I just wanted to revisit this video to thank you ! Killer recipe. I was able to do this with store bought flavored kombucha. 9 day ferment worked perfectly, I did a F2 in flip top bottles and added hoops and blood orange. Delicious and fizzy !
My dad used to cool his kegs in the fridge to about 4°C, hook them up to the CO2 and then spend 10 minutes rolling them back and forth on the floor to carbonate his ales & lagers. No having to wait a week to slowly pressurize and carbonate. They were always perfect and delicious.
I recently got introduced to hard kombucha. Thanks for sharing the process - after tasting the Unity Vibration stuff - ya'll be careful 8 to 9.1!% Now I want to make this stuff because it's all amazing. Wife or girlfriend doesn't like beer - make some of this! It's like 'lit" wine coolers! More complex to make than beer, but so deceptive in taste and approach...try it, you'll like it! I am gonna make a scoby and give it a shot!
I wonder what the results would be if you made the kombucha with the Scoby separately 1st (record initial and 2ndary gravity to know the alcohol level) Then add sugar for an Intended alcohol percentage+ Wine yeast for the 2nd type of fermentation
Great content and video man. Love it. Couple questions about kegging: when brewing the kombucha there was a note that said not to use metal because of the acidity. Will the metal keg cause problems after first and second fermentation? Or will it not be acidic enough to matter? Also, how long is the shelf life for a keg? Do you pretty much have to tap it and drink it dry when it's ready or will it be able to keep for a few months?
@@deforcee 304 stainless steel does not react to kombucha's acidity. I have a 2 gallon SS mini-keg that I've used in kombucha. In fact, there's a brew tech 3.5 gallon stainless steel conical fermenter that's being specifically advertised for brewing kombucha in. I'd love to get that....but, I have enough glass fermenters, so I'm good. I'd be more worried about brewing in plastic. That's why, in my glass fermenters, I've swapped out plastic spigots with stainless steel ones. Hope that's helpful.
@gregorygilman4112. 304 stainless steel does not react to kombucha's acidity. I have a 2 gallon SS mini-keg that I've used in kombucha. In fact, there's a brew tech 3.5 gallon stainless steel conical fermenter that's being specifically advertised for brewing kombucha in. I'd love to get that....but, I have enough glass fermenters, so I'm good. I'd be more worried about brewing in plastic. That's why, in my glass fermenters, I've swapped out plastic spigots with stainless steel ones. Hope that's helpful. As far as shelf-life - in an enclosed environment, especially infused with CO2, it should last at least a couple of months! You'd be good!!
Hey Trent, thanks for the video/knowledge! I'm curious why you used the additional 12 cups of water instead of more F1 Bucha for your 2nd Fermentation? Seems more like an F1 recipe to me. The 12/2.5 proportion wasn't too diluting? Thanks again!
Awesome video Trent my sister‘s been bugging me for months to make her some hard kombucha. Ypu made it look so delicious and simple I think I’m gonna send her a link🍻
Hey Trent! I know this video is 3 years old, but I'm giving this recipe a try, and had some questions: I realized, I don't have an airlock for a wide top jar, and it will be difficult to fit the bag of fruit inside the jug shaped ones I use for the alcoholic fermentation to infuse with flavor. So my question is, would it work to simply add the frozen fruit (i.e cherries) directly into the alcoholic fermentation vessel, without a bag, put the airlock back on, and let it infuse until the flavor is to my liking, and finally strain the liquid before bottling with priming sugar? Also, how can I be sure there's not remaining sugar in the brew from the fruit that will affect the total amount of sugar in the bottles during carbonation after I've added the priming sugar? Should I just infuse it until the final gravity isn't changing anymore? Thanks a lot! Great video and really looking forward to finally trying hard kombucha!
I tried this recipe except with a little honey and just 2 grams fermaid O, and it’s taking more than two weeks to ferment so i’m guessing the DAP probably would’ve made the fermentation a lot faster
Hi Trent! I saw you used a refractometer to get your ABV. Others are telling me this doesn’t work with kombucha but what I make would be hark kombucha or champagne. Not sure if you had anything to say about using that…It seems to work and I get around 20 ABV using champagne yeast.
Hey, so yes it’s a bit tough with kombucha since the presence of alcohol throws off the reading on a refractometer. There are some calculators you can use to adjust the reading though. But you can always use a hydrometer if you are unsure about the readings.
@@TheBruSho Thank you!! For my next batch I’m using your Rose recipe to make an organic Blueberry Pomegranate wine! Should be good! Everyone loved your Rose at my Xmas parties!
@@TheBruSho It's not just the alcohol that makes refractometer useless with kombucha (or any SG tool), it's because the sugar's being metabolised to acid by the bacteria as well, not just alcohol by the yeast.
I was able to follow this recipe pretty easily, except i was only able to add about 2.25 cups of kombucha starter, and accidentally added about 2.4 grams of fermaid instead of 1.5. will this negaticely affect the finished product of the fermentation?
