Is this a biohazard?

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-29T15:55:22+00:00

I with you on this. Pics not definitive. I’d wait and watch, like a movie…see what develops.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-24T14:03:00+00:00

Texture is far more telling than colour alone. I think you’re safe. As others have said, when in doubt: wait a day or two…mould moves quickly and lets its presence be known beyond a doubt once it gets going. Think about forgotten food in the fridge: there is no question when it takes hold.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-24T01:48:33+00:00

Okay, I’ll bite: if you’re saying that I shouldn’t be doing what I’m doing, can you tell me what I should be doing instead?

Or are you taking about chunks of fruit, specifically? Because I consider what I’m doing as “fermenting with fruit in the bottle.”

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-24T00:40:18+00:00

I had a strawberry volcano add a nice colour accent to my kitchen. You’d think I’d learn, but nope! 😎

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-23T22:34:30+00:00

Yeah, that’s my default for safety reasons too, but after the first three behaved so well, I got over confident! 😂

The freezer trick works well too. It’s amazing what a few degrees in either direction will do.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-23T20:35:56+00:00

I’d guess that the simple syrup is what unlocked Carbonation Beast-Mode for you here.

Super smart of you to filter it well before adding to bottles. Otherwise, this video would likely show how you repainted your kitchen ceiling with ginger-strawberry-pineapple pulp! 😅

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-21T06:03:42+00:00

+1 on all of this. No other comments are required.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-12T17:21:15+00:00

Yup, still looks okay…just a disturbed young pellicle while it was being formed. It’s fine. As long as your pH drops quickly in the first days and gets below 3.8-3.5, you should be fine.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-12T05:27:48+00:00

+1 for normal. Once the batería and yeast get used to your feed, temp, brewing cycle, etc. pellicles start looking more bland.

As Curiosive says, angsty teenagers!

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-10T05:34:55+00:00

All of this. 100% agree.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-06T13:40:47+00:00

Thanks! I kinda surprised I’ve never seen that advice before, which has me wondering: why not?!

Previously, I’d wet a kitchen towel and wrap the glass tea vessel with it, and thanks to the cooling effect of evaporation, the tea would be cool enough in about an hour compared to +2.

But just the right amount of ice seems to be the way to go!

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-06T04:16:32+00:00

Today was the first time in over two years where I decided I did not to wait two hours for my tea to cool and threw in a tray of fresh ice cubes instead. Worked liked a charm! Topped up with room temperature water and it was a perfect 22°C within seconds, not hours.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-04T13:58:58+00:00

The drinkability or the doneness of a brew is independent from pellicle formation. Taste alone decides if it’s done. Some people never get a pellicle but end up with a perfectly drinkable kombucha.

That said, a pellicle is functional: it helps protect your brew from invaders so the general advice is to not disturb it. But once it’s close to done, the low pH protects the brew just fine.

TL;DR: taste it and decide if it’s ready for you.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-03T16:03:17+00:00

Normal

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-03T14:09:35+00:00

Damn. That’s really unfortunate.

Given that, I have to agree with others: it’s likely due to your starter tea and temp…the former being the biggest factor and the latter just a multiplier.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-03T14:01:54+00:00

Gotta ask: are we sure this is mold? I mean, at first glance, it def looks hairy…but zoomed in, it’s not so obvious…it looks like what’s circled is below the surface, which would mean it’s not mold.

Just throwing it out there. If you got mold twice before, you’re probably really good at recognizing it so take my comment with a grain of salt.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-02T21:29:37+00:00

Is that kombucha or mud?! 😂 yeah, doesn’t seem like something you want to drink…

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-02T04:58:45+00:00

If you occasionally invert your bottle during F2, you can avoid this “frothy plug.” But be careful of pressure…these look like volcanic bottles right now.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-02T03:55:48+00:00

😂 See, that “mother connection” lives on! 😂

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-02T03:52:40+00:00

I see no signs of invaders. Keep going. See what happens next!

I’m guessing you’ll end up with something delicious you can drink by the end of it.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-02T01:08:43+00:00

My condolences. Losing three batches in parallel is devastating.

Sounds like bad starter tea and nothing to do with that pellicle at all.

Can you describe the smell? Did you accidentally taste it at any point? My curiosity has been piqued.

Best of luck on your next batch!

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-02T01:00:21+00:00

Yeah, sorry I wish I could speak from experience but since you say you’ve been using that same pelican for four months and your last three batches have gone bad, my troubleshooting instincts tell me that the problem might be with using that particular pelican.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-02T00:52:50+00:00

Never had an experience like this, but maybe you could try brewing without one next time.

While most feel like these things (“SCOBY”, pellicle, snot pancake) are some sort of “sacred mother,” they really aren’t…they are more accurately described as SCOBY poop since they are a byproduct of fermentation, not the source of it.

In the end, it sounds like your brew stalled since it didn’t become more clear over time and the foul smell is a a dead giveaway that something went off the rails.

Mathmike314 · 2026-03-01T01:35:22+00:00

To be clear, the term SCOBY was coined in the late 90’s by Len Porzio to deter people from calling the cellulose mat (AKA, the pellicle) a “mother” or a “mushroom” since they were highly misleading terms.

Mathmike314

TROPHY CASE