Re: Newbie confusion

[Guest guest]

i didnt see any picture attachments, but my guess is that you have oysters, and

that just means a baby scoby, no bleck about it! just fish them out before you

drink if you cant stand the thought of chugging them down.

if its too cold, you wont get much fermentation going, so you might have to

provide them a heat source (i have a batch secondary fermenting beside

the woodstove, and my next batch brewing right behind the stove-i use stick on

thermometers to make sure its not getting too hot). 70 seems to be adequate for

secondary fermenting, and i would be afraid to do it at much higher than that

for fear of exploding bottles. 

it has been my experience that leaving some head space both

increases carbonization and baby scoby formation as both processes require a

little air. they tend to go together, so your " oysters " are a good sign. have

you opened a bottle to see how much fizz there is?

if you are secondary fermenting in glass, please be sure to take precautions

against explosions, by burping and/or containing your bottles in a rigid

container. you dont want a bomb exploding on your counter. i have had some

bottles that fizz like a shaken bottle of champagne, so there is a lot of

pressure in those bottles and you dont want them sitting loose in your kitchen.

happy brewing

dl

 

________________________________

From: emugirls <emugirls@...>

kombucha tea

Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2008 7:50:12 PM

Subject: Newbie confusion

My first batch appeared to be successful - lovely 1/4 " + thick new

SCOBY baby and the KT seemed to taste ok. I added some fruit puree

(both in juice & puree) and have sealed on the counter in an attempt

to get some good fizz going (I really like fizz!). The bottles have

been on my counter for a week or so now (our house is quite cold) and

now I'm not sure if I have Kombucha oysters floating or mold :-(

Is there someone willing to take a newbie under their wing & look at

my photos to help me decide whether I've got oysters (bleck!) or mold

(no, no, no ...)?

Thanks

Kirsty