No I don’t think so. The hard kombucha is really a one and done thing. You need a new starter liquid and yeast each time time you make it. But the regular kombucha can live on forever if you keep it fed and healthy
So I was hoping you could help me I started with making a 6 gallon batch and I'm at the 2-week point of the second fermentation I'm down from one to five down to 1018 on the brix and the one thing that I noticed that I didn't do is I only added one of the 05 yeasts packs do you think I should mix in another pack or two or should I just let it keep being slowly active like it is and it's slowly working thank you for your time and your videos are awesome
I'm hooked, this will be more fun than dropping a shot of vodka into our favourite kombucha. My calls also suggest that starting at 1.050 and finishing at 0.997 = approx. 6.7%ABV... or did I read something wrong?
6.96% ** This may be a stupid question... After dry fruiting in the cherries into a keg, you say wait one week. Do you put the keg into the fridge during that entire one week or until the day you want to drink it? Thanks and you have really taught me so much!
So I have a question I don't know if somebody else asked this but I added the kombucha starter before I checked the gravity came out with a 1.054 is that going to be off thank you if you get time to notice this
Hi Trent, awesome video as always. Any recipe recommended for a max 1%ABV Kombucha? That one looks delicious, would cutting down the amount of sugar be a good idea to bring the ABV down?
not a fan of alcohol though i will indulge in a beer or two occasionally on a hot day... and 1/2 shot of Cpt Morgan's spiced rum in my plate of apple pie or pineapple upside down cake, (French vanilla on the side).
Question! Have you ever bottled hard booch? If so, what formula did you use for priming sugar? I'm hoping to bottle a batch for long-term storage (not enough fridge space) but am obviously wary of bottle explosions. :)
Yeah bottling makes me a tad nervous but it can be done. I would definitely use a priming calculator. It takes into consideration gravity and ferm temp so you can be precise and avoid bottle bombs. But I wouldn’t let them sit too long cuz the SCOBY might keep fermenting in the bottles long term
@@TheBruSho Hmmm interesting, all of the bottling/priming calculators I'm seeing online don't have an input for gravity. Do you have a link to one that does? I'm considering just experimenting by bottling with a lower-than-normal amount of sugar and seeing if the capped bottles can handle the pressure. I figure if about a month goes by I'm in good shape. It's all an experiment, right? ;)
I’m not sure why it would be a problem. I know it’s recommended not using metals at they will react with the acidity. My guess is that plastic can scratch and harbor some bacteria which would lead to an infection
I’m a little confused on the alcohol percentage. I was under the impression you can’t use a refractometer for kombucha because unlike with other alcoholic drinks, the alcohol is consumed by the bacteria and converted into acid. I tried to look up a calculator specifically for kombucha and could not find one. Do you have a link to a site that calculates an estimate for kombucha instead of beer, wine, etc?
@@TheBruSho thanks for the reply! Good to know. I think a hydrometer might have the same issue, though. As far as I understand it you need more specialized equipment. Maybe it’s close with a hydrometer. Not sure, I’m no expert 😂
Mr. BruSho I have some questions! :) I was experimenting with hard kombucha for a few months and now found your video. My way was to make regular kombucha (1) then to it add extra sugar and yeast (2) after fermentation slows down add flavoring (3) and after flavoring bottling it up (4). As I understand you skip first step and make kombucha with east and airlock right away, correct?
For the 2nd fermentation you mentioned adding priming sugar. What does that mean exactly? What is added to the 2nd fermentation before bottling? Your video shows using a keg to flavor. I planned to simply use a 2nd one gallon jar.
I have a video on bottling vs kegging that goes over it in more detail but priming sugar is just any sugar that will restart fermentation and create pressure inside a bottle, aka bottle conditioning.
Hey! So airlock is useful to release the pressure built up during fermentation. But you could probably get away with some plastic wrap and a rubber band in a pinch. And I got a video all about cleaning and sanitizing: ruclips.net/video/9ci8RVXTiM0/видео.html
Is this ABV measurement technique accurate, since both SCOBY and brewing yeast are consuming sugars, but SCOBY is converting them to primarily acids and not alcohol? Most recipes seem to be able to estimate ABV fairly accurately because brewing yeast is added at 2F, not 1F, so gravity is taken before and after 2F to measure ABV.
Yeah I was mainly focused on the alcohol produced from F2 since it was a majority of the alcohol. There is some alcohol produced in F1 but not much. I can’t say my final ABV is 100% accurate but it’s close enough for me.
Question: you say you have tried a variety of yeasts, how would you describe the difference of finish between a Ale yeast and a champagne yeast being that these seem to be most commonly used? Most say to use the entire batch from F1, you say use 2-1/2 cups as starter added to fresh heavily sweetened tea which makes better sense to me given the alcohol is developed via the yeast converting the sugars to alcohol. That and there is not as much bacteria to compete. I’m going to try taking half of my current gal. of F1 and half gal of fresh to make hard booch so that I can maintain the acidity that comes from the bacteria and the other half and half to keep my scoby going which should cut my typical 9-10 day first ferment down a couple of days.
