jent103

So I was all excited about brewing my own kombucha at first, but about a year ago just basically got overwhelmed with it and wasn't drinking it as much, and neglected my scoby. It sat atop my fridge for months and months, covered. I had a New Year's brunch at my house today and two of my friends got all excited and split it to take home. It doesn't look moldy at all and was still growing. Are there any safety concerns here, or should they feel free to brew?

LadyM, I was wondering something very similar - mine has been neglected since January, sitting in its hotel on top of my fridge. I checked it for mold and it looks fine, so now that I'm back from a vacation I think it's time to start again!

I just opened a bottle of hibiscus ginger and it spewed forth like a mighty geyser. I consider it a great personal triumph.

Hmm... the bottle I had just said ginger juice (along with the "pure love!!!!"), but lemon sounds nice too! I'll taste test it and see.

You're right, kabob - it was hibiscus and ginger. Most of the bottles had a nice gentle fizz to them - enough to tingle but not at all like a GT. All very drinkable and yummy though! I'm right there with you on the shaking, but I wasn't sure how else to tell if they were carbonated or needed to stay out of the fridge for awhile. I'm using GT bottles, so no plastic to tell how hard or soft it is. Hmm. I bottled my third batch last night - all "gingerade" this time. I had my first GT gingerade last week and LOVED it, so I grated probably 1/2-3/4 tsp of ginger into each bottle. I also managed to grate my thumb. It'll probably be worth it.

Well, y'all, I got SO excited last night - the bottle of my second batch that I shook a bit fizzed up so nicely! So I put that batch in the fridge, thinking it's ready to go. But the one I've strained and brought to work with me to drink later seems really flat - no bubbling when I opened it to strain it, and very few bubbles when I poured it. So strange. Do you think I should take the rest of the bottles out to ferment longer? They've had 3+ days, which I thought was enough but maybe not. The weather has turned chilly here, so maybe that's part of it!

Thanks for the heads up! They're in a box, so hopefully it won't be too bad if they explode while I'm at work today! I burped them a couple of times with my first batch (this is only my second) and they weren't very fizzy when I went to drink them, so I wondered if the burping released too much of the carbonation. Kombucha... so simple yet so complex!

Thanks, Susan! I tried more Goo Gone this weekend and finally got the goo off. Before I wasn't using enough and it just kind of smeared the goo around. I'd already read your hot water trick for the labels - perfection! My hibiscus and ginger bottles are second fermenting and are a lovely deep pink color. Crossing my fingers! I'm not sure how long I'll wait to try them - they've been fermenting since Saturday, I think.

Wow! I'm impressed. Bottling mine tonight and plan to put tons of hibiscus in there! Side note - has anyone found a magical way to get the goo under the labels off the GT bottles?! I've tried SOS pads, stainless steel pads and even Goo Gone. I've googled and looked at this thread and hadn't found anything, but I still have yet to make it through all 54 pages before this so maybe I missed it!

Maria - I am far from an expert, but my brewing container is just a one-gallon glass jar (about 4 liters, then). I'd think decaf would be fine, but I'll defer to others on that if they disagree!

Dang it - first time trying to upload a photo!

Kb, that looks awesome! I have my second batch brewing now and plan to put way more hibiscus in it this time - my first batch wasn't very pink at all. I was too afraid of overpowering. But check out my little baby scoby! And this batch is already fizzier. I think another day or two.

Yep, it tastes okay - just sweeter and not as hibiscus-y as I'd like. I'll have several days to decide how to tweak it before batch #2 is ready! Thanks for the support.

kabob - this is what I used. I chopped them up a little before I put them in the bottle, but I'm not sure if that was necessary. I strained the bottles after the second ferment because the yeast was dangling from the hibiscus leaves and I don't think I could handle drinking around that! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AQI46RE/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I did put the bottles in a box, so that contained it a little. Still, I didn't want to waste a bottle! I think I erred too much on the side of caution, though. The bottle I'm drinking now is fizzy and fine, but not as fizzy as GT.

Okay, I finished my first batch - thanks again for the encouragement, pjena! It's okay, but I think I should have a) let it ferment longer and added more hibiscus to the flavoring. And probably not burped the bottles (I was scared of explosions!). It didn't taste sweet when I bottled it, but now it's SO sweet when I drink it! I just added a little hibiscus and ginger, so I don't think it's the flavoring, but maybe I'm wrong. Either way, I have the mama and the tiny baby scoby in the current batch and also plan to let it go another day or two or three, so hopefully the next batch will be tangier and fizzier!

Got it. Thank you!! I'm making my way through the thread, slowly but surely. It's fun having a new project!

Thanks, pjena! The baby is pretty thin - so if I start a new batch, it will either take a lot longer with just the baby, or could I put them both in at once? I burped the bottles this morning - I'd rather not have them explode in my kitchen. I'll definitely check out your post. I started reading from the beginning, but haven't made it through all 54 pages yet. I appreciate it!

I remember reading a note somewhere here on the science, but basically, rice vinegar is fine. You do have to read labels on all vinegars - if sulfites are one of the ingredients (added sulfites), that's out. My store brand red wine vinegar is out, and even my lemon juice had sulfites! But if the ingredients just say vinegar, and then it says "contains sulfites" or "contains naturally occurring sulfites," that's okay. Basically you don't want them added as preservatives.

I am new to kombucha brewing and basically need someone to reassure me that I'm doing this right! I ordered a scoby from Kombucha Kamp and followed her instructions for my first batch. However, I'm confused about where to go from here! Tonight my batch has been brewing for 8 days, and tasted not very sweet, so I decided it was time. My mama scoby was floating at the bottom, and a little baby scoby was at the top. I vinegared my hands and took the baby out, put it in a glass pyrex dish, and covered it with raw kombucha, poured the rest of the booch into my bottles (which have ginger slices and hibiscus in them - my favorite GT so far!), put the mama scoby in the dish too and covered them both with raw booch. They are now in a cabinet, covered with a lid (plastic, but it isn't touching the tea or scoby). So now I lid the flavored booch and let it sit for a day or two, burping maybe every morning and night, and put them in the fridge when they're done, right? And my scobys can stay in their hotel till I'm ready to attempt another batch? Sorry for the hand-holding - I do wish someone would do (or link to) a step-by-step on how to transition from batch 1 to batch 2 and beyond! I'm scared I'll mess it up without clear instructions.

I don't think maltodextrin is compliant, but hopefully a moderator will weigh in. Sugar is definitely not compliant. Aidell's chicken & apple sausage is one compliant sausage brand (some of their other flavors are not, though). For lunch meat, the only one I found in my area was Applegate Farms roast beef (the turkey and ham all have additives, but the roast beef just has salt & pepper). I haven't looked very hard for bacon, but some people order online from US Wellness Meats, and a few people have reported finding some at farmers' markets. Prosciutto might be a good substitute - my Trader Joe's has a couple of compliant brands.