Re: Starter tea / fine tuning

[Guest guest]

>trying to get a more fizzy brew.

-

Hi Marcus: You are doing lots right so far. Here's a couple of things to

keep in mind:

A) Keep the process quick and warm [75F - 25C.] , bottled as soon as it's

ready [7 - 8 ] days.

It fizzes best when it's a trace on the sweet side like a one week, warm

ferment.

This will leave a bit of residual sugar to help continue the ferment while

in the bottle.

Once you see a tiny scoby forming on top of the bottled brew you can sample

it.

Keep it still during brewing. Don't put it on top of the fridge or

anywhere where there is vibration as this disturbs the scoby and gas

escapes. And keep it still in storage so the scoby can form. Storing in the

refrigerator shakes it every time the door opens or closes. Store it

elsewere and chill it just before drinking.

If the objective is to retain the gas in the liquid you won't lose any by

leaving an expansion space in the bottle.

If they begin to blow up, back off from the `to the brim' thing.

rusty

Starter tea / fine tuning

Hello all,

I have been experimenting with my brew for a while now, and I am

currently trying to get a more fizzy brew. From what I gather, the key

is in getting the correct balance of yeast to bacteria in the brew.

Currently I have been using starter fluid pulled half from the top,

half from the bottom of my finished ferment. I am starting my next

brew using the starter pot I have been storing SCOBYs in, which will

yield a much more acidic starter. I am unsure, however, how this will

affect my finished brew. In addition, I typically pour the finished

brew into 16 oz bottles (to the brim), add ginger or raisins, then

leave a room temperature for two days before storing in the fridge

until use. Still, my attemts have resulted in minimal fizz, the hiss

of escaping gas a rare thing when I open a bottle. I previously bought

bottled KT from a local health food store (G.T. Dave's KT), and that

was much more fizzy, so I know it can be done... If anyone has any

tips, comments, or advice, it would be much appreciated. I have been

brewing for about three/four months, so I am now really focusing on

experimenting and perfecting my brew.

Best wishes,

Marcus

[Guest guest]

Just to add the thoughts I had:

> From what I gather, the key

>is in getting the correct balance of yeast to bacteria in the brew.

I'm not sure this is the most important factor. Yeast is always part of the

brew (though it can be too-severely minimized, see next paragraph). To

echo Rusty, my experience is that bubbles occur when a brew is bottled

while on the sweeter side, not super tart. If the brew is already past a

certain tartness, even raisins won't help, is my experience. The yeast has

to have some sugar to work on, and if it does, it will make fizz.

>Currently I have been using starter fluid pulled half from the top,

>half from the bottom of my finished ferment. I am starting my next

>brew using the starter pot I have been storing SCOBYs in, which will

>yield a much more acidic starter. I am unsure, however, how this will

>affect my finished brew.

My experience with using starter-pot starter is that it really wiped out

the yeast. So even when I bottled on the early side, not a lot

happened. So don't use starter-pot starter if you're seeking bubbles. I

think others have had the same experience. I think the best way to have an

even-tempered brew over the long haul is simply to take your starter from

the top of the brew every time, but bottle on the sweeter side. That way

you don't get a yeast overgrowth, which is most unpleasant and hard to

correct. 1/2 from top and 1/2 from bottom may work ok, but I was all into

the bubbles and therefore yeast and took mine from the bottom consistently

and I wound up with yeast overgrowth and my bottling rhythm was ruined for

months (and then cold weather set in and everything took a long time, if

I'd had a good balance going into winter I'd have been better off).

>In addition, I typically pour the finished

>brew into 16 oz bottles (to the brim),

I have found in my own brewing that filling bottles to the brim yields less

bubbles. Leaving an airspace seems to favor continued brewing, which is

what you want. People report fizz using both methods, but since you're not

getting fizz, I'd suggest not filling the bottles all the way.

>add ginger or raisins, then

>leave a room temperature for two days before storing in the fridge

>until use.

I don't add raisins or ginger and I get great fizz. What I have found is

that if you add sugar (in the form of dried fruit or ginger) the bottles

actually take longer to create fizz (has to start over on some

level). But in any case 2 days is not long enough in my house for fizz to

form. It takes about 4 or more, here. When I have added coconut or

raisins or ginger, it takes even longer. Again: bottling on the sweeter

side, longer room tempering, no starter-pot starter.

But a warning. Bottles can explode. So it's a balancing act. However one

thing I've found is that I can open the bottles to let off pressure and the

brew will still be quite bubbly. Anyway, room tempering entails

risks. Blessed be, I have not had a bottle explode. We drink it too

quickly. I maintain though that one needs to control supply pretty closely

if room tempering.

--V

~~~ There is no way to peace; peace is the way ~~~~

--A.J. Muste