Hey! Found your channel and I love it - I was wondering I keep getting a starting SG of 1.030 (give or take a few hundredths). Do you have an idea what this may be from?
Hey! What are you using to measure your SG? If your using a refractometer you need to use a conversion calculator to adjust the reading since there is a bit of alcohol in Kombucha which will throw off your reading. Try using a hydrometer?
as someone who's made kombucha for a few years, I'm curious as to your process for making the hard kombucha. It seems that you have it set this up to simultaneously make kombucha and hard kombucha all at the same time. Most other recipes I've read say: make your kombucha first, then chaptalize and pitch your yeast. But in this video, you use your starter, add fresh sweet tea, nutrients, and TWO cups sugar and yeast right away. So your method is producing regular kombucha while it's also fermenting it into hard kombucha? not a two-step but a one-step process?
@@prestonprice1213 ok. thanks. I see that part. Even so, it still seems that what the video is portraying is making a fresh batch of kombucha, first with the tea concentrate, then with TWO cups sugar (instead of the one that's normally used for making booch), adding the 12 cups of water to the concentrate, pitching yeast, then topping off with kombucha starter, and letting that ferment. Most recipes for hard K I've seen advocate for starting with an entire batch of mature kombucha that's ready (let's say: one gallon), pitching your yeast, and then fermenting that. The proportions and the procedure in this video are just different than most other recipes - this seems more like fermented sweet tea with a bit of starter added. But maybe the starter and the yeast simultaneously grow both probiotics and alcohol in this method?
I was able to find a corny keg and have my flavorings (mixed berries, hibiscus and ginger) in with the hard booch. Do you add CO2 to the keg? Or do you get carbonation from the flavorings alone? I'm using a spunding valve to regulate pressure and am not seeing any pressure on the gauge. Also You mention using priming sugar if you're using bottles. Do you use priming sugar in the keg? Thanks for the info!
I usually force carbonate to have consistent carbonation. But if you wanted you could add priming sugar to “keg condition”. Up to you. But I think just using the sugar in the fruit to carbonate won’t be enough
Hello! Following your recipe and have a few questions 1. Can/should I open the bucket at all during the fermentation ? 2. I made a batch and it didn’t really taste “boozy” after 10 days. What gives ? Lol
Sure you can open it but I would do it as little as possible. And did you take any hydrometer readings to see how it fermented? To me it didn’t taste overly boozy, it’s not a huge alcohol % but that doesn’t mean it won’t make you drunk!
I’m in the process of making my kombucha and didn’t see the DAP or Fermaid O listed in the ingredients. Are those required? Can I put them in when I add the yeast or did it have to be added when the kombucha was made?
I would say they are highly recommended for the best results. But any yeast nutrient you can find will work, doesn't need to be those specifically. And you only need them when you add the yeast.
Hello, Question - during my fermentation with the yeast I got some kind of stringy growth in the fermentation, and on the bottom, there seems to be sediment building up. Is this possible? Is this normal?
Hard to say without seeing it. But could be the kombucha scoby forming to the yeast or something. Sediment on bottom is totally normal though. So your probably ok, just let it keep fermenting. But if smells rotten then you might need to start over
How do you determine the ABV? I’ve been hung up on that for awhile, lots of conflicting info out there. I have a batch about to wrap up, but for the next one I would love to know the ABV!
At around 2:10, they add the kombucha starter. You can see it is going through a strainer to keep the SCOBI from the kombucha starter from plopping in there. :)
What kind of pressure regulator do you use in this set up? I clicked the link for the mini keg you're using, but it appears they are no longer available (as of 7.20.2021). Do you have any other suggestions for a mini keg--and what additional add-ons to the keg we would need? Thanks!
That’s too bad this one was the best price i have found on mini kegs. Torpedo kegs get good reviews but I haven’t used them. They are a bit more $. But I would also check Craigslist or similar sites to see if anyone is selling used
@@TheBruSho I appreciate the response. What about the pressure regulator? What kind of pressure regulator do you use? I'm entirely new to the process of kegging booch, so I want to make sure I'm not missing or ignoring a step. Thank you!
Great question. Not exactly sure how that would effect the probiotics, might kill some but that would definitely be a much easier way to make alcoholic booch!
You could, but I think it might be a lot of work for little reward. I crushed this gallon in very little time. But to start you could just half the recipe.
I made a batch earlier this year and it turned out great. However, i almost had a bottle explode. So I'd like to try a keg. I was trying to look at what you all had for kegging. What all do you need besides the keg?
Nice one, Brusho! Made onde experiment with integral juice with no conservatives, but it had stabilizant to homogenize the juice. Didn't know what would happen, but after all, the kombucha broke the connection between the stabilizant and the fruit pieces, making the fruit appear, the carbonation went well, and was pretty flavourful. Made one with 10% Coke to prime it, and it was quite good. Didn't even killed the organisms. The last one was a concentrated juice with conservatives, this one killed all the yeast 😂.
