Whats your preferred legnth of ferment?

[StaticShock]

I like my booch tart so I shoot for a 12-15 day total ferment.

My last batch of oolong pear went 13 days. 9 for the first and another 4 for the remaining.
At this point most people note it's vinegar like odor.

 

[snarf]

My ideal ferment lengths:

Primary: 3-4 weeks
Secondary (bulk): 1-3 weeks
Bottle conditioning: at least a year.

 

[brrman]

Bottle conditioning: at least a year.

 

[snarf]

brrman, you seem confused. Are you okay??

 

[StaticShock]

I'm confused too. You aren't the only one.


Can someone explain bottle conditioning?!

 

[DU99]

Bottle conditioning involves adding a measured dose of sugar to your brew that will cause a small, controlled fermentation in the bottle. The CO2 that is released from this mini-fermentation will carbonate the beer. We create this mini-fermentation by adding a priming solution to our beer prior to bottling.Hope this helps

 

[snarf]

Exactly!
However, in the case of kombucha you often don't have to add sugar at bottling time, because there's usually enough residual fermentable sugar left. Further the aim is not only to get a nice carbonation, but also to let the kombucha continue to mature, much like a fine wine.

 

[JustLooking]

Semantics? Bottle conditioning vs. bottle aging.

 

[snarf]

There are some differences. "Bottle conditioning" usually refers to beer, where carbonation plays an important role, while ageing is optional. A lot of beer is best drunk young, because it often doesn't improve with age. If you bottle age a fine wine, then it's (usually) not about carbonation and in fact usually at that stage there's no yeast left in the wine.
Personally I prefer to make my kombucha like a fine champagne. Champagne (the stuff from the Champagne area, made using the traditional method) undergoes a (re)fermentation in the bottle and is then left to age (with the yeast still in the bottle) for at least 15 months.

 

[kyt]

7 day primary
4-7 day secondary

 

[wangdangel]

I do a 7 to 10 day first and a 2 day secound

 

[shelly_belly]

I try to fit kombucha in to a 3 week schedule but many times I don't get to it. My previous batch sat for 6 months and my last batch is approaching 3 months. It's good stuff though. And as for the bottle conditioning/aging arguement, I'm drinking some now that I bottled over a year ago and it's quite fantastic.

 

[StaticShock]

Sounds interesting

Thanks for the direction in further research.

I like my kt most around just under two weeks for the first ferment then around 2 days or so for the second.

 

[zipper8650]

New here and still in research phase. Question about fermentation times. So the longer the ferment the more tart/sour you get. Is there a way to halt the process (besides drinking it all) when you reach a level you like??
thx!

 

[kyt]

New here and still in research phase. Question about fermentation times. So the longer the ferment the more tart/sour you get. Is there a way to halt the process (besides drinking it all) when you reach a level you like??
thx!

Harvest and refrigerate is the best way. Fermentation does continue, but at a significantly retarded rate.
You could also switch to an anaerobic fermentation, which would significantly retard acetic acid production rates, but the yeast will continue to work, making the kombucha more dry but not more sour/tart.

 

[zipper8650]

thank you!