Recent content by WarmGas

One thing I would add here is reputational risk. Word will get out your kettle was full of **** and people will always think twice about drinking your beer. Science is on your side but people in the main will think otherwise.

Also, if lack of yeast activity is the problem - and we are always trying to maintain a balance between the yeast and bacteria in kombucha brewing - then try upping the brew temperature. Colder temps (below 25C, 77 F) favor bacteria. Warming it up a bit may help the yeast jump into action if...

Scobies are ugly things. You are fine and I am sure more attractive than your scoby!

Kombucha is good for everyone as long as it is brewed properly. I make gallons of it every week and kids love it. The alcohol level is minimal and there is absolutely nothing wrong legally or morally about it. Orange juice also ferments in the container and produces alcohol and I have even seen...

Looks like a new scoby forming. Give it a few more days and it will be more obvious. Mold will have little hairs growing off it and will grow in patches. I think you are fine.

Nope. It shouldn't make any difference to the culture.

Kombucha contains glucuronic acid which your liver produces for de-toxifying purposes. Drinking kombucha therefore, helps in pulling toxins out of your body and they are then eliminated via the bladder and large intestine. This process may cause people to feel off when it begins. This is why it...

I use 100% organic green tea to make kombucha all the time. It comes out beautifully light, effervescent and dances on the tongue. Just give it more time. Mine usually takes 8 days but the very first time it took 18 days. Good luck.

Make sure you only pick the ones growing higher than the leg lift level of the largest dog in your area. Just a good rule of thumb to live by.

That is one dark scoby. As long as you don't see mold you should be good to go. I don't see mold on it but it is a bit hard to tell as the first picture is pretty dark.

I use them in the primary after fermentation and let the beer sit on them for 5 days or more before racking to a keg. I don't get any metallic flavors which would probably come out if they were tossed into the kettle and boiled. They add aroma, as was previously stated, but no chocolatey flavor...

No, it looks all good. You need to keep it covered with a breathable material of course and not move it for about 7 days. This will allow the pellicle forming on the top to completely grow and seal out competing bacteria and yeast. I think of it as an umbrella while the real action of converting...

Great experiment growing them so far out of their normal latitude range. It looks like you have quite a serious setup there and that puts the odds in your favor. Good luck!

Same here. I set everything out the night before and then get up early morning before 6 and heat the wort. I have the beer in the fermenting vessel by 10. Then I "think" about cleaning up for the rest of the day.

Trooob.