Hmm I haven’t done that so I can’t say that would work. I was referencing the starter liquid from a home brewed kombucha. Check out my kombucha video for more info, it’s really easy and you can make it from a store bought kombucha!
I was wondering about that. Video looked like he added a whole pack, but in a comment above he replied he thinks he only put in half a pack. I like to follow the recipe & I’m confused on this indiscretion. Did you use a whole pack or a half?
@@napavalleypickleballI only used I guess 3 tablespoons max. I also would recommend using champagne yeast for the freshness. I did not like the flavour of pale ale yeast.. also make sure you wake the yeast by stirring a lot in half warm water!
No such thing as "Hard Kombucha". When making Kombucha you allow oxygen to make acetic acid but when left too long, it naturally turns into vinegar. Wine,on the other hand (which you have here!) is made with an air lock;a one way valve that keeps oxygen out. Instead of acetic acid forming, alcohol is made. Kombucha has a small amount of alcohol and wine has a small amount of vinegar in it. It stops being Kombucha once you turn it into wine, because the beneficial flora is killed or minimized which renders it useless for the intended purpose at that point!
Correction on the ABV. Actual ABV: 6.9%. A bit stronger than noted!
Is it just 1 package (11.5g) of safale us-05?
@@LaPressIT Yeah, that might be technically an overpitch but consult a yeast pitch calculator to be sure
Thank you so much!😁
nice!
@@TheBruSho it is a overpitch. But personally over pitching I like because it takes a day or 2 shorter to get 4.5-5% which is my fav.
Wow what an insane amount of value in one video for free!! Thanks so much man!!
Thank you! Glad you got some info out of it!
I just wanted to revisit this video to thank you ! Killer recipe. I was able to do this with store bought flavored kombucha. 9 day ferment worked perfectly, I did a F2 in flip top bottles and added hoops and blood orange. Delicious and fizzy !
Wow love to hear it!! Thanks for reporting back
My dad used to cool his kegs in the fridge to about 4°C, hook them up to the CO2 and then spend 10 minutes rolling them back and forth on the floor to carbonate his ales & lagers. No having to wait a week to slowly pressurize and carbonate. They were always perfect and delicious.
I recently got introduced to hard kombucha. Thanks for sharing the process - after tasting the Unity Vibration stuff - ya'll be careful 8 to 9.1!% Now I want to make this stuff because it's all amazing. Wife or girlfriend doesn't like beer - make some of this! It's like 'lit" wine coolers! More complex to make than beer, but so deceptive in taste and approach...try it, you'll like it! I am gonna make a scoby and give it a shot!
Just started my first ferment 🤞hope it goes well this week!
Nice good luck!
super! I've been making my kombucha for a few months now. I'll try your recipe, for sure! Thanks for sharing!
Dangggg I can’t wait to try this!
Thanks for the recipe!
Glad all the hard work paid off in getting that recipe just right! Keep it up!
Thank you Steve!
I wonder what the results would be if you made the kombucha with the Scoby separately 1st (record initial and 2ndary gravity to know the alcohol level)
Then add sugar for an Intended alcohol percentage+ Wine yeast for the 2nd type of fermentation
Thanks for the tips and advice, nice work.
Thanks and good luck!
Great content and video man. Love it.
Couple questions about kegging: when brewing the kombucha there was a note that said not to use metal because of the acidity. Will the metal keg cause problems after first and second fermentation? Or will it not be acidic enough to matter?
Also, how long is the shelf life for a keg? Do you pretty much have to tap it and drink it dry when it's ready or will it be able to keep for a few months?
I would love to rear the answer
@@deforcee 304 stainless steel does not react to kombucha's acidity. I have a 2 gallon SS mini-keg that I've used in kombucha. In fact, there's a brew tech 3.5 gallon stainless steel conical fermenter that's being specifically advertised for brewing kombucha in. I'd love to get that....but, I have enough glass fermenters, so I'm good. I'd be more worried about brewing in plastic. That's why, in my glass fermenters, I've swapped out plastic spigots with stainless steel ones. Hope that's helpful.
@gregorygilman4112. 304 stainless steel does not react to kombucha's acidity. I have a 2 gallon SS mini-keg that I've used in kombucha. In fact, there's a brew tech 3.5 gallon stainless steel conical fermenter that's being specifically advertised for brewing kombucha in. I'd love to get that....but, I have enough glass fermenters, so I'm good. I'd be more worried about brewing in plastic. That's why, in my glass fermenters, I've swapped out plastic spigots with stainless steel ones. Hope that's helpful. As far as shelf-life - in an enclosed environment, especially infused with CO2, it should last at least a couple of months! You'd be good!!
Thank you for sharing and for all of your hard work!
Hey Trent, thanks for the video/knowledge! I'm curious why you used the additional 12 cups of water instead of more F1 Bucha for your 2nd Fermentation? Seems more like an F1 recipe to me. The 12/2.5 proportion wasn't too diluting? Thanks again!
I was wondering the same, but I just made my first attempt. I found this recipe made more sense than other recipes I found.
As far as I know, this dilatation is for breaking the dominance of SCOBY over beer yeast.
