Clean water? (Brewing Kombucha)

Gu3rr1lla

I'm about to make a drink from a Fungi called Kombucha but it needs clean water (with no fluoride, chlorine, and all those other chemicals) so I can't just use the tap water or bottled water. And I don't have a Reverse Osmosis filter either. Does anyone know if you can buy pure water?

EDIT:-
Seeing as this discussion was moved I thought, something I should of done in the first place anyway, explain what Kombucha is and hopefully get a good discussion about it. Apparently it can be used to brew beer, which I have just heard about today on this thread.

What is Kombucha?

Kombucha, often called Scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts), is a nutritious detoxifying beverage. Its recorded history dates back to the Qin Dynasty in China (around 250 BC) where it is known as the "Immortal Health Elixir". The Japanese refer to kombucha as kocha-kinoko which translates as "the tea mushroom".

Kombucha is a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts, that is fermented in sweetened tea over several days. The result is a delicious tonic, packed with many vitamins, minerals, enzymes and probiotic micro organisms. It tastes something like sparkling apple cider, with a light vinegary aroma.

It cures and treats:

• Treatment of cancers.
• Metabolic Disorders.
• High blood pressure.
• Diabetes.
• Strengthening of the immune system.
• Detoxification, cell purification and acid/alkaline blood balance.
• Blood pressure.
• Rheumatism, gout, arthritis.
• Candida albicans.
• The balance of the intestinal flora, harmonizing transit, hemorrhoids.
• Digestive disorders, gastroenteritis.
• The migraine, stress, burnout, chronic fatigue syndrome.
• Obesity.
• Psoriasis, eczema, abscesses, ulcers (mother external application).
• Antioxidant effect.

Dizzyblonde

There's a thread here that might help; Distilled Water

rubadub

Bottled water should be fine. You are fermenting a culture. Most brewers will leave water out a while to let the chlorine just evaporate off. You could boil water which will drive off gases, or just stick it in a brita filter. Filtered water is usually better than bottled waters anyway. Bottled water will have salts in it, not fluoride or chlorine.

The site is really being overcautious. When brewing beer with chlorine water it can produce TCP in the brew and leave it stinking.

Gu3rr1lla

rubadub wrote: »

Bottled water should be fine. You are fermenting a culture. Most brewers will leave water out a while to let the chlorine just evaporate off. You could boil water which will drive off gases, or just stick it in a brita filter. Filtered water is usually better than bottled waters anyway. Bottled water will have salts in it, not fluoride or chlorine.

The site is really being overcautious. When brewing beer with chlorine water it can produce TCP in the brew and leave it stinking.

Good to see someone else who knows about it. Do you make any yourself? Yeah, I just read somewhere that it's not good to use tap water so I thought I'd be careful and get purified water seeing as it's my first time doing it I want to do it properly. Yeah that's true with the Chlorine but I don't have the time. Boiling water will concentrate the Fluoride more apparently. Don't mean to contradict you but if you check the ingredients of bottled water it contains Chlorine. Though it doesn't say Fluoride it may be hidden in Sodium. Anyway, I got purified water in the chemist today!

I didn't know you can brew beer with it!? lol tell me more I'm just brewing it because of the health benefits!

Faith

I'm going to move this to the Beer/Wine/Spirits forum .

oblivious

Just my two cent from some brews

I would avoid distilled/reverse osmosis water as you will re build the water to provide the trace mineral required by the culture an that can be trick bit of chemistry, but it can be done.

Standard tap water is fine, just boil it for 10-15 minutes and cool, you can also use bottle if you like. I think a lot of the chlorine issue come from the US where ground water can have high levels, also a lot of American water providers use chloramine which won't be removed by boiling. AFAIK Irish provides don't use chloramine but i could be wrong, but I have never had a chlorine problem to date with Dublin water.

You describe it as a fungi it is a symbiotic colony of acetic bacteria and yeast as well as other amd I would be interested to know where are you getting the culture from?

rubadub

Gu3rr1lla wrote: »

Good to see someone else who knows about it. Do you make any yourself?

No, I did consider it though. I have brewed beers, wine, and mushroom cultures which would be similar enough. Mushroom cultures require total sterility, AFAIK kombucha would be a little more susceptible to infections than beer. The alcohol content of beer or wine can protect itself.

Gu3rr1lla wrote: »

Boiling water will concentrate the Fluoride more apparently.

Well it boils off water so concentrates it that way, a very small amount.

Gu3rr1lla wrote: »

Don't mean to contradict you but if you check the ingredients of bottled water it contains Chlorine.

It would probably be naturally occurring, and probably quoting it to show you how low a level is in it. I doubt it is added. When brewing my rule of thumb was simply to smell the water for chlorine. Problems come when it is hot out and reservoirs are low, the corpo will add more chlorine in that case since bacteria thrive in hot weather. So the best time to brew is around winter.

oblivious wrote: »

I would avoid distilled/reverse osmosis water as you will re build the water to provide the trace mineral required by the culture an that can be trick bit of chemistry, but it can be done.

Yep, mushroom cultures really need minerals to grow well.

You describe it as a fungi it is a symbiotic colony of acetic bacteria and yeast as well as other amd I would be interested to know where are you getting the culture from?

