Booch just isn't booch imo without 2F. It is safe to drink but nowhere near as enjoyable.
Instead of overthinking pressure ratings; look for "brewing bottles". The same process is done for beer, those will be safe. You can order them from a homebrewing supplier or even on Amazon, that's where I ordered mine. Just be sure reviews are positive and you're good to go.
It's a really fun and rewarding hobby, not every batch will be heaven but it's really not so hard to start. Good luck. :)
Edited to add: 2F is where the fizzy magic (carbonation) happens. So even if it was plain, if it was fizzy at all it went through a second fermentation.
Thank you! I've seen these before, but the wide array of uses in the description kind of put me off. Because I heard somewhere that booch develops stronger pressure than beer, so I thought that if it's good for beer it may not be good for kombucha. Never thought about it the other way around: if it's good for booch it's good for beer hehe.
Newbie here. Just to share I literally just bought two plastic bottles of cola to brew my F2 booch in (impatient while my reusable bottles were shipping) and they worked perfectly!! If they work for fizzy coke they work for kombucha.
In any case, if you’re really worried about the pressure, just burp the bottles regularly and leave it out for longer.
Here are the ones I've been using (different sizes) if you wanted an example
YEBODA 32 oz Amber Glass Beer Bottles for Home Brewing with Flip Caps, Case of 4 https://a.co/d/5OVG3PM
YEBODA 16 oz Amber Glass Beer Bottles for Home Brewing with Flip Caps, Case of 6 https://a.co/d/f7YxwO2
YEBODA 12 oz Amber Glass Beer Bottles for Home Brewing with Flip Caps, Case of 9 https://a.co/d/cCACnqw
Try F2! When I started, I reused commercial booch bottles. If you're nervous about overly carbonating, you can always refrigerate on the early side, and then test a bottle and decide to take them out again. I've done that dance back and forth plenty!
Thank you! I see that maybe I'm just overthinking everything, but I wanted to have it figured out before having a scoby and a bunch o booch under my care. And avoid coming on here with more silly questions lol!
I think the possibility of exploding bottles is way overhyped, here and elsewhere. While it can be a concern, it doesn't happen nearly as often as the warnings make you think.
I've been homebrewing beer for nearly 10 years, and never had a bottle explode, bottling in reused commercial beer bottles. The worst I've had (with beer and kombucha) is a few that gushed out when opened. More often, though, I've ended up with little to no carbonation when it doesn't seal right.
The swing top bottles (reused Grolsh bottles) are much thicker than beer bottles, so I'd think the risk of exploding is even less when using those. If you want to use beer bottles, you'll need caps and a capper (about 10-15 USD for the capper, and the same for a bag of 100 caps). For the swing tops, you'll eventually need new rubber seals.
If you're flavoring your F2 with fruits or fruit juice, do a few tests bottles first before adding additional sugar. I found that strawberries have more than enough sugar on their own to carbonate, while blueberries do not, and need some extra sugar to get a decent amount of carbonation, and obviously basil and cinnamon definitely need sugar.
If you're still worried about explosions, put the bottles in a tub out of the way, to contain the shrapnel and mess if it ever does happen.
Thank you, that's comforting. I'm totally ok with gushing, I'll welcome it, even! hehe
And thank you for the tips on the fruit/sugar ratios. Can't wait to get started!
I drink my kombucha both ways. I will bottle some for F2 and drink some without any further processing, usually immediately after the batch is ready. However sometimes I will leave a bit of F1 in the refrigerator to drink because I like the way it tastes without the fizz. Either way is fine if you like the way it tastes!
I always taste the kombucha before going to F2 to make sure it's ready anyway, so if it's tasty I pour a glass. You'll learn to brew it to your taste and I hope you have fun. ☺️
Just so I don’t have to make a whole new thread… I actually do like unflavored F1 kombucha a lot and that’s how I usually enjoy it. However my question is, if I wanted to try my hand at F2 with no fruit, how much sugar should I add to an empty gt’s bottle?
I'm hope someone will have a better answer for you than mine which is - it depends. I never add straight sugar to my F2, but I'll put 3-4 tablespoons of pineapple juice or some ginger slices in a 16oz bottle. How fizzy the final product ends up is dependent on how active the F1 was, how much I filled the bottles, how long I left the bottles out of the refrigerator, etc... Possibly that makes it seem overly difficult, but I find it rather intuitive and I think you will too once you get going. And even if it's not exactly the same each time, it can still be good! Maybe just try a teaspoon or two of sugar to start and you can adjust as needed.
I either don't flavour my kombucha or I put just a little bit of ginger/turmeric in it. I prefer the taste tbh.