Thanks man you inspired me to make my own hard kombucha. Great video and b roll and information. Well done
Awesome man, thank you! Send me some pics when it’s done!
I'll have to break down and try this Trent. Well done.
That would be awesome! Let me know if you do!
Awesome video Trent my sister‘s been bugging me for months to make her some hard kombucha. Ypu made it look so delicious and simple I think I’m gonna send her a link🍻
Yeah it really isn't too difficult, just took me some time to figure it out!
I’ve been waiting for this one!!! Thanks for doing all the work!!
Haha knew you would like it! You will have to give it a try
This looks sooo good & perfect for summer!! 🍒😋🍒
It really is!!
I really wanted to know how to make it, thank you!
Hey Trent! I know this video is 3 years old, but I'm giving this recipe a try, and had some questions:
I realized, I don't have an airlock for a wide top jar, and it will be difficult to fit the bag of fruit inside the jug shaped ones I use for the alcoholic fermentation to infuse with flavor.
So my question is, would it work to simply add the frozen fruit (i.e cherries) directly into the alcoholic fermentation vessel, without a bag, put the airlock back on, and let it infuse until the flavor is to my liking, and finally strain the liquid before bottling with priming sugar?
Also, how can I be sure there's not remaining sugar in the brew from the fruit that will affect the total amount of sugar in the bottles during carbonation after I've added the priming sugar? Should I just infuse it until the final gravity isn't changing anymore?
Thanks a lot! Great video and really looking forward to finally trying hard kombucha!
Awesome work! I had tried several times and given up on getting a good hard kombucha product, i'll have to try it again now with this!
Yeah it was a tough one to crack but try this one out and let me know what you think!
Awesome. I'll need to get into the kombucha game!
It's brewing adjacent so I find it enjoyable, always my wife loves it so I sneakily get her into homebrewing heh heh
Is it really necessary to use both DAP and Fermaid O? Can I achieve the same results using just Fermaid O? Thanks!
I tried this recipe except with a little honey and just 2 grams fermaid O, and it’s taking more than two weeks to ferment so i’m guessing the DAP probably would’ve made the fermentation a lot faster
I'm not a fan of kombucha, but I'm a big fan of the production quality on TheBruSho!
Haha thank you!
Just like wine and beer, there is a flavor of kombucha that is for you, MarsMountain.
Trent, Glad to see your persistance paid off!
Thanks! Couldn’t give up on this one!
Hi Trent! I saw you used a refractometer to get your ABV. Others are telling me this doesn’t work with kombucha but what I make would be hark kombucha or champagne. Not sure if you had anything to say about using that…It seems to work and I get around 20 ABV using champagne yeast.
Hey, so yes it’s a bit tough with kombucha since the presence of alcohol throws off the reading on a refractometer. There are some calculators you can use to adjust the reading though. But you can always use a hydrometer if you are unsure about the readings.
@@TheBruSho Thank you!! For my next batch I’m using your Rose recipe to make an organic Blueberry Pomegranate wine! Should be good! Everyone loved your Rose at my Xmas parties!
@@TheBruSho It's not just the alcohol that makes refractometer useless with kombucha (or any SG tool), it's because the sugar's being metabolised to acid by the bacteria as well, not just alcohol by the yeast.
Have you tried doing Booch in stainless or just what youve heard? Because i see the big companies making it in stainless vats
does the addition of yeast affect the probiotic properties of standard booch?
Not sure why it would but I really don’t know
I was able to follow this recipe pretty easily, except i was only able to add about 2.25 cups of kombucha starter, and accidentally added about 2.4 grams of fermaid instead of 1.5. will this negaticely affect the finished product of the fermentation?
Since the brewers yeast goes into the first ferment, would starter reserved from that continue to make hard kombucha?
No I don’t think so. The hard kombucha is really a one and done thing. You need a new starter liquid and yeast each time time you make it. But the regular kombucha can live on forever if you keep it fed and healthy
Looks really good
Thanks let me know if you try it!
So I was hoping you could help me I started with making a 6 gallon batch and I'm at the 2-week point of the second fermentation I'm down from one to five down to 1018 on the brix and the one thing that I noticed that I didn't do is I only added one of the 05 yeasts packs do you think I should mix in another pack or two or should I just let it keep being slowly active like it is and it's slowly working thank you for your time and your videos are awesome
1065 down to 1018 in 2 weeks sorry my auto text sometimes
I'm hooked, this will be more fun than dropping a shot of vodka into our favourite kombucha. My calls also suggest that starting at 1.050 and finishing at 0.997 = approx. 6.7%ABV... or did I read something wrong?
Yeah phew I did some bad math there thanks for the catch!
6.96% ** This may be a stupid question... After dry fruiting in the cherries into a keg, you say wait one week. Do you put the keg into the fridge during that entire one week or until the day you want to drink it?
Thanks and you have really taught me so much!
