Over carbonated kombucha

[Terrance Ferguson]

I started brewing my own kombucha at home a couple months ago. The first few batches had come out great. The last couple however have been extremely carbonated, exploding out of the bottle when I open them after the second ferment. Also i'm getting more carbonation after the first ferment and a sour taste. Is this related to the scoby or possibly letting the first ferment sit to long? Ive been typically going ten days. Any help appreciated, Thanks!

 

[IloveWorts]

Clare.......?

 

[Grad]

I started brewing my own kombucha at home a couple months ago. The first few batches had come out great. The last couple however have been extremely carbonated, exploding out of the bottle when I open them after the second ferment. Also i'm getting more carbonation after the first ferment and a sour taste. Is this related to the scoby or possibly letting the first ferment sit to long? Ive been typically going ten days. Any help appreciated, Thanks!

If you're only going ten days then bottling, there is most likely a lot of sugar left and that's why you're getting so much carb. Do you add juice or sugar when you're bottling? When I make it I usually go a month at least in primary, then bottle with some juice. And it's very carbonated. Also the sour taste is completely normal and is from the fermentation. The longer you let it go the more sour it will be. So if you're looking for it to be less carbed, you should let it ferment longer and possibly not add additional sugar depending on the time frame. Also make sure to use bottles that will hold all that carbonation. If you're having issues it may make sense to use plastic pop bottles until you get a feel for the carb levels.

 

[Bucha Belly]

The carbonation comes from yeast eating the sugar, and producing CO2 in a closed environment.

On your next batch, when getting starter fluid, take it from the very top of the batch before stirring. This will ensure that you have the least amount of yeast to start with and should reduce your over carbonation problem.

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Seattle Kombucha

 

[bigdawg86]

I just bottled my first batch... it was fermenting for 14 days or so and hit seemingly terminal pH of 2.8. I bottled with a little fruit and within 2 days they were gushers. All I did to remedy that was to burp the bottle once were refrigerated. That took care of the issue. I was shocked to see how carbed they were in 2 days. So it's definately not like beer! Also, did you store them cold once secondary was done?