Is water kefir supposed to have a very slight beer smell?

[Guest guest]

Never having tasted any water kefir, only commercial Kombucha, I don't know what

the homemade finished product is supposed to taste like.

Recently I received some grains from someone on our forum and they are growing

phenomenally well. My water kefir drinks did not have any carbonation, and I

learned through you all that I needed to take my water kefir through a second

fermentation to make it bubbly.

Now I do the second fermentation, with dried fruit, and after 36 hours I have a

fizzy drink, usually sweet (depends how much fruit I am using) and it has a very

slight " beer " taste and smell. It is not clear like ginger ale, but opaque,

like iced tea with a teeny bit bit of milk added, just enough so that you can't

see through the other side of the glass.

I've been reading from others that water kefir should taste tart and fizzy, and

completely clear--I'm thinking something like Tonic Water, or sparkling grape

juice?--so I'm wondering if I am doing something wrong.

Kim

[Guest guest]

Hi Kim,

Hopefully someone will answer you. I would like to know the answers to your

questions too.

~Jodie

==================================================

>

> Never having tasted any water kefir, only commercial Kombucha, I don't know

what the homemade finished product is supposed to taste like.

>

> Recently I received some grains from someone on our forum and they are growing

phenomenally well. My water kefir drinks did not have any carbonation, and I

learned through you all that I needed to take my water kefir through a second

fermentation to make it bubbly.

>

> Now I do the second fermentation, with dried fruit, and after 36 hours I have

a fizzy drink, usually sweet (depends how much fruit I am using) and it has a

very slight " beer " taste and smell. It is not clear like ginger ale, but

opaque, like iced tea with a teeny bit bit of milk added, just enough so that

you can't see through the other side of the glass.

>

> I've been reading from others that water kefir should taste tart and fizzy,

and completely clear--I'm thinking something like Tonic Water, or sparkling

grape juice?--so I'm wondering if I am doing something wrong.

>

> Kim

>

[Guest guest]

Hi--OP here. In the past week I've done more research, both hands-on and

watching YouTube videos and reading more. In short, the answer is yes, the

finished product should have a slight beery smell/taste. This is due to

the yeast.

I have discovered the yeastiness can be altered by certain conditions:

duration of time you are fermenting, a as well as the types of fruit

(sugars) you are adding to the mix, especially during the 2nd fermentation.

I use fruit (as well as sugar) during both my first and second ferments.

Sometimes the finished product comes out more sour than other times, and

again, this has to do with fruit.

Also I learned the finished product has a range of " golden " colors and it

is usually not clear, like ginger ale, but not murky, either. And the

taste reminds me of a drink i used to have in England called a " shandy " ,

which was half beer and half sugar-sweetened lemonade.

Kim

[Guest guest]

On Sat, Jan 28, 2012 at 10:31 AM, Kim <kimanjo@...> wrote:

> the answer is yes, the

> finished product should have a slight beery smell/taste.

>

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Mine doesn't.

Marilyn