Hey, so I put the keg in the fridge under pressure for that week. Co2 absorbs better when the drinks cold
So I have a question I don't know if somebody else asked this but I added the kombucha starter before I checked the gravity came out with a 1.054 is that going to be off thank you if you get time to notice this
Hi Trent, awesome video as always. Any recipe recommended for a max 1%ABV Kombucha? That one looks delicious, would cutting down the amount of sugar be a good idea to bring the ABV down?
Hey, I would just make regular Kombucha, it’s under 1% abv!
Another great video. This one seems doable. I got a little scared by the Sake video.
Haha yeah sake was a bit more involved, this was a bit simpler as long as you have the kombucha down
Cool. What's most interesting to me is that kombucha simply cannot on its own crank out alcohol in any material way.
not a fan of alcohol though i will indulge in a beer or two occasionally on a hot day...
and 1/2 shot of Cpt Morgan's spiced rum in my plate of apple pie or pineapple upside down cake, (French vanilla on the side).
On the kegging,, aren't you supposed to avoid metal coming in contact with Kombucha? Some say you aren't even supposed to use a metal spoon to stir?
Stainless steel is ok with kombucha, but others like aluminum I'd avoid
I wonder if you could pasteurize between kombucha ferment and alcohol ferment.
Question! Have you ever bottled hard booch? If so, what formula did you use for priming sugar? I'm hoping to bottle a batch for long-term storage (not enough fridge space) but am obviously wary of bottle explosions. :)
Yeah bottling makes me a tad nervous but it can be done. I would definitely use a priming calculator. It takes into consideration gravity and ferm temp so you can be precise and avoid bottle bombs. But I wouldn’t let them sit too long cuz the SCOBY might keep fermenting in the bottles long term
@@TheBruSho Hmmm interesting, all of the bottling/priming calculators I'm seeing online don't have an input for gravity. Do you have a link to one that does?
I'm considering just experimenting by bottling with a lower-than-normal amount of sugar and seeing if the capped bottles can handle the pressure. I figure if about a month goes by I'm in good shape. It's all an experiment, right? ;)
what sort of yeast/method would you have to use if you wanted to make hard jun?
Awesome video; do you have an opinion about Kombucha and plastic / dispensing system ? My homebrew shop told me to avoid it...
I’m not sure why it would be a problem. I know it’s recommended not using metals at they will react with the acidity. My guess is that plastic can scratch and harbor some bacteria which would lead to an infection
I’m a little confused on the alcohol percentage. I was under the impression you can’t use a refractometer for kombucha because unlike with other alcoholic drinks, the alcohol is consumed by the bacteria and converted into acid. I tried to look up a calculator specifically for kombucha and could not find one. Do you have a link to a site that calculates an estimate for kombucha instead of beer, wine, etc?
Yeah it’s a little weird with refractometer and kombucha due to the presence of alcohol. For most accurate readings I would use a hydrometer
@@TheBruSho thanks for the reply! Good to know. I think a hydrometer might have the same issue, though. As far as I understand it you need more specialized equipment. Maybe it’s close with a hydrometer. Not sure, I’m no expert 😂
Could the first and second fermentation both be done in a keg? You mentioned glass or plastic for the first fermentation, but not stainless steel.
Mr. BruSho I have some questions! :) I was experimenting with hard kombucha for a few months and now found your video. My way was to make regular kombucha (1) then to it add extra sugar and yeast (2) after fermentation slows down add flavoring (3) and after flavoring bottling it up (4). As I understand you skip first step and make kombucha with east and airlock right away, correct?
Also after the first fermentation with yeast and airlock, you lose a starter and there are no scoby in the process, correct?
For the 2nd fermentation you mentioned adding priming sugar. What does that mean exactly? What is added to the 2nd fermentation before bottling? Your video shows using a keg to flavor. I planned to simply use a 2nd one gallon jar.
I have a video on bottling vs kegging that goes over it in more detail but priming sugar is just any sugar that will restart fermentation and create pressure inside a bottle, aka bottle conditioning.
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Is the airlock necessary? Can I just put it in the bottles ? I’m confused about how to do the sanitizing and op
Hey! So airlock is useful to release the pressure built up during fermentation. But you could probably get away with some plastic wrap and a rubber band in a pinch. And I got a video all about cleaning and sanitizing: ruclips.net/video/9ci8RVXTiM0/видео.html
Is this ABV measurement technique accurate, since both SCOBY and brewing yeast are consuming sugars, but SCOBY is converting them to primarily acids and not alcohol? Most recipes seem to be able to estimate ABV fairly accurately because brewing yeast is added at 2F, not 1F, so gravity is taken before and after 2F to measure ABV.
Yeah I was mainly focused on the alcohol produced from F2 since it was a majority of the alcohol. There is some alcohol produced in F1 but not much. I can’t say my final ABV is 100% accurate but it’s close enough for me.
Hi how much gr of cherry did you put in the keg? thanks :)
Question: you say you have tried a variety of yeasts, how would you describe the difference of finish between a Ale yeast and a champagne yeast being that these seem to be most commonly used?
