was thinking about doing a 3 gallon keg of kombucha, and using a picnic tap. I wasn't going to use any plastic at all in the 'buch but I am thinking that dispensing with a plastic picnic tap shouldn't be an issue at all.

What might be an issue is trying to keep it at less than 11 psi, which is what my beers are held at. My spare regulator has soda water at 30 psi and 30' of line, so that one is out.

I guess I"ll have to try and see what carb level I like it at.

Yooper, I'm new to this, but I've had my first batch of 3 gallons on tap for nearly 2 months. I had it on 12 psi, and it was way too fizzy with the acidity. I bled most of the pressure off for 3 days straight, then I just kept my valve turned off for a full week. Now, When the flow stops, I reset my Reg to 4 psi, open the kombucha valve A few seconds, close the valve, then put the others back to 12 psi. Similar to when you bottle fill from a keg. Assuming you have a manifold with built in check valves, the other 3 beer kegs are fine (don't need to mess with the shut off valves). Actually I've been pretty lazy at times, and just crank open the valve for, say 3 seconds with the reg still set at 12, with no ill effects so far.

My second keg,I plan to do similar to what the earlier poster suggested. Since I secondary with fruit, 5 days after racking to the keg on my costco bag of berries and frozen ginger in the wilserbag, I'll just toss in the Keezer overnight, with CO2 not even hooked up. I'll dispense until it stops flowing (or if too flat), hook up CO2, fill to 4 psi for the few seconds it takes, then shut the valve, give it a shake. I'll let you know how it goes, but it will be a few weeks. We drink this stuff a lot slower than beer.

 

[ericbw]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1492023335.508292.jpg

I have kombucha in my soda spot, but set with the same pressure as the beer. It's at 12-14psi, with 20 feet of liquid line. It's fizzy but not foamy.

Until 5 minutes ago, I had a summer pale, Irish red, amber patersbier, and superfruit booch all on tap.

This was the last of the kombucha.

 

[lightweight]

We just started kegging kombucha. I got tired of bottling/carbing individual bottles. Perfect use for my 3 gallon kegs just gathering dust! I have a regulator just for the kombucha, I did the 36 hr at 30, then 10 psi. Like others said a bit too foamy. I'll try lowering to 5 on my next batch. I'll also try adding ginger using a garlic press with fresh ginger in the keg (I'll put the pulp in a metal tea ball).

Family is enjoying it, plus wife can't complain about my new 4 tap keezer I made.

 

[rossi46]

I run my buch at 12 psi, the same as beer. Its a touch sparkley but not foamy.

 

[dustinstriplin]

I only have three taps on my kegerator, so I was thinking about doing a 3 gallon keg of kombucha, and using a picnic tap. I wasn't going to use any plastic at all in the 'buch but I am thinking that dispensing with a plastic picnic tap shouldn't be an issue at all.

This is exactly what I do. The small kegs are perfect for a steady supply for my wife and I. The picnic tap works great. I'm happy with this setup.

 

[Quinazo]

I have kegged regular and flavored kombucha. I usually pressure at a out 15 for a day or so and then I let all the pressure out and set it to serving pressure. I've gotten great results. Good luck!

 

[bendog15]

Anyone experiencing juice separating from Kombucha in the keg? I add around 10% raw fruit juice to my keg before racking 4.5 gal of Kombucha on top. The problem is, the juice will settle on the bottom so my first few pulls get all juice. Then I’m left with nothing but Kombucha. Any advice?

 

[Tommydee]

Anyone experiencing juice separating from Kombucha in the keg? I add around 10% raw fruit juice to my keg before racking 4.5 gal of Kombucha on top. The problem is, the juice will settle on the bottom so my first few pulls get all juice. Then I’m left with nothing but Kombucha. Any advice?

Rack the booch to the keg first, then add juice and shake a bit? Are you allowing it to secondary at room temp w juice for a few days, or are you trying to cool right away to slow down/avoid fermentation? (Never tried the latter, and may cause what you are describing)

Disclaimer- I'm no expert! I have my 3rd career bacth in secondary with a bag of mango chunks, and a bit of OJ and lemon juice. I scaled up a recipe online, using 4 cups of chunks (which is more than scale), 1 cup everything else in 3 gallons....so 10 % might be a bit much.

 

[bendog15]

Rack the booch to the keg first, then add juice and shake a bit? Are you allowing it to secondary at room temp w juice for a few days, or are you trying to cool right away to slow down/avoid fermentation? (Never tried the latter, and may cause what you are describing)

Disclaimer- I'm no expert! I have my 3rd career bacth in secondary with a bag of mango chunks, and a bit of OJ and lemon juice. I scaled up a recipe online, using 4 cups of chunks (which is more than scale), 1 cup everything else in 3 gallons....so 10 % might be a bit much.

Next time I keg I will stir it up good, then let it sit for a few days at room temp. We’ll see if there’s less separation.