Guide to Kombucha Second Fermentation Process Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Guide to Kombucha Second Fermentation Process Recipe? ›

You'll want to fill your vessel up with 80%-90% kombucha and add 10%-20% flavoring. All you need is 1-3 tsp of my herbal kombucha flavoring to make delicious kombucha. You will want to leave 1-2 inches of air space at the top of the bottle between the liquid and the cap.

You'll want to fill your vessel up with 80%-90% kombucha and add 10%-20% flavoring. All you need is 1-3 tsp of my herbal kombucha flavoring to make delicious kombucha. You will want to leave 1-2 inches of air space at the top of the bottle between the liquid and the cap.

Fresh organic raw fruit made into puree is all you need for the kombucha second fermentation. The quality of the produce you choose will make all the difference. Thus, make sure to use premium ripe fruit for the best-tasting fizzy soda. It's marvelous creating different whole-food combinations.

In general, I like to flavor with fresh fruit purees and fruit juices. I use about 1/4 - 1/3 cup per 16 oz. bottle. But that's not a hard-and-fast rule.

The usual amount of sugar is about 4 or 5 grams, or a level teaspoon, of brewing sugar per pint or 500 ml bottle. When scaling this measurement up for a 5-gallon barrel, you will need 160g-200g of dextrose for secondary fermentation.

I'm not getting carbonation in my kombucha after secondary fermentation. Don't worry too much; carbonation can be finicky. Often temperature has much to do with it, but sometimes the yeast just don't want to perform for you. Just keep on brewing, and it should come with time.

Add clarifiers – Many brewers choose to add finings, or clarifiers, when doing a secondary fermentation on their beer. Gelatin or isinglass may be added at this stage.

If you've been able to produce a successful batch of first fermented kombucha and you've gone over a week without any mold in your brew vessel, it's very unlikely that you'll develop mold during second fermentation in the bottle.

If a SCOBY forms during the second fermentation, you can filter it out when serving, eat it, save it, or toss it. It's up to you; let's go over each. If you notice a new SCOBY in your bottle, you can easily filter it out of your kombucha before drinking.

This is fine if they're getting too large or if you'd like to split them up to move some to a SCOBY hotel/share with a friend. You can't hurt your SCOBY by ripping it or cutting it. Its shape doesn't matter since new ones will always take the shape of the surface of whatever container you place it in.

How often should I burp kombucha? ›

Burping is essentially just opening your bottles ever so slightly during the second fermentation process to release air or “excess pressure” in the bottle. Many brewers recommend burping bottles every day, or every other day while your bottles are fermenting at room temperature.

Mango is our top choice when it comes to blending fruit purees for hard kombucha. We love mango because it is sweet and luscious. We use a special blend of mangoes that include two types of the tropical fruit. We use a blend of Tommy Atkins and Sugar Mangoes.

So in the end I guess the answer to the question: “can I add sugar during fermentation?”, is yes you can.

You add sugar at the time you either keg or bottle. The purpose of the sugar is to create a small amount of fermentation, which creates CO2 to carbonate the beer. You don't need to add sugar when you tranfer to a secondary FV, unless your secondary FV is you keg.

However, overloading the must with sugar can overwhelm the yeast and make it difficult for fermentation to begin. With small batches (1-gallon recipes), the amount of sugar is small enough that it won't bother the yeast.

When brewing kombucha, the most important rule of thumb is the sweet tea to starter tea ratio. The sweet tea to kombucha starter tea ratio is 9:1 or 90% sweet tea to 10% kombucha starter tea.

The ideal temperature range for kombucha fermentation is between 60°F and 85°F (16°C and 29°C). For best results and flavors, aim for a range of 75°F–80°F (24°C–26°C), especially during the first three to seven days of the fermentation process.

For each gallon of sweet tea, use 1 large SCOBY (5-6 inches across, ½ – 1 inch thick) and 1-2 cups strong starter liquid.