Most say to use the entire batch from F1, you say use 2-1/2 cups as starter added to fresh heavily sweetened tea which makes better sense to me given the alcohol is developed via the yeast converting the sugars to alcohol. That and there is not as much bacteria to compete. I’m going to try taking half of my current gal. of F1 and half gal of fresh to make hard booch so that I can maintain the acidity that comes from the bacteria and the other half and half to keep my scoby going which should cut my typical 9-10 day first ferment down a couple of days.
Hey! Did you try what you planned? Share the result, please! I'm also very interested in which one works best.
I love you bro
Hey! Found your channel and I love it - I was wondering I keep getting a starting SG of 1.030 (give or take a few hundredths). Do you have an idea what this may be from?
Hey! What are you using to measure your SG? If your using a refractometer you need to use a conversion calculator to adjust the reading since there is a bit of alcohol in Kombucha which will throw off your reading. Try using a hydrometer?
@@TheBruSho Yes I am using a standard refractometer (like the one you have) that I got off amazon! Thank you, I will look into a hydrometer!
as someone who's made kombucha for a few years, I'm curious as to your process for making the hard kombucha. It seems that you have it set this up to simultaneously make kombucha and hard kombucha all at the same time. Most other recipes I've read say: make your kombucha first, then chaptalize and pitch your yeast. But in this video, you use your starter, add fresh sweet tea, nutrients, and TWO cups sugar and yeast right away. So your method is producing regular kombucha while it's also fermenting it into hard kombucha? not a two-step but a one-step process?
No, rewatch the first part of the video, there are 2 fermentations as noted at 1:25 of the video.
sorry, 1:20 of the video
@@prestonprice1213 ok. thanks. I see that part. Even so, it still seems that what the video is portraying is making a fresh batch of kombucha, first with the tea concentrate, then with TWO cups sugar (instead of the one that's normally used for making booch), adding the 12 cups of water to the concentrate, pitching yeast, then topping off with kombucha starter, and letting that ferment. Most recipes for hard K I've seen advocate for starting with an entire batch of mature kombucha that's ready (let's say: one gallon), pitching your yeast, and then fermenting that. The proportions and the procedure in this video are just different than most other recipes - this seems more like fermented sweet tea with a bit of starter added. But maybe the starter and the yeast simultaneously grow both probiotics and alcohol in this method?
This is confusing as he says one thing then shows different.
@@winogeneralIMO The yeast + kombucha competing for the same sugar resources may hinder the growth of both of them
I was able to find a corny keg and have my flavorings (mixed berries, hibiscus and ginger) in with the hard booch. Do you add CO2 to the keg? Or do you get carbonation from the flavorings alone? I'm using a spunding valve to regulate pressure and am not seeing any pressure on the gauge. Also You mention using priming sugar if you're using bottles. Do you use priming sugar in the keg? Thanks for the info!
I usually force carbonate to have consistent carbonation. But if you wanted you could add priming sugar to “keg condition”. Up to you. But I think just using the sugar in the fruit to carbonate won’t be enough
I have JUN kombucha as a starter, can I use green tea instead of black? Will this work at all?
Yes absolutely! And would be fantastic I’m sure
Hello!
Following your recipe and have a few questions
1. Can/should I open the bucket at all during the fermentation ?
2. I made a batch and it didn’t really taste “boozy” after 10 days. What gives ? Lol
Sure you can open it but I would do it as little as possible. And did you take any hydrometer readings to see how it fermented? To me it didn’t taste overly boozy, it’s not a huge alcohol % but that doesn’t mean it won’t make you drunk!
did you use the entire SafAle US-05 Ale Yeast 11.5 g packet for the one gallon batch?
I think only half a packet. But check with a pitch rate calculator to be sure
Hey man. I’m trying to scale up to 5 gallons. What do you recommend for the yeast? Thanks!
I’ve seen champagne yeast mentioned many times
I’m in the process of making my kombucha and didn’t see the DAP or Fermaid O listed in the ingredients. Are those required? Can I put them in when I add the yeast or did it have to be added when the kombucha was made?
I would say they are highly recommended for the best results. But any yeast nutrient you can find will work, doesn't need to be those specifically. And you only need them when you add the yeast.
Hello, Question - during my fermentation with the yeast I got some kind of stringy growth in the fermentation, and on the bottom, there seems to be sediment building up. Is this possible? Is this normal?
Hard to say without seeing it. But could be the kombucha scoby forming to the yeast or something. Sediment on bottom is totally normal though. So your probably ok, just let it keep fermenting. But if smells rotten then you might need to start over
How much F1 kombucha did you add? Didn't look like the full 2.5 cups you started with
2.5 cups, in video I pulled a lot more but only used 2.5 cups
How do you determine the ABV? I’ve been hung up on that for awhile, lots of conflicting info out there. I have a batch about to wrap up, but for the next one I would love to know the ABV!
I just caught the error in my calculation, sorry about that. Should be more like 6.9%. (OG-FG)x131.25
@@TheBruSho are you able to determine the abv with a refractometer alone?
