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Kombucha brewing
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04-09-2014 12:39pm#1Hi all, not sure if this is the right board for this considering it's not wine, beer, or cider. Principles of fermentation apply to kombucha too though, so hope it's okay!
So I'm about to give my first brew of kombucha a try. I have a masters in biochemistry and have worked for a microbrewery for 7 years, but have never homebrewed anything myself before (I blame performance anxiety
). I think I have the theory pretty much down, but that pales to real-life experience as things can and will go wrong.
For those that don't know what it is, it's sugary tea that's fermented by a symbiotic colony of yeasts and bacteria. The yeasts produce ethanol just like in beer fermentation, but acetic acid bacteria converts that ethanol into organic acids. It has a load of supposed health-benefits, but not a whole lot of clinical evidence to back it up. Regardless, it's quite tasty when brewed correctly and is easy to flavour using fruit and herbs.
Was just wondering if there's any other kombucha brewers out there that have some advice to offer!
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saidinmilamber wrote: »Hi all, not sure if this is the right board for this considering it's not wine, beer, or cider. Principles of fermentation apply to kombucha too though, so hope it's okay!
So I'm about to give my first brew of kombucha a try. I have a masters in biochemistry and have worked for a microbrewery for 7 years, but have never homebrewed anything myself before (I blame performance anxiety ). I think I have the theory pretty much down, but that pales to real-life experience as things can and will go wrong.
For those that don't know what it is, it's sugary tea that's fermented by a symbiotic colony of yeasts and bacteria. The yeasts produce ethanol just like in beer fermentation, but acetic acid bacteria converts that ethanol into organic acids. It has a load of supposed health-benefits, but not a whole lot of clinical evidence to back it up. Regardless, it's quite tasty when brewed correctly and is easy to flavour using fruit and herbs.
Was just wondering if there's any other kombucha brewers out there that have some advice to offer!
so if you left out the bacteria, you d have alcoholic tea. Jesus you d make a fortune selling that in Ireland.
sounds adventurous though, i ve seen the commercial bottles. Best of luck.0 -
Donadea Leo wrote: »so if you left out the bacteria, you d have alcoholic tea. Jesus you d make a fortune selling that in Ireland.
Barry's and booze, together at last!!! 0 -
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That is only one of the many factors, I'm also thinking about temperatures, sunlight, "food" and so on. Your final product could be slightly different from the original. Good luck and post your results! I'm interested in kombucha but don't know much.
See it should form a stable biofilm that keeps the different kinds of microbes in balance. This'll only happen if you store it correctly, at an acidic pH. Studies have shown that Irish SCOBYs have more lactic acid bacteria that American counterparts though, so I do wonder if the homeostasis of microbes in this country would eventually include lactic acid bacteria being included in a SCOBY brought from the States.
Based in Cork, flanaganred. My parter is from Wexford though, so we pop up there regularly enough. What's the name of this holistic doctor and where in Wexford are they based? Might see if I can get a hand on one of their SCOBYs! 0 -
First batch is started! Will have some in a week thanks to this glorious weather I'd say! They had sugar cane juice crystals in Natural Choice in the Paul Street Shopping centre. I read it's the best sugar source for it. Got my equipment from Delia's Kitchen, and of course I'm using good 'ol Barry's Gold Blend
2014-09-08 16.56.12.jpg0 -
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saidinmilamber wrote: »Oh dear god it was SO GROSS!!!!! One had too much tea so it was like tannic vinegar, the other was basically just vinegar! Was not expecting that after a week! Will turn these batches into "SCOBY Hotels" and start another brew this week. Ha! the challenges of biochemistry!!
I was speaking to a friend of mine recently, she has been making it for years, and she was telling me that they will all end up being vinegar if you leave it brewing for too long.
What temperature do you have there? Maybe also use less Scoby?0 -
Ha! the challenges of biochemistry!!
I was speaking to a friend of mine recently, she has been making it for years, and she was telling me that they will all end up being vinegar if you leave it brewing for too long.
What temperature do you have there? Maybe also use less Scoby?
That's right, if it's too sweet, all you have to do is taste it every day till it gets just right. If it's too acidic, tough luck, try again next time
I've it in a 27C incubator as I read that was the optimum temperature. The scoby I got off a friend is MASSIVE alright. The one I got from My Goodness is pretty big too. Each of them formed a nice-sized little daughter scoby, so those are what I'll use for my next ferment. It's actually loads of fun though 0 -
So, I'm getting kinda good at this! I have tonnes of SCOBYs now, so if anyone is looking for some in the Cork area, I can hook you up! I've got a couple of different cultures from around the UK and Ireland. Some make quite sour kombucha, and some make quite mild booch. I've just upscaled several cultures to 25L vessels for semi-continuous fermentation rather than batch, so I'll be producing a LOT of the stuff in the coming weeks!!
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Good to see you've become a kombucha master
I got my hands on a scoby too, seems to be working good. Any suggestions on the tea/sugar ratios and on type of teas to make it up?
For stabilising the culture and getting it used to it's new home, use 100g/L white sugar and 2 black tea bags/L steeped for 10-15 minutes, with a 20% v/v inoculum (previous ferment). Ferment for 15-20 days at least at 25C.
For making a tasty kombucha beverage, use 60g/L evaporated cane juice crystals (you get get it in most health food shops) 1 white tea bag/L + 1 green tea/L steeped for no more than 10 minutes, with a 10% inoculum. Ferment for 8-12 days at 25C depending on your culture (mine is ready in 10 days, but every one is different). If you have pH strips, you can keep an eye on the pH that you find the beverage tasty at (I like mine about 2.9-3.0), but never ever drink a ferment that's above pH 4.5 as it usually means that something's gone wrong.
Post a pic of your next ferment, I've love to see other people's setup!! 0 -
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