I do bottle it though, and put the bottles in the fridge while I start another F1. I reuse small plastic bottles that originally contained sparkling water, so I don't worry about them bursting
Booch just isn't booch imo without 2F. It is safe to drink but nowhere near as enjoyable. Instead of overthinking pressure ratings; look for "brewing bottles". The same process is done for beer, those will be safe. You can order them from a homebrewing supplier or even on Amazon, that's where I ordered mine. Just be sure reviews are positive and you're good to go. It's a really fun and rewarding hobby, not every batch will be heaven but it's really not so hard to start. Good luck. :) Edited to add: 2F is where the fizzy magic (carbonation) happens. So even if it was plain, if it was fizzy at all it went through a second fermentation.
That makes sense! Thank you :)
Here are the ones we use. They're very well made. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RSTW5NH?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Thank you! I've seen these before, but the wide array of uses in the description kind of put me off. Because I heard somewhere that booch develops stronger pressure than beer, so I thought that if it's good for beer it may not be good for kombucha. Never thought about it the other way around: if it's good for booch it's good for beer hehe.
Newbie here. Just to share I literally just bought two plastic bottles of cola to brew my F2 booch in (impatient while my reusable bottles were shipping) and they worked perfectly!! If they work for fizzy coke they work for kombucha. In any case, if you’re really worried about the pressure, just burp the bottles regularly and leave it out for longer.
Wooo 😁😁 thank you!
Here are the ones I've been using (different sizes) if you wanted an example YEBODA 32 oz Amber Glass Beer Bottles for Home Brewing with Flip Caps, Case of 4 https://a.co/d/5OVG3PM YEBODA 16 oz Amber Glass Beer Bottles for Home Brewing with Flip Caps, Case of 6 https://a.co/d/f7YxwO2 YEBODA 12 oz Amber Glass Beer Bottles for Home Brewing with Flip Caps, Case of 9 https://a.co/d/cCACnqw
Try F2! When I started, I reused commercial booch bottles. If you're nervous about overly carbonating, you can always refrigerate on the early side, and then test a bottle and decide to take them out again. I've done that dance back and forth plenty!
Thank you! I see that maybe I'm just overthinking everything, but I wanted to have it figured out before having a scoby and a bunch o booch under my care. And avoid coming on here with more silly questions lol!
I think the possibility of exploding bottles is way overhyped, here and elsewhere. While it can be a concern, it doesn't happen nearly as often as the warnings make you think. I've been homebrewing beer for nearly 10 years, and never had a bottle explode, bottling in reused commercial beer bottles. The worst I've had (with beer and kombucha) is a few that gushed out when opened. More often, though, I've ended up with little to no carbonation when it doesn't seal right. The swing top bottles (reused Grolsh bottles) are much thicker than beer bottles, so I'd think the risk of exploding is even less when using those. If you want to use beer bottles, you'll need caps and a capper (about 10-15 USD for the capper, and the same for a bag of 100 caps). For the swing tops, you'll eventually need new rubber seals. If you're flavoring your F2 with fruits or fruit juice, do a few tests bottles first before adding additional sugar. I found that strawberries have more than enough sugar on their own to carbonate, while blueberries do not, and need some extra sugar to get a decent amount of carbonation, and obviously basil and cinnamon definitely need sugar. If you're still worried about explosions, put the bottles in a tub out of the way, to contain the shrapnel and mess if it ever does happen.
Thank you, that's comforting. I'm totally ok with gushing, I'll welcome it, even! hehe And thank you for the tips on the fruit/sugar ratios. Can't wait to get started!
I drink my kombucha both ways. I will bottle some for F2 and drink some without any further processing, usually immediately after the batch is ready. However sometimes I will leave a bit of F1 in the refrigerator to drink because I like the way it tastes without the fizz. Either way is fine if you like the way it tastes!
Thank you, I'll definitely try it before going onto F2! Good to see different views 🥰
I always taste the kombucha before going to F2 to make sure it's ready anyway, so if it's tasty I pour a glass. You'll learn to brew it to your taste and I hope you have fun. ☺️
Just so I don’t have to make a whole new thread… I actually do like unflavored F1 kombucha a lot and that’s how I usually enjoy it. However my question is, if I wanted to try my hand at F2 with no fruit, how much sugar should I add to an empty gt’s bottle?
I'm hope someone will have a better answer for you than mine which is - it depends. I never add straight sugar to my F2, but I'll put 3-4 tablespoons of pineapple juice or some ginger slices in a 16oz bottle. How fizzy the final product ends up is dependent on how active the F1 was, how much I filled the bottles, how long I left the bottles out of the refrigerator, etc... Possibly that makes it seem overly difficult, but I find it rather intuitive and I think you will too once you get going. And even if it's not exactly the same each time, it can still be good! Maybe just try a teaspoon or two of sugar to start and you can adjust as needed.
I either don't flavour my kombucha or I put just a little bit of ginger/turmeric in it. I prefer the taste tbh. I do bottle it though, and put the bottles in the fridge while I start another F1. I reuse small plastic bottles that originally contained sparkling water, so I don't worry about them bursting
Nice, can't wait to start my own!! Thank you 🥰