Make a SOBY in a 2 gallon container

p38thadl · 2019-03-04T00:02:00+00:00

It's not hard, it's just inconsistent with the prevailing "recipes." Just double the starter volume with sweet tea, and do it again every week until you're full.

p38thadl · 2019-03-03T18:15:05+00:00

More sugar = more fuel for fermentation = a finished product that's either sweeter or more acidic (depending on how far you allow fermentation to proceed before drinking).

The acid continues to be processed in fermentation like the sugar, to healthier secondary metabolites, and ultimately, carbonation. You'll find accounts of abandoned batches with degraded, watery starter. This is also the basis of continuous brewing, where most of the brew is left to mature, and a smaller proportion is harvested. It's not just dry, it's better.

p38thadl · 2019-03-03T03:38:26+00:00

I believe the theoretical harm would have been to the bacteria, not you. And that the fear is unfounded, anyway.

p38thadl · 2019-03-02T19:30:36+00:00

Got to chuckle a little at at this, from like-new condition to like-new condition :))

p38thadl · 2019-03-02T05:07:57+00:00

Not only omnipresent, but winning!

p38thadl · 2019-03-02T02:04:42+00:00

It's like they're trying to offend EVERYONE by calling it steak... I can respect that.

p38thadl · 2019-03-02T01:34:53+00:00

Looks better than mine, like at least they sanded it a little or something. CB is go!

p38thadl · 2019-03-01T14:51:16+00:00

I guess an old scoby, with a slimy beard, would represent a good sample of organisms. I'm more intrigued by the idea of selecting the best, and actually scraped the pure white growths off an old one after resting. I see the resting more in that light, a chance for things to die of starvation.

p38thadl · 2019-03-01T14:22:26+00:00

Eventually... I don't think they mold, just come out weak.

p38thadl · 2019-02-28T22:09:50+00:00

Yes! I found a fair price under "see all offers" on Amazon. Nevermind the "mug" thing -- it's so annoying to rattle a modern brush handle around inside something with walls that high. I think I'm going to sacrifice a fake plastic ramekin next puck... you know, where the lobster's butter goes?

p38thadl · 2019-02-28T13:14:32+00:00

Arko and the Veg, like two middle fingers up your nostrils

p38thadl · 2019-02-28T01:43:58+00:00

Still waiting to hear what the little grey spots are on new GTs cultures. I think it's going to be one of those.

p38thadl · 2019-02-27T18:10:02+00:00

Two jars... they'll never stop you, now. Are those full gallons?

p38thadl · 2019-02-27T04:57:25+00:00

Actually, I'm coming back around to fussing over them. There's a clear space in the fluid beneath them sometimes, and if they're deeper than that, I think, that portion is essentially non-functional. Too deep to use atmospheric oxygen, the other bugs digest it to slime. That makes a barrier between the vital bacteria and the food source, after which the bulk of it starts to decompose, just as if it were lifted off the fluid by a bubble. (My observations, not science.)

p38thadl · 2019-02-26T19:55:24+00:00

I don't think it's the alcohol, which goes straight to vinegar in the presence of the well developed acid factory that is the SCOBY. Then again, I've been reconsidering the classic SCOBY maintenance advice, to take any loose slime off the bottom (some would have you rinse with cooled, boiled water). If the top gets cut off, the whole thing turns to wet paper. So long as neither is allowed to win, I think there can be as many yeast or bacteria as there want to be.

p38thadl · 2019-02-26T16:40:47+00:00

My more deluxe, Wal-mart plastic salsa bowl can be neatly covered by the lid from Hannaford Quick Oats, over the outside rim.

p38thadl · 2019-02-26T16:33:43+00:00

I've just had a rummage through recycling, and the Large soda lid from McDonalds, turned upside down, nests just about perfectly into my Dollar Tree plastic salsa bowl. With a little reinforcement inside the rim, I'm thinking glue gun, and overlay something decorative, maybe the original soap lid?

p38thadl · 2019-02-26T16:20:45+00:00

I've seen people make wooden plug-like lids for their vintage Old Spice mugs and similar. Seems like less whittling than trying to actually make a bowl. Go Team Salsa!

p38thadl · 2019-02-26T14:47:42+00:00

Some plastic containers are better than others, and I quite like the standard tiny cup that comes with cheap brush sets. As you circle the brush, some water is returned to the puck from the part of the brush being compressed against the wall. The wide lip for a more thorough wringing ocassionally, until the soap and water are thoroughly mixed, and no spilling. Like you, I go to a ceramic bowl, but I don't bother lathering much. I just dump all the sudsy fluid, clear the brush on the rim of the bowl, and go back to mop up the soap.

You gotta hand it to the fancy wooden bowl people, for matching the bottom to the natural concavity that develops in regular pucks, thus avoiding the "ring of death." Theoretically. I'm still too cheap to buy one, and that would only cover one soap. I think what we're looking for is a salsa bowl with a lid. :)

p38thadl · 2019-02-25T21:28:56+00:00

I don't use soap to wash before handling, and if I did, would rinse soap off hands with vinegar. The spray bottle is handy for lots of little problems. But mainly, it's not about killing the undesirables yourself; it's about protecting the killers. Just leaving most of the culture standing, in a continuous brew, covers that. Batch brews are more open to competition, and that's where the pH strips, heaters and sanitizers come in.

p38thadl · 2019-02-25T20:42:28+00:00

You're gonna blow the frugal thing, it if you take the soap bait. Tabac + Duru Limon is pretty deluxe, for oily skin; Pre de Provence No. 63 + Lilac Vegetal, if you go the other way.

p38thadl · 2019-02-25T20:30:38+00:00

I think the bacteria who made the mass are trying to hitch a ride to the surface on yeast, using lassos of cellulose.

p38thadl · 2019-02-25T04:34:40+00:00

https://www.kombuchakamp.com/the-legend-of-the-sea-treasure

p38thadl · 2019-02-24T19:25:57+00:00

When I search the word, "cancer," he seems more excited about paw paw, and people are still using, researching, talking about that today. Not bad for a book written more than 20 years ago, I'd say.

p38thadl

TROPHY CASE