Too much yeast?

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kombujo

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Hi,

Please see the attached pictures of my brew after 48 and 36 hours.
I ferment in flat tanks with a very large surface area and only 15 to 20cm depth and was having great results up until a recent pause in production. I am now facing a situation whereby within 36 hours my ferment is dropping from pH 3.5 down to pH 2.7 and the new pellicle formation looks to be overly yeasty.
I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to rectify.

I am wondering if the large surface area is proliferating yeast production in the early stages due to the yeast + oxygen = yeast production. As such the brews turn too quickly before the bacteria have had a chance to gobble up ethanol and CO2.

How to rebalance the culture?

Thanks
 

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Yes the flavour is affected. The kombucha soured and acidified too quickly. Previously ferments were taking 5+ days and the result was less acidic than the current batch is at 3 days.
 
The bacteria create the acid, not the yeast.

To slow down the fermentation process you may lower the temperature.

However the best way to control acidity is to control the initial amount of sugar.
Less sugar = press acid produced.
 
It sounds like far too much acidity? With that quick drop in pH, it's not yeast that is the problem- it's likely too much acetobacter (which create vinegar) and/or lactobacillus.
If it was me, I'd start with a fresh culture.
 
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