Brewing Kombucha

Hey all,

I'm starting to brew my own kombucha and am looking for any tips on brewing during the winter in Missoula. I like to keep my heat down at night (60) but have read that it needs to be kept around 68 so I'm wondering if anyone has used a seedling mat or anything else to keep it warm enough. Any tