Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Anybody try kombucha  (Read 6073 times)

Offline erockrph

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 7788
  • Chepachet, RI
    • The Hop WHisperer
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #15 on: March 04, 2015, 09:47:15 am »
I like it, but it sure can look a little creepy. 

erockrph, what vessel are you fermenting in?  I have been using an old big pickle jar and some big Ball jars...seems like I always spill some when transferring to bottles.  I have been trying to transfer without getting a bunch of sludge in the bottles and have yet to settle on a good system.

RE: carbonation, I have found that what you add for flavor at bottling can have an effect - last batch I tried both some with grape juice and some with elderberry concentrate.  The grape carbed fast and became quite fizzy, while the elderberry is still fairly flat.  Sugar content I suppose.

Looking forward to your thoughts, as I know you are a sucker for experimenting. :)
Right now I just have one 2-quart Ball jar for my main fermentation vessel. I have been leaving the lid loosely screwed on so that it can let out gas during fermentation. If this ends up working out for me, I'll probably add a second vessel if this SCOBY has a baby.

For bottling, I poured out most of the kombucha carefully through a fine mesh strainer (to catch any gunk or in case the SCOBY slipped out) into a sanitized pitcher, and left the mother and maybe a cup of liquid behind. I added the juice at that point, then poured into bottles through a funnel. Then I brewed more tea and topped off the SCOBY jar.

What's everyone using for tea? I'm using green tea, since I prefer the flavor. It seems like most people use black tea, though. I'm wondering if there's any differences other than just flavor.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

Offline brewday

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 453
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #16 on: March 04, 2015, 10:16:38 am »
I like it, but it sure can look a little creepy. 

erockrph, what vessel are you fermenting in?  I have been using an old big pickle jar and some big Ball jars...seems like I always spill some when transferring to bottles.  I have been trying to transfer without getting a bunch of sludge in the bottles and have yet to settle on a good system.

RE: carbonation, I have found that what you add for flavor at bottling can have an effect - last batch I tried both some with grape juice and some with elderberry concentrate.  The grape carbed fast and became quite fizzy, while the elderberry is still fairly flat.  Sugar content I suppose.

Looking forward to your thoughts, as I know you are a sucker for experimenting. :)
Right now I just have one 2-quart Ball jar for my main fermentation vessel. I have been leaving the lid loosely screwed on so that it can let out gas during fermentation. If this ends up working out for me, I'll probably add a second vessel if this SCOBY has a baby.

For bottling, I poured out most of the kombucha carefully through a fine mesh strainer (to catch any gunk or in case the SCOBY slipped out) into a sanitized pitcher, and left the mother and maybe a cup of liquid behind. I added the juice at that point, then poured into bottles through a funnel. Then I brewed more tea and topped off the SCOBY jar.

What's everyone using for tea? I'm using green tea, since I prefer the flavor. It seems like most people use black tea, though. I'm wondering if there's any differences other than just flavor.

My wife is the kombucha brewer in my house and we go through a couple of gallons of a week.  She's used all kinds of tea - black, green, white and oolong, but has settled on 6 bags of black per gallon.

EDIT:  She tells me she's found that with all black tea the SCOBY stays healthier and the kombucha is more sour/robust.
« Last Edit: March 04, 2015, 10:21:54 am by brewday »

Offline HobsonDrake

  • Assistant Brewer
  • ***
  • Posts: 105
  • Beaverton, OR
    • Brew Batch List
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #17 on: March 04, 2015, 05:16:03 pm »
I've had good luck culturing a kombucha SCOBY from a bottle of GT Kombucha from the grocery store.  It's a good idea to step up the batch size until your SCOBY gets to full size, much like culturing yeast from a bottled brew.  I went with the original, and it worked for me.  YMMV.


I harvested from three bottles of three different flavors. I have it going in a quart size mason jar. Only a week down and I see something floating on the top. Not sure if it is a scoby or not. From what I read and pictures I have seen it should be white or translucent. But again it is only been one week. Will step it up to a gallon in about two more weeks if I see more on the top. If not, I will try to find a local brewer that will give/sell me one.
Check out my brew history and recipes at http://www.hobsondrake.com/BrewList.html

John D.

Offline erockrph

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 7788
  • Chepachet, RI
    • The Hop WHisperer
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #18 on: March 05, 2015, 09:35:29 am »
I've had good luck culturing a kombucha SCOBY from a bottle of GT Kombucha from the grocery store.  It's a good idea to step up the batch size until your SCOBY gets to full size, much like culturing yeast from a bottled brew.  I went with the original, and it worked for me.  YMMV.


