Guest guest Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 In message <ethtd6+n0rqeGroups> you wrote: > I have had several issues with my third time around. I used honey for > the first time, which may have been a mistake - there is thick stuff > at the bottom of my brewing container, as if the honey didn't mix > properly. Does anyone know if this will affect the process? Should I > stir it or what? Hello Beryl, and sorry for the delay. Kept musing about your post, not quite being able to get my brain round it. Here are my thoughts anyway: The 'thick stuff on the bottom could be excessive yeast and/or unused parts of the honey that have sunk to the bottom. If that is so, I would not disturb the brew but at bottling time filter it out. > Also, my scoby is getting huge with 2-3 layers but it is not totally > split, so I left it together rather than pull or cut it apart, Yes, that is wise. Although you can brew with bits of scoby plus starter liquid. The beauty of a scoby is not at all important. Just to add some of it is good for any fermentation process. > and I did not leave enough room for the starter tea. Yes, that is a very common oversight. Now that you know you can avoid it next time. Don't be too alarmed, though. When that happened to me, my brews were always fine after. The scoby is very acidic in itself and works as a sort of acidic cover which protects the brew. > Then... to top it off, my scoby pushed up and got the towel wet. Hey-ho, you've got a lively one then! ;-) That means that you have got a vigorous brew with a strong yeast-activity. No problem. Just be careful to discard all the sediment of your brew after bottling and to take the starter from the top of your brew before it has got too disturbed. > > It's been brewing for 10 days so just now I removed the second wet > towel and dipped some out. There were little brown flecks floating in > it! And it tasted really really sour. If it's sour you can bottle it. A very sour brew at 10 days indicates a strong yeast side of your brew with a not so brilliant taste. Still, you can drink it well diluted with water and still get the benefits of Kombucha. It will create an environment inside of you which the candida won't like. Candida don't thrive in a vinegary environment! > In the past I have fermented for over 3 weeks (worried about > candida). So maybe time will tell? But I'm concerned about the > cloudiness of the brew, and I don't know if that's because of the > honey issue or what. Any guidance would be appreciated!! Personally I have not had a good experience with using honey. It's also very expensive ... unnecessarily casting pearls before swine ;-) As I've said in another post today, ordinary white sugar - since it is freely and cheaply available-, is IMO the best food-source for the Kombucha culture and is very easily converted into the health-giving acids which help your body get better balanced. It takes a bit of time and patience to put together the ingredients that produce the Kombucha Tonic that suits both your tastebuds and your health. Don't give up. Try different sugar sources and see how you fare. All the best with blessings, Margret:-) just off making 4 different batches of altogether 20 litres of KT (about 5 US gallons, that is) -- +------------------ Minstrel@... --------------------+ <)))<>< http://www.therpc.f9.co.uk <)))<>< http://www.AnswersInGenesis.com +----------------- http://www.Gotquestions.org ------------------+ Every problem is an opportunity to trust God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 Thank you for the reassurance, Margret! I have hope again that this thing will work out. Will probably bottle it tomorrow and strain out the goopage at the bottom. And this time leave plenty of room for my starter... I think I need to get myself a bigger container - mine is about 3 quarts. By the time the big huge scoby is in there, there's not much room! Anyhow thanks again for your help, Beryl > > > I have had several issues with my third time around. I used honey for > > the first time, which may have been a mistake - there is thick stuff > > at the bottom of my brewing container, as if the honey didn't mix > > properly. Does anyone know if this will affect the process? Should I > > stir it or what? > > Hello Beryl, and sorry for the delay. Kept musing about your post, > not quite being able to get my brain round it. > > Here are my thoughts anyway: > > The 'thick stuff on the bottom could be excessive yeast and/or unused parts > of the honey that have sunk to the bottom. > If that is so, I would not disturb the brew but at bottling time filter it > out. > > Also, my scoby is getting huge with 2-3 layers but it is not totally > > split, so I left it together rather than pull or cut it apart, > Yes, that is wise. Although you can brew with bits of scoby plus starter > liquid. The beauty of a scoby is not at all important. Just to add some of > it is good for any fermentation process. > > > > and I did not leave enough room for the starter tea. > Yes, that is a very common oversight. Now that you know you can avoid it > next time. Don't be too alarmed, though. When that happened to me, my brews > were always fine after. The scoby is very acidic in itself and works as a > sort of acidic cover which protects the brew. > > > Then... to top it off, my scoby pushed up and got the towel wet. > > Hey-ho, you've got a lively one then! ;-) That means that you have got > a vigorous brew with a strong yeast-activity. No problem. Just be > careful to discard all the sediment of your brew after bottling and to > take the starter from the top of your brew before it has got too disturbed. > > > > > It's been brewing for 10 days so just now I removed the second wet > > towel and dipped some out. There were little brown flecks floating in > > it! And it tasted really really sour. > > If it's sour you can bottle it. A very sour brew at 10 days indicates a > strong yeast side of your brew with a not so brilliant taste. > > Still, you can drink it well diluted with water and still get the benefits > of Kombucha. It will create an environment inside of you which the > candida won't like. Candida don't thrive in a vinegary environment! > > > In the past I have fermented for over 3 weeks (worried about > > candida). So maybe time will tell? But I'm concerned about the > > cloudiness of the brew, and I don't know if that's because of the > > honey issue or what. Any guidance would be appreciated!! > > Personally I have not had a good experience with using honey. It's also very > expensive ... unnecessarily casting pearls before swine ;-) > As I've said in another post today, ordinary white sugar - since it is > freely and cheaply available-, is IMO the best food-source for the Kombucha > culture and is very easily converted into the health-giving acids which > help your body get better balanced. > > It takes a bit of time and patience to put together the ingredients that > produce the Kombucha Tonic that suits both your tastebuds and your health. > Don't give up. Try different sugar sources and see how you fare. > > All the best with blessings, > > Margret:-) just off making 4 different batches of altogether 20 litres > of KT (about 5 US gallons, that is) > -- > +------------------ Minstrel@... --------------------+ > <)))<>< http://www.therpc.f9.co.uk <)))<>< > http://www.AnswersInGenesis.com > +----------------- http://www.Gotquestions.org ------------------+ > > Every problem is an opportunity to trust God. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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