Second Fermentation for high alcohol Kombucha problems

[jonscouch2]

I could use some help.
I have a beer brewing background but this was new territory.
A friend gave me 5 gallons of kombucha unflavored but chilled. he sells a flavored version locally.
We are attempting to make hard Kombucha.
we did the math based on Brix and 75% attenuation and added appropriate sugar approx 5lbs boiled in water to sanitize and added to Kombucha,
We added rehydrated 2 packets of red star Premier Blanc Champagne yeast.
Controlled temp to 66 Degrees and added yeast
Stirred sugar Kombucha in fermentor and capped.
OG, 1.062 reading
it has been 5 days an it bubbles about once every 10 seconds, certainly not raging by any means.

Thoughts on fermentation, or did I miss something.
Should I have boiled or simmered kombucha to kill any yeast/bacteria prior to adding sugar water. or just add sugar to simmering kombucha?
thank you in advance.

 

[RPh_Guy]

75% attenuation

More likely it will 100% attenuate (or more, apparently).

did I miss something.

Yeast nutrient. Some sort of SNA would be advisable.

Should I have boiled or simmered kombucha to kill any yeast/bacteria prior to adding sugar water. or just add sugar to simmering kombucha?

Why would you want to kill the kombucha microbes?

Cheers

 

[Yooper]

Why would you want to kill the kombucha microbes?

Cheers

Because acetobacter digest alcohol and produce vinegar as a byproduct. I'm not sure how well they will co-exist to ferment a large amount of sugar, but that much alcohol may turn the SCOBY into a more acetobacter environment. I really don't know how it will come out, but one of the reasons my kombucha has very little alcohol is because it is fermented out by the bacteria that produce that bright tangy flavor.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Because acetobacter digest alcohol and produce vinegar as a byproduct.

Only as a function of oxygen exposure, as I'm sure you know, so it would be easy to limit the amount of acetic acid production.

I'm not sure how well they will co-exist to ferment a large amount of sugar, but that much alcohol may turn the SCOBY into a more acetobacter environment.

I guess either way the OP shouldn't re-pitch the culture from a high-ABV batch with wine yeast.

 

[Beernik]

Instead of boiling, I’d go for pasteurization: 72C for 15 seconds.

 

[Yooper]

Only as a function of oxygen exposure, as I'm sure you know, so it would be easy to limit the amount of acetic acid production.

I guess either way the OP shouldn't re-pitch the culture from a high-ABV batch with wine yeast.

Yes, it possibly could be limited- but between the active lacto and active aceto, and some other non-brewing yeast strains, it'd be a crapshoot I think. The lacto could ferment some of the sugars, and with that much sugar you may get something more far sour than planned, for example. I'm guessing brettanomyces, zygosaccharomyces, possibly candida for yeast strains.

It could be an interesting experiment for sure!

 

[RPh_Guy]

The lactic acid bacteria are self-limiting. They stop producing acid below a particular pH threshold.
Acetobacter is limited by oxygen exposure.

The other yeast strains likely wouldn't compete with the wine yeast, in terms of speed or alcohol tolerance, not to mention competitive factor. Anyway, I'd think you would want the SCOBY alive for flavor, Brett in particular.

OP should try it both ways and see which works better

 

[jklappenbach]

Because acetobacter digest alcohol and produce vinegar as a byproduct. I'm not sure how well they will co-exist to ferment a large amount of sugar, but that much alcohol may turn the SCOBY into a more acetobacter environment. I really don't know how it will come out, but one of the reasons my kombucha has very little alcohol is because it is fermented out by the bacteria that produce that bright tangy flavor.

All direction I've seen so far have been to add the wine yeast as part of the secondary fermentation, which is done in the bottle, not in the main fermentation container with the scoby. Secondary fermentation is usually done under pressure, in the glass bottles with the ceramic+silicon stopper, and at room temperature. You'll get quite a bit of gas build up, and it will be visible any time the bottle is disturbed. Some have recommended burping the bottles daily to prevent too much pressure build up.

Up until now, I've never done that, as two days of 2F usually is enough to eat up excess sugar and produce the perfect champaign bubbles. After two days, stick the bottles in the fridge to put everything to sleep and halt gas buildup. But if alcohol fermentation took longer, you'd definitely want to release pressure to avoid redecorating your kitchen every time you opened a bottle -- or creating a fridge bomb.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I'm not really a fan of creating situations where explosion is possible.