I harvested from three bottles of three different flavors. I have it going in a quart size mason jar. Only a week down and I see something floating on the top. Not sure if it is a scoby or not. From what I read and pictures I have seen it should be white or translucent. But again it is only been one week. Will step it up to a gallon in about two more weeks if I see more on the top. If not, I will try to find a local brewer that will give/sell me one.
Sounds similar to my experience. Started to see some gunk floating at about a week, and got a disk of jelly around two weeks or so. The brown strands (which I believe are the yeast part of the SCOBY) formed pretty late in the process. At that point I stepped up from a pint to 2 quarts and brewed my first batch. The original starter was pretty vinegary at that point, but I wanted to let it go pretty far before I stepped it up. The first 1/2 gallon batch saw the SCOBY thicken quite a bit.

I bottled around 10 days into the ferment and it was still a bit sweet, but pleasingly tart as well. For my second batch the SCOBY developed more brown tentacles in just a couple of days. I have a feeling that this batch will finish sooner than my first one as the SCOBY is still developing.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

Offline pinnah

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1323
  • Wesloper, CO
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #19 on: March 05, 2015, 03:18:09 pm »

What's everyone using for tea? I'm using green tea, since I prefer the flavor. It seems like most people use black tea, though. I'm wondering if there's any differences other than just flavor.
EDIT:  She tells me she's found that with all black tea the SCOBY stays healthier and the kombucha is more sour/robust.

That is what I have found as well.  I have tried green, white, and yerba mate tea mixes in the last few batches, and the SCOBYs have become thin and the product is not nearly as vinegary and seems to take longer.
That said, they still work, given time.  I am ready to bottle a batch tomorrow, and will try again with an all black tea start to try and get a fat slabby SCOBY again.

Mort, I do have one of those gallon jars with the pour spout...we use it for sun tea.  I am going to try your idea.

Cheers.

Offline homoeccentricus

  • Brewmaster General
  • *******
  • Posts: 2009
  • A twerp from Antwerp
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #20 on: March 06, 2015, 07:47:57 am »
OK, so I got intrigued by the kombucha thing, read a bit, and tried a bottle. Not too bad, I almost finished it ;-)

Now when I read about kombucha making I get the impression that it's like brewing in the retarded ages: take a preferably clean jar, add tea and that weird stuff, put a preferably clean cheesecloth over it, put the jar above the stove and let magic do its thing. We, as experienced homebrewers should be able to do better, no? We make sour beers, we have fermentation vessels, we control fermentation temperature up to one tenth of a centigrade, we have professional pH-meters, we are mad rackers to secondary with the addition of anything that doesn't move.

Is it really that simple and primitive, or are there ways to improve the quality so that I might be able to finish my bottle?

Frank P.

Staggering on the shoulders of giant dwarfs.

Offline brewday

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 453
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #21 on: March 06, 2015, 08:28:55 am »
Is it really that simple and primitive, or are there ways to improve the quality so that I might be able to finish my bottle?

Add fruit/ginger/mint/juice/dry hops to the secondary.

Offline Mary Izett

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 6
  • fermenter of many things
    • My Life on Craft
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #22 on: March 06, 2015, 09:22:10 am »
It is that simple & primitive but there are a lot of variables that you can alter to change the character. Temperature plays a huge part but the types of teas & sugars that you use can also affect the aroma & flavor. And  of course the SCOBYs can vary dramatically in number & type of yeast & bacteria within. I almost always add secondary flavorings such as fruit or herbal or flavored teas. If you find kombucha too acetic for your liking, you can try Jun out instead. Jun is honey-based and typically made with green tea. I find it to be much softer and rounder than regular kombucha. You can train your kombucha SCOBY to feed on honey & green tea over time but you can also find jun SCOBYs to purchase or trade for.

A good source of free/low-cost cultures can be found on the Wild Fermentation board on Facebook. I've cultured from GT's but also gotten SCOBYs from local sources (we have an awesome fermentation festival here in Brooklyn every March that has a culture swap component).

Oh, and water kefir is another option for those that find kombucha too acetic/sour/not that great. Similar process, but the culture is in the form of small "grains" instead of a single mass. And they feed off sugar water, no tea necessary.

I find that commericial kombuchas differ dramatically & I prefer my home-made kombucha more pretty much across the board (with the exception of my local Kombucha Brooklyn which is freaking beautiful). I played around a lot last year with both kombuchas & water kefirs while developing recipes for a book i wrote that  comes out this summer - they're really fun & delicious cultures!

Mary
Author of Speed Brewing,
BJCP National Judge,
Co-Host of Fuhmentaboudit on Heritage Radio Network,
President, Cuzett Libations

Offline morticaixavier

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 7781
  • Underhill VT
    • The Best Artist in the WORLD!!!!!
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #23 on: March 06, 2015, 09:48:08 am »
Thanks for the info Mary. I had not heard of Jun.

