Re: How to Control Continuous Brewing

[Guest guest]

Hi Netali

With traditional continuous fermentation, that is drawing off about

10% daily and replacing it with sweet tea, I could not maintain

flavor nor Ph. Once the KT became too tart for my taste getting it

back to my liking took several cycles and I found it was much easier

just to start a fresh batch. While reading Alick & Mari

Bartholomew's " Kombucha tea for you health and healing " they

recommended drawing off 1/3 the quantity of the container and

bottling the KT. I found I had much better control over the ferment

using this method. I taste morning and evening starting the second

day and make another draw when the KT taste right to me. For my

brewing conditions three days is normal. I've had some ready as

early as 2 1/2 days and a couple go as long as 4 days. Again if it

gets away from you and becomes to tart my suggestion is start a fresh

batch. I found drawing off half the volume and adding sweet tea took

3 to 5 cycles to bring it back to my liking.

An interesting side note. I had one batch that after three cycles

was still to tart for me. My wife like to add a liter to a liter and

a half to her bath and soak about once a week. I decided that I

would bottle this batch for that purpose. Having a good supply of KT

in storage I did not get around to bottling for about week. For some

reason I tasted the KT. To my suprise it had gone from tart to a

very mild and mellow ferment. I've tried three time to duplicate

what I did without success. All became more tart with time.

I do not brew for fizz. I find it does nothing for the flavor of my

KT and adds nothing to the health benefits. When I first started

brewing KT I thought it was neat to open the cap and have all the

bubbles. When adding fresh fruit to the secondary I would often

explosive fizzing some time reducing the contents by 1/3 or more. We

would go shopping for the afternoon and take a couple bottle with us

to drink, they would have to be opened outside the car. Now I'm happy

flat KT. Interesting in that some brews have a slight fizz after the

secondary ferment but loose that fizz after being in the refrige a

week or so. I did have one bottle of BOG (Black, oolong, green tea)

that I pulled out of the refrig and let warm to room temperature to

use as starter fizz for about 20 minuter when the cap was removed.

Hope this help

Bill

>Hi,

>I'm on my first continuous KT batch. It's going on for about a month

>new. I do have a few questions to the more experienced members on

>continuous brewing business.

>1. It's always taste very acidic. (I do add every other day 3 cups of

>sweet tea). How do I control the flavor?

>2. There is no fizz at all, nothing like the fizz I get after 2nd

>fermentation.

>3. I started with a mix of green/black/white sweet tea. When I add new

>sweet tea do I need to add one of these combo to keep the balance, or

>I can add any other tea that's on hand and kombucha approved.

>Thank you for any insight,

>Netali

>