Guide to Kombucha Second Fermentation Process Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the ratio for kombucha second fermentation? ›

Ratios for Kombucha Flavoring

If flavoring with fresh, frozen, or dried fruit, start with 10-30% fruit and 70-90% Kombucha. If flavoring with juice, start with 10-20% juice and 80-90% Kombucha.

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.

Second Ferment Process

- Pour your kombucha into the bottle through a muslin cloth lined funnel. - Seal the bottle tightly (a flip top cap is the easiest) and leave at room temperature for 2 -3 days to carbonate. - Taste test, if it is not as bubbly as you want, leave it out for another day or two.

-Remove any pellicles from your brew jar and place aside in a container. -Measure 1.5 – 2 cups of kombucha for your next gallon and add to the container with the pellicles (this is your starter tea). If you don't plan to start another batch right away, see this article on how to take a break from brewing kombucha.

In a lot of cases, burping sabotages homebrewers who are trying so hard to build carbonation. It interrupts the second fermentation process. So it's like your yeast is taking you two steps forward and when you burp, you're taking one step back. I personally find it to be a waste of time for my process.

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.

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.

If you add sugars to the secondary you are defeating the purpose of clearing and reactivating the yeast. At that point (Secondary) in the fermentation I'm not sure there are not enough yeast cells suspended in the beer to make a dent in the sugar addition, and you may get an off flavor in the beer.

-Increase sugar in your secondary fermentation. You can do this by adding fruit, fruit juice or sugar. I'll add ¼-1 tsp sugar per 16 oz bottle if my flavoring doesn't have any natural sugars in it. -Fill your secondary fermentation bottles closer to the top leaving an inch of space between the kombucha and the top.

Is kombucha ok if not fizzy? ›

Some people don't want any carbonation, and that's OK. You don't need to go through F2 in order to drink kombucha. But if you do want fizz, read on...

As soon as the bottle has been opened, the kombucha interacts with air, and so it is recommended that kombucha is consumed within one week of opening. Similar to how you would treat a bottle of soda. The beverage won't go bad if you store it correctly beyond one week, but it will lose some of its effervescence.

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.

The duration of a secondary fermentation or conditioning phase can vary from as little as a week to over 6 months. Actual time will vary and you should let your taste buds and nose determine when a beer is ready for bottling. During extended secondaries, you should make sure your airlock does not dry out.

A kombucha scoby is a starter culture that enables you to start fermenting kombucha. The beauty of it is that it can be reused endlessly!

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 continuous brew kombucha method involves removing only some of the liquid each time and replacing with the same amount of fresh brewed sweetened tea. Leaving at least 30% of the brew after each decant is ideal, but you can drink a little at a time and add tea when the level gets low.

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.