I've wondered about playing around with the variables on Kombucha myself. It's a whole other rabbit hole it seems.
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
-A Einstein

"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
- J Joyce

Offline erockrph

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 7788
  • Chepachet, RI
    • The Hop WHisperer
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #24 on: March 06, 2015, 11:18:19 am »
Thanks for the info, Mary! Your NHC talk is one of the main reasons I even tried Kombucha in the first place. Water kefir does sound like it's more up my alley since I'm not a huge vinegar fan, I figured kombucha was a good place to start since I can essentially do it with bottle dregs and ingredients I already have around the house.

I'm still new to the process, but I am already finding that I like my own homebrewed kombucha a lot better than the stuff I'm getting at the supermarket.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

Offline pinnah

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1323
  • Wesloper, CO
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #25 on: March 11, 2015, 12:50:37 pm »
You can train your kombucha SCOBY to feed on honey & green tea over time but you can also find jun SCOBYs to purchase or trade for.

Interesting stuff Mary; I too, had not heard of jun. 

I ran out of sugar this morning while making a tea batch for an additional SCOBY and was eye balling the honey that was in the cupboard. :o

How does one "train" a kombucha SCOBY to like honey and green tea?

Offline boulderbrewer

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 870
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #26 on: March 30, 2015, 09:22:02 am »
Just started with a purchased scoby this weekend. I didn't see anyone mention to use plain tea because tea with oil (i.e. Earl Grey) can cause mold?

I got some kefir grains too, seeing we will have plenty of milk with two pregnant goats due within two weeks.

Offline Mary Izett

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 6
  • fermenter of many things
    • My Life on Craft
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #27 on: March 30, 2015, 06:35:33 pm »
I haven't trained a kombucha scoby to live on honey myself but I've spoken to people that have. They have slowly replaced the sugar with honey, little by little, over a period of time (would depend on your batch size but I would start with a tsp or something pretty small). I would go slow and keep checking the health of your SCOBY. If it starts lagging in health, back off and go back to a higher % of sugar. I'd also just use straight black tea during this period and then slowly ease in green tea to the mix. I'm not sure that this will work every time as it probably depends on the makeup of your individual SCOBY and perhaps your ambient yeast & bacteria but it's worth a try. My jun SCOBY is almost pure white and kind of waxy in appearance - very different from my regular kombucha SCOBYs.

As far as teas go, it is best to use black, green or white teas for kombucha. I usually use flavored teas in secondary but have used them in primary. And yes, avoid teas with added oils - they can negatively impact the health of the SCOBY. If I use flavored teas, I generally don't use them back-to-back and go back to 100% black tea in between.

Kombucha Brooklyn posted a nice tea chart on their blog recently: http://www.kombuchabrooklyn.com/blog/kombucha-tea-and-herb-guide/

Hope that's helpful.

Oh - and goat milk kefir sounds delicious!
Author of Speed Brewing,
BJCP National Judge,
Co-Host of Fuhmentaboudit on Heritage Radio Network,
President, Cuzett Libations

Offline erockrph

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 7788
  • Chepachet, RI
    • The Hop WHisperer
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #28 on: March 31, 2015, 12:53:36 pm »
I thought I'd check back in now that I have my first couple of batches under my belt.

Batch one - bottled with ~20% POM Blueberry juice to backsweeten. I had heard that kombucha's generally take 1-3 days to sparkle, so I put the bottles in the fridge on day 3. There was a little fizz, but nothing like what I had hoped for. My house is still rather cool, so I probably need to leave it a lot longer to fully carbonate. This batch came out way too acetic for my tastes. I'm not a big fan of vinegar, but I can handle it up to a certain level. La Folie and Heinz ketchup are OK, Italian dressing is not. I like how the pomegranate/blueberry juice works here, but the aroma turned me off on this batch.

Batch two - I tasted this one more often and bottled it as soon as it started to turn tart. For this batch I muddled some ginger (about a nickel x 1/8" slice, diced) in with about 2 tablespoons of sugar and 3 packets of TrueLime, then steeped it in the kombucha for about 10 minutes prior to bottling. I had to throw it in the fridge after 3 days since we were going on vacation. Flavor-wise, this is much better for me, but it tasted a little watery and thin. I pulled the bottles out of the fridge last night to see if I could get more carbonation.

Next time I will let the primary go a little further, and use a lot more lime and some more sugar at bottling. I think, for my palate, I want to get the kombucha just to my threshold for vinegar, then add a tart juice at bottling to hit my acidity level without overdoing the vinegar.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

Offline CurlyFry

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 4
Re: Anybody try kombucha
« Reply #29 on: July 02, 2016, 10:16:07 am »
Id like to try it but im having a hard time finding a culture that isnt crazy expensive.
I got mine from a natural food store, sort of. I bought a bottle of raw, organic kombucha and poured it into my one gallon fermenter. I then added strong, fresh brewed, sweetened with honey, black tea. It made its own culture because the original bottle I bought was not pasteurized and contained active cultures.

Sent from my LGLK430 using Tapatalk