@@jacobwelsby2632 yes you just need to use a conversion calculator for refractometers because alcohol throws off the measurement
Why isn't there a scoby in your first fermentation?
At around 2:10, they add the kombucha starter. You can see it is going through a strainer to keep the SCOBI from the kombucha starter from plopping in there. :)
What chemicals are produced by the culture in kambucha? Is it acetic acid?
Correct acetic acid is the main one but there are some other things going on as well I’m sure
can i use baking yeast instead of brewing yeast?
you could but it might not be as clean fermenting
What kind of pressure regulator do you use in this set up? I clicked the link for the mini keg you're using, but it appears they are no longer available (as of 7.20.2021). Do you have any other suggestions for a mini keg--and what additional add-ons to the keg we would need? Thanks!
That’s too bad this one was the best price i have found on mini kegs. Torpedo kegs get good reviews but I haven’t used them. They are a bit more $. But I would also check Craigslist or similar sites to see if anyone is selling used
@@TheBruSho I appreciate the response. What about the pressure regulator? What kind of pressure regulator do you use? I'm entirely new to the process of kegging booch, so I want to make sure I'm not missing or ignoring a step. Thank you!
@@ArtyTaylor just a standard 2 gauge co2 regulator. Nothing special they are like $50-60. Same I would use on a big keg
how do you find out the abv?
ruclips.net/video/GCyqBNV6u48/видео.htmlsi=fgkQ_zj35_3UmsiP
Could you just add vodka? Or would that kill thr probiotics?
Great question. Not exactly sure how that would effect the probiotics, might kill some but that would definitely be a much easier way to make alcoholic booch!
Any sanitizing of containers?
I think it's always a safe bet if you have some on hand. Nice insurance
how about oxygen introduction? it's cause i also brew beer. so im paranoid about sanitizing and oxygen in homebrewing beer.
How about LD Carlson Yeast Nutrient? It contains food grade UREA and DAP
How do I scale it back? A gallon is alot.
You could, but I think it might be a lot of work for little reward. I crushed this gallon in very little time. But to start you could just half the recipe.
I made a batch earlier this year and it turned out great. However, i almost had a bottle explode. So I'd like to try a keg. I was trying to look at what you all had for kegging. What all do you need besides the keg?
I got a whole video about kegging! ruclips.net/video/pY9Cs_JN2Rg/видео.html
Nice one, Brusho!
Made onde experiment with integral juice with no conservatives, but it had stabilizant to homogenize the juice. Didn't know what would happen, but after all, the kombucha broke the connection between the stabilizant and the fruit pieces, making the fruit appear, the carbonation went well, and was pretty flavourful.
Made one with 10% Coke to prime it, and it was quite good. Didn't even killed the organisms.
The last one was a concentrated juice with conservatives, this one killed all the yeast 😂.
Very interesting haha! Thanks for sharing I’ll keep that in mind
Hey where did you get the DAP and Fermaid O at?
Local home brew stores, Northernbrewer website, or even Amazon. I have a video on yeast nutrients that has some affiliate links if your interested!
@@TheBruSho thanks man! I’m tackling this hard kombucha once I get all the equipment. Going for a mango habanero.
Can you make Waterkefir?
Yeah I would love to do that!
can you use honey instead of sugar?
I suppose so, I don’t see why that would be an issue.
the 2.5 cups [~591 ml] Kombucha Starter Liquid is that just store bought Kambucha?
Hmm I haven’t done that so I can’t say that would work. I was referencing the starter liquid from a home brewed kombucha. Check out my kombucha video for more info, it’s really easy and you can make it from a store bought kombucha!
@@TheBruSho I have not done it myself but others on Reddit I think just used GT’s original kombucha as starter tea.
@@kyliefan7 then I’m sure it could work, I don’t see why not
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I wonder if you can make kombucha with hops, because the hops will probably kill the bacteria in the kombucha...
You can, I have made regular kombucha with hops before. But just don't add it into the fermenter, add it when you add your flavoring.
@@TheBruSho great! Will do
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Use Organic sugar guy!! Lol
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Okey, dont throw in a whole pack of pale ale yeast
I was wondering about that. Video looked like he added a whole pack, but in a comment above he replied he thinks he only put in half a pack. I like to follow the recipe & I’m confused on this indiscretion. Did you use a whole pack or a half?
@@napavalleypickleballI only used I guess 3 tablespoons max. I also would recommend using champagne yeast for the freshness. I did not like the flavour of pale ale yeast.. also make sure you wake the yeast by stirring a lot in half warm water!
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No such thing as "Hard Kombucha". When making Kombucha you allow oxygen to make acetic acid but when left too long, it naturally turns into vinegar. Wine,on the other hand (which you have here!) is made with an air lock;a one way valve that keeps oxygen out. Instead of acetic acid forming, alcohol is made. Kombucha has a small amount of alcohol and wine has a small amount of vinegar in it. It stops being Kombucha once you turn it into wine, because the beneficial flora is killed or minimized which renders it useless for the intended purpose at that point!
It tastes like vinegar
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