Fermentation projects
Project Kombucha
Making Kombucha is fun, I save about $100/ mo on this drinking habit and have loads of fun with changing tastes.
What you need to get started?
Approx $50
What you'll need for your first batch?
-A 1 Gallon Jar
-A SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast)
- 1 cups Sugar (Or Starter liquid)
- 2 Table spoons of Black or other Highly caffeinated tea leaves.
-Water
-Cheese Cloth or other cloth that breathes but keeps out Dust and flies)
-A rubberband or String to hold covering on top of jar.
-Litmus paper or other device to measure the PH of your liquid.
-Thermometer ( sticky one for side of jar recommended.
Optional accessories
Approx $50-$100
-Racking cane
This keeps you from having spills.
-Container for finished Kombucha or vessel for a Second fermentation. I use 1 Gallon glass carboys. Usually 2 x 1 gallon batches of Kombucha will fill one 1 x 1 gallon carboy.
Learn more here
Basic Guide
-Boil 4 cups of water.
-Pour in 1 cup of sugar, and stir until dissolved.
-Remove from heat. Add 5-6 tsps of tea, let steep for between 10 -40 mins.
-Pour your sugar tea mix into a 1 gallon Jug, leaving about 3-4 inches from the top.
-Check PH that PH is below 4.5. If above 4.5, add 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar until below 4.5.
-Add water until 3-4 inches below top of jar. Once cooled to 85 degrees, add the Scoby.
-Let stand for 8 days then start tasting until desired flavor is reached. About 8-21 days.
Project Mead
Beverage
What you need to start some mead?
Small batch
-1 half gallon glass jar.
-2 lbs Honey 9 (Approx 2 cups)
- A packet of yeast ( 1 pack should make 4-8 1/2 gallon meads.)
- 1 cup of your favorite Pastaurized fruit juice.
Optional Items
15
- A few flip top glass bottles (3 for each 1/2 gallon).
-A racking cane.
-A Hydrometer (to measure your %ABV.
-Loose leaf tea?
Steps:
1. **Sanitize Everything**: Ensure all your equipment, especially the jar, spoon, and funnel, are sanitized. Most infections in home brewing come from inadequate sanitation.
2. **Mixing the Must**:
a. Pour about half of the water into the jar.
b. Using the funnel, add the honey to the jar.
c. Stir until the honey is well dissolved. This mixture of honey and water is called the "must."
3. **Temperature Check**: Ensure the must is at room temperature. If it's too hot, it can kill the yeast.
4. **Pitching the Yeast**: Sprinkle the yeast over the must. Gently stir to ensure the yeast is fully saturated.
5. **Add Flavorings (Optional)**: If you're adding fruits, spices, or herbs, put them in now. Make sure they're well washed and sanitized.
6. **Airlock**: Fill up the jar with more water, leaving about 2 inches from the top. Place the airlock (filled with water or sanitizer solution) on the jar.
7. **Fermentation**: Place the jar in a dark, cool spot, ideally between 60-75°F (15-24°C). Within a day or two, you should see bubbles in the airlock, indicating fermentation is taking place.
8. **Racking (Optional)**: After 3-4 weeks, or when fermentation seems to have stopped (no more bubbles), you can "rack" the mead. This means transferring the clear mead off the sediment at the bottom( AKA lees). Use sanitized tubing to siphon the mead into a clean, sanitized container.
9. **Aging**: While you can drink the mead now, it will significantly improve with aging. Let it age in a sealed container for at least a few months, but ideally 6 months to a year or more.
10. **Bottling**: Once you're happy with the aging, siphon the mead into sanitized bottles, leaving about an inch of space at the top. Seal with caps or corks.
11. **Enjoy**: Once bottled, you can enjoy your mead immediately or let it continue to age and mellow in the bottle.
Remember, mead-making is as much art as it is science. Feel free to experiment with different flavors, honeys, and aging times to get the perfect mead for your taste!
ENJOY!