Second Ferment lack of fizz.

[Andrea Wellbelove]

Having no problems with continuous first brew. However after bottling and second fermentation I have a complete lack of fizz,which is what I’m after. Bought new airtight bottles,but still nothing. Tried 2-10 days second fermentation and no difference. Tried added sugar,fruit juices etc. Any ideas would be much appreciated,Thanks.

 

[ScobeyDoo]

Wow that sounds frustrating. I put 1 teaspoon of sugar to a 16 oz bottle of first fermented kombucha and have seen it take a couple of weeks sometimes before I see the plastic screw tops start to bulge upwards. Increasing the temperature of the room can also help. I have also used flip top bottles before but gave up on them because I had pressure loss issues. Usually putting fruit in or ginger achieves huge carbonation results in short order. Don’t forget to agitate the bottle after Bottling.

 

[ScobeyDoo]

Maybe also add to your bacteria strain by adding a bottle of plain Kombucha from your local market to your first ferment. Maybe your current strain is missing something it needs.

 

[ScobeyDoo]

Here’s a link about this issue as well. It could be your tea is too weak or other items on this link. Good luck
https://www.kombuchakamp.com/kombucha-brewing-carbonation-techniques-advanced

 

[RPh_Guy]

Sooooo, bottle carbonation...

You need airtight bottles that will hold pressure. These can be soda bottles, beer bottles, sparkling wine bottles -- basically any bottles designed to hold pressure.

You need live yeast. This is probably a given unless you did something to kill the yeast like heat pasteurize.

You need a correct amount of fermentable sugar in the bottle for the yeast to eat. This is called priming sugar. Lots of "priming calculators" are available online to help you target a particular level of carbonation; the carbonation level is measured in volumes of carbon dioxide. My opinion: 1.5-2.2 vol is low, 2.3-2.7 is moderate, 2.8-3.4 is high, 3.5+ is probably excessive (and potentially dangerous).
***Too much sugar (or uneven mixing) may result in gushing bottles or explosions from the pressure.***
This is why we need a controlled amount of sugar, and it needs to be fully dissolved and mixed in the batch being bottled.

The yeast needs time to ferment the sugar. This may take days to weeks.

Temperature has a large impact on the speed the yeast create carbonation. You want to store the bottles at the same temperature where the batch was fermented, at minimum.
Refrigerated bottles will probably not become carbonated in a reasonable amount of time.

Hope this helps.

 

[Andrea Wellbelove]

Here’s a link about this issue as well. It could be your tea is too weak or other items on this link. Good luck
https://www.kombuchakamp.com/kombucha-brewing-carbonation-techniques-advanced

Oh thanks for this! Very helpful, lots of things to try!

 

[Andrea Wellbelove]

Sooooo, bottle carbonation...

You need airtight bottles that will hold pressure. These can be soda bottles, beer bottles, sparkling wine bottles -- basically any bottles designed to hold pressure.

You need live yeast. This is probably a given unless you did something to kill the yeast like heat pasteurize.

You need a correct amount of fermentable sugar in the bottle for the yeast to eat. This is called priming sugar. Lots of "priming calculators" are available online to help you target a particular level of carbonation; the carbonation level is measured in volumes of carbon dioxide. My opinion: 1.5-2.2 vol is low, 2.3-2.7 is moderate, 2.8-3.4 is high, 3.5+ is probably excessive (and potentially dangerous).
***Too much sugar (or uneven mixing) may result in gushing bottles or explosions from the pressure.***
This is why we need a controlled amount of sugar, and it needs to be fully dissolved and mixed in the batch being bottled.

The yeast needs time to ferment the sugar. This may take days to weeks.

Temperature has a large impact on the speed the yeast create carbonation. You want to store the bottles at the same temperature where the batch was fermented, at minimum.
Refrigerated bottles will probably not become carbonated in a reasonable amount of time.

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for your help!