Using Plastic or Steel in Kombucha Brewing? (sifting through the controversy!)

[@elenanovak6272]

Essentially, you can use steel or plastic with the tea, but as soon as you start handling Kombucha or SCOBY, you want to be careful. The reason you have to be careful is that Kombucha usually has a pH of around 3.5.

[@pojebesmamumrtko]

food grade plastic can withstand even lower PH than 3.5, for example cocacola is like 2.5PH and it's still sold in plastic bottle

[@carolyn7004]

You are doing a great job with your kombucha videos.

[@IGet2Garden]

I absolutely love your channel. You are very informative and I have used you recommendations with success. Thank you so much.

[@potterma63]

I use a mix of glass and plastic for bottle conditioning. Primary vessels are glass, but I use one or two soda bottles to help gauge carbonation. I've got a batch of ginger lime and one of ginger lime Serrano (I do 3 stage brewing. Primary: plain, Secondary: flavored, aerobic, tertiary:bottle conditioning) that will not carbonate very well, so the plastic bottles are a must.

[@mjones410]

I do 3 stage ferment too, and if you're using fruit instead of sugar to carbonate having at least 1 plastic bottle is really the only way to gauge carbonation. Sometimes it's 12 hours, sometimes it's 4 days. So thumbs up potterman63 :)

[@theresa5059]

Hi. I'm new to brewing kombucha and love your videos. My kombucha is always cloudy. It tastes delicious and I'm happy with the carbonation. I'm paranoid about checking for vinegar eels. ( I haven't found any) I've read that it's yeast making it cloudy. How do I deal with it?

[@guadalupegomez577]

Thanks for all the good information in your videos, I have a question : What do you think of a glass dispenser with a stainless steel spigot for the first fermentation? Greetings from Mexico!

[@aaronh6776]

Nice to know you're a fellow beer brewer too! Another homebrewer I know says that kombucha may contain brett and could contaminate a batch of beer if fermented in the same vessel. Has that ever happened to you?

[@YouBrewKombucha]

Kombucha could definitely contain strains of brett! I always recommend sanitizing materials thoroughly (already a given with brewing beer anyhow, I know! 🤗) -- but also make sure that my beer ferments are far away from my kombucha/other ferments just so there isn't any cross contamination. I am a fan of sours, though, so maybe one of these days i'll do an experimental batch where I intentionally try to get some brett into my beer 👀

[@stalesunday]

thank you so much for this!

[@cindeejohnson8125]

Have you ever reused plastic sparkling water bottles like Poland Spring bottles for 2nd fermentation?

[@Yo_soy_Annna]

I have a metal reusable straw with a silicone tip. Can I use this to taste my kombucha? I don't want to use plastic straws. Is it safe to touch the Floating Scoby with the metal?

[@HeatherAnne]

The exploding bottle horror stories are scary. Thanks for the reassurance.

[@lida9028]

Hi. Thank you for the information you're giving about Kombucha. For a while, my Scoby has many holes and becomes thin. What can I do? would you guide me please?

[@Licey-ln8xs]

Hi. I need a scoby . I leave in NYC

[@wishuponakate]

I've heard mixed results with using something porous like a wooden spoon to mix kombucha, since it can introduce nasties to the brew accidentally. I notice you use wooden spoons regularly in your videos. I know some use a dedicated wooden spoon (they don't use it in other things) and they've had no issues.

[@TLSWalters]

Dedicated wooden spoon gang!

[@lindsaywilliambrown808]

I've now made two large separate batches at different times, and both have molded and not created SCOBY. Mine are in clean glass. First batch was left initially out in light because no one said not to do that (ugh). Then I put it into closet once I found out that was important. Still nothing, but it was lower-caffeine (presteeped black). Then I made another batch, full steep black, and held in closet the whole time. About a month into ferment now and still no activity except some mold on top. The tea is NOT organic (thought it was, use only organic normally, but turns out it wasn't - was just reg. Twinings). Is that the issue and no one's videos are specifying that it has to be organic? I do not have a dishwasher so these are not steam cleaned. Should I try straight alcohol spray to extra-disinfect, or is there another issue here? Thanks!

[@katharina1788]

I'm no pro. I just started brewing myself. But so far all good. Mold is usually very rare. 1st of all, NEVER but it in a closet. Air must be able to ventilate. And yes, it needs to be out of direct sunlight, so put it in a shady corner. You might want to wrap some paper around your brewing vessel, but don't cover the top with the paper. It needs to be able to breath. On top you put a breathable cover (could be an old clean T-Shirt) and fixate it with a rubber band so that the fruit flies can't get in. 2. Chose a space for the brewing vessel that isn't close to plants (germs or mold in the soil) or a trash can or your oven (smells) or your organic waste. 3. Properly clean all your utensils and the brewing vessel. Dishsoap and hot water is enough. Sterilization is not necessary IF you didn't have anything moldy in or on it. Be sure to properly rinse. You can spray white distilled vinegar on it and then rinse it well. 4. Start with a healthy scoby. If there is mold, you need to throw everything away and you need to start over freshly. 5. Use sufficient starter liquid (finished Kombucha). If you don't add enough there can be mold. 6. Check pictures and combare your Scoby with them to find out if it is really mold or just a certain form of yeast. But as you mention it did not ferment (there needs to be a smell like vinegar) I guess something went wrong. My suspicion is there wasn't enough starter liquid and the closet was an issue. Maybe the original Scoby wasn't ok. Watch more videos. There is a lot about Kombucha and mold online. The You Brew Kombucha website has tons of information. Check it out. Expecting that your next brew / next fresh batch will finally work out!

[@lindsaywilliambrown808]

@@katharina1788 Thanks for your time. I always do a lot of research before I start anything; I've never had the privilege of screwing stuff up as I go along. It takes a lot of money to get away with that! That's actually why I was asking, because I've done everything by the book multiple times. I know from lots of pros that storing in darkness is indeed very important so I'll stick with that, but as many have said the only other thing it will have to be is amount of starter, which is odd since I used the same recipes everyone else used. We are all in our own microclimes so perhaps there is something here in action. Glad your climate is working well for how you are doing it - thanks again!

[@katharina1788]

@@lindsaywilliambrown808 Just a thought. How is the quality of your water?! Don't use distilled. Filtered water is best. And as it didn't work out for you, why would you want to stick to the closet? I can imagine that messes everything up. It can't be in direct sunlight, but it doesn't need the complete dark. You see how the jars are in the kitchen in the videos. The importance is air ventilation. And if your Scoby pushes out of the vessel, push it back in, so that it's covered with the tea. And another thought thinking of microclimate: check if your home has no mold (the walls,...), maybe the Scoby is picking it up? And next time as precaution, use more starter liquid than you used before and is written in the recipes. That will give it a more robust start. There is a video of hers about moving to a new home and that's when she recommends using more starter liquid. She then uses 3 cups instead of two per gallon. I really wish you find out why it is not working for you. Because starting all over and then needing to throw it all away is really really frustrating. Wishing you all the best!!

[@normalizedaudio2481]

I just had my first bad ferment and had to throw it out.

[@lifeiseverything9]

Kombucha don't work first time for nearly every one. After that you end up with alot of scoby, l now have very XL scoby more than 10 and I didn't think it will work

[@NZtrillion]

probably not enough strong liquid in with your scobie to start off.

[@michaelpthompson]

The thing that sets my teeth on edge is the clang of a metal spoon on a glass jar. Can you say :chip and shatter"?

[@anthonyman8008]

Only glass duh