Kombucha is no longer the same as originally was

[marciokoko]

Ive been brewing kombucha for a couple of years and i have not changed my recipe but Ive noticed changes in appearance and taste:

1. Appearance: Scoby's dont grow as thick anymore. They used to grow to 2" thickness in a glass bottle about 12" dia bottle and the last one barely grew to 1/4". Although the pH was still at 3.

2. Taste: I feel its less sweet in the end of the 2nd fermentation, maybe a little acidic even.

Any ideas?

My recipe: 32 cups of water + 20 black tea bags + 3 cups sugar. Stored in dark bathroom at room temp here which is between 24-37

 

[Boer]

Hi, don't stress too stress too much regarding the thickness of the pellicle- and the fact that you say the taste is more acidic than previous batched tell me your bacteria is more active than ever.

I would recommend that you use a smaller pellicle when inoculating your batch as the bacteria need 02 to start building a new pellicle. Your pellicle is possibly too big and thick- so in other words you are limiting the yeast reproduction and almost immediately start with fermentation ( yeast reproduction is only possible in a O2 rich environment, and yeast fermentation starts when no oxygen is present.)

 

[hottpeper13]

I had that issue with continuous fermentation, so I pull the SCOBY separate the top and reuse that., along with cleaning out the crock every time. I've found that if you do the primary at a lower temp for the first 3 days (~70*) then bump it up to your preferred temp I get e more effervescent brew.

 

[Boer]

I had that issue with continuous fermentation, so I pull the SCOBY separate the top and reuse that., along with cleaning out the crock every time. I've found that if you do the primary at a lower temp for the first 3 days (~70*) then bump it up to your preferred temp I get e more effervescent brew.

That makes sense, if you have a lower initial temperature your yeast will be in a phase of reproduction longer meaning that when your batch get to the fermentation state there is more yeast to turn into ethanol and CO2- you ABV will probably be about 2% though.

Keep in mind that the Bacteria feed on some of the glucose produces by the yeasts ability to break down sugar. So that is probably why your pellicle is struggling to grow as the cellulose building process takes longer. I brew at at 25C which is bit warmer than 70 F, I find my temp to be ideal for minimal alcohol production (as I am a commercial brewer) and fast enough fermenting process.

If you have any further questions.. ask away as I am using this platform to learn more myself by other people's experiences.

 

[hottpeper13]

Boer, you're so right about the timing. My slow start is there also to keep batches 21 days apart because that's all the flip tops I have. If my temp is between 78* and 80* it's done in 14 days,and that's too fast.