How to Carbonate Kombucha (2024)

FAQs

How to Carbonate Kombucha? ›

You can try bottling the kombucha right after first fermentation and sealing it airtight. Then let rest for a few days at room temp, then chill before opening to see if it built up carbonation. If it didn't, or if it took too long, your yeast might've needed more sugar to eat. Try adding a teaspoon of sugar per 16 oz.

You can try bottling the kombucha right after first fermentation and sealing it airtight. Then let rest for a few days at room temp, then chill before opening to see if it built up carbonation. If it didn't, or if it took too long, your yeast might've needed more sugar to eat. Try adding a teaspoon of sugar per 16 oz.

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.

After first fermentation, go ahead and put your unflavored kombucha into airtight bottles with around 1/2 - 1 tsp. of plain sugar. That'll give the yeast something to eat and convert into carbon dioxide to make it fizzy.

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.

Frozen, fresh or dried fruit all work equally well and spark both the flavor and fizz of Kombucha. Another idea is fresh ginger, cut into centimeter sized blocks or grated (freeze first to make this easier).

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.

Now You May Be Asking Yourself Why Over Fermented Kombucha In This Case Tastes Like Nasty Yeasty Beer Instead Of, Say, Vinegar. If you leave kombucha on the counter with the scoby too long, you get something that taste like vinegar and can be used to replace vinegar in recipes.

-Make sure your secondary fermentation is at room temp (68 degrees or above). Move your secondary fermentation to the fridge when you are ready to stop the fermentation. -Use long necked swing top bottles.

Yeast has this habit of settling down at the bottom of our brew vessels during first fermentation. So if you don't stir your kombucha liquid before you bottle, that yeast won't be evenly distributed throughout your liquid or throughout your bottles.

How to know if homemade kombucha is bad? ›

Kombucha mold colors can vary, so it's important to look for other signs of mold as well. If you see any discoloration or spores, or notice an odd smell (not normal kombucha vinegar-like smell), these are all signs that your kombucha has gone bad and is no longer safe to drink.

Add A Little Sugar/Fruit/Juice/Flavor

1/2 teaspoon of straight sugar per 16oz bottle should crank up the Kombucha carbonation. Ginger can have a strong effect. Even flowers such as chamomile have natural yeast that may boost the bubbles.

You need to adjust your first fermentation time.

Your first fermentation needs to run long enough that there are plenty of bacteria and yeasts built up in the kombucha – these power the carbonation reaction.

Kegs and the growlers people use to transport draft kombucha are entirely reusable. When you keg kombucha, you have the option to force carbonate the batch to your taste rather than rely on natural conditioning and priming sugars.

This process proceeds at all temperatures, but is very slow at refrigerator temperatures. To carbonate kombucha at room temperature takes only a few days, if there are some sugars present in the bottle.

SHOULD YOU SHAKE KOMBUCHA? You shouldn't need to shake it, but as it's a natural brewing process, if you do find any settled sediment then we suggest a gentle 180 degree tilt back and forth before opening.

The longer you let kombucha ferment, the more acidic it will become. This is because the yeast in the SCOBY eat the sugars in your kombucha, transforming them into ethanol. The bacteria feed on this ethanol, turning it into acidity and giving kombucha its distinctively tart taste.

Yes, if your intention is to allow a partial fermentation to make the Kombucha fizzy, or sparkling, a Sodastream pressure bottle is a good choice.