I think some health shops sell it now. On ebay too.

http://search.ebay.ie/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C6&saaff=afdefault&fcl=3&frpp=50&from=R10&saslop=1&fss=0&satitle=Kombucha&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&a15961=-24&a25710=-24&a10244=-24&a14=-24&alist=a15961%2Ca15962%2Ca25710%2Ca10244%2Ca14%2Ca3801&pfmode=1&reqtype=1&gcs=1443&pfid=3131&pf_query=Kombucha&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D3&sappl=1&sabfmts=1&ga10244=10425&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&salic=-15&fhlc=1&fobfmt=1&saobfmts=insif&fsop=3%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=

oblivious

rubadub wrote: »

I think some health shops sell it now. On ebay too.

http://search.ebay.ie/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C6&saaff=afdefault&fcl=3&frpp=50&from=R10&saslop=1&fss=0&satitle=Kombucha&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&a15961=-24&a25710=-24&a10244=-24&a14=-24&alist=a15961%2Ca15962%2Ca25710%2Ca10244%2Ca14%2Ca3801&pfmode=1&reqtype=1&gcs=1443&pfid=3131&pf_query=Kombucha&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D3&sappl=1&sabfmts=1&ga10244=10425&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&salic=-15&fhlc=1&fobfmt=1&saobfmts=insif&fsop=3%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=

Yea i have see them around the only issue i would have is trusting their culturing technique, as the culture can pick up infection. An since multi flora selection and grown up a single colony is not really an option. But if you get it from some that has a good technique and has bee using it fro a while it should not be really be an issue

Brouwland Kombucha

line6

ok, here's how it works as far as i understand it

before the 17th century all fermentation was wild - that is to say it depended on airborne microbes to grow in a prepared liquid of fruit or grain

when straining techniques were developed and the brewing industry began, single strain yeasts were sought after to increase the alchohol content of these beverages to make them more intoxicating

some belgian beers are still produced in the old way using wild fermentation

the beauty of wild fermentation is it's metabiotic quality - that is to say that each organism within the culture develops immunity against each of the others as well as to negative elements in their environment

if i drink a wild fermented drink then i inherit all that immunity, and this is where the health benefits lie

when the belgians make their beers in this way they are careful to allow exposure to fresh air so that any new microbes in the environment can be absorbed, offer their own immunities and be immunised against at the same time

komboucha works in the same way

well water that has been passed as safe is good, so is rainwater if you filter it

hth

tom

BeerNut

line6 wrote: »

some belgian beers are still produced in the old way using wild fermentation

Just two breweries still doing this, I'm told: Cantillon and Girardin, both making magnificent beers.

line6

don't forget boon, among others
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambic#Belgian_lambic_breweries

oblivious

line6 wrote: »

before the 17th century all fermentation was wild - that is to say it depended on airborne microbes to grow in a prepared liquid of fruit or grain

Not true, they where re pitch previous yeast or the infamous magic stick with yeast dried on it

line6 wrote: »

when straining techniques were developed and the brewing industry began, single strain yeasts were sought after to increase the alchohol content of these beverages to make them more intoxicating

No, a number of beers where stronger that those served to day. There are still a few brewer who use multi strain and wild yeast and bacteria. Single cultures are just easier to maintain.

BeerNut

line6 wrote: »

don't forget boon, among others
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambic#Belgian_lambic_breweries

I didn't. From what I've been told, the other breweries use a cultured lambic yeast rather than spontaneous fermentation and therefore don't make true lambic.

the beer revolu

BeerNut wrote: »

I didn't. From what I've been told, the other breweries use a cultured lambic yeast rather than spontaneous fermentation and therefore don't make true lambic.

If that's true, it's a huge disappointment to me:(

I'm a big fan of Boon Mariage Parfait and I really liked the Chapeau Geuze when I tried it around Christmas. Was very happy believing that they were spontaneously fermented.

ps it took you 17 minutes to pick up on that Trappist issue (in the Orval thread).
Are you feeling ok?

BeerNut

the beer revolu wrote: »

If that's true, it's a huge disappointment to me:(

Quality beer is quality beer, regardless of how it's made or who owns the company.

the beer revolu wrote: »

it took you 17 minutes to pick up on that Trappist issue (in the Orval thread).
Are you feeling ok?

I know. You'd nearly think I had some other job apart from Boards-based pedantry...

line6

it makes sense to me that spontaneous fermentation is the best, especially when it's made in your own location because the immunities are relevant to your own environment

if anyone is doing this themselves i'd be interested to know

cheers

tom

cavedave

Gu3rr1lla

It cures and treats:

* Treatment of cancers.
* Metabolic Disorders.
* High blood pressure.
* Diabetes.
* Strengthening of the immune system.
* Detoxification, cell purification and acid/alkaline blood balance.
* Blood pressure.
* Rheumatism, gout, arthritis.
* Candida albicans.
* The balance of the intestinal flora, harmonizing transit, hemorrhoids.
* Digestive disorders, gastroenteritis.
* The migraine, stress, burnout, chronic fatigue syndrome.
* Obesity.
* Psoriasis, eczema, abscesses, ulcers (mother external application).
* Antioxidant effect.

[citation needed] one with double blind repeatable experiments on it.

line6
the beauty of wild fermentation is it's metabiotic quality - that is to say that each organism within the culture develops immunity against each of the others as well as to negative elements in their environment

if i drink a wild fermented drink then i inherit all that immunity, and this is where the health benefits lie

[citation needed] one with double blind repeatable experiments on it.

line6

cavedave wrote: »

[citation needed] one with double blind repeatable experiments on it.

line6
the beauty of wild fermentation is it's metabiotic quality - that is to say that each organism within the culture develops immunity against each of the others as well as to negative elements in their environment

if i drink a wild fermented drink then i inherit all that immunity, and this is where the health benefits lie

[citation needed] one with double blind repeatable experiments on it.

sorry, i should have said, this isn't scientific fact, just my opinion - sources diverse coupled with intuition and some experience of making my own beer, wine, mead and bread

cavedave

Kevinz But I think it not advisable or safe to consume water by experiments. It is a matter of health. So I prefer the new pure water appliances that creates pure drinking water from air instantly...I feel it is 99.99% pure...

and the other .1%? Because there are a large number of substances that .1 grams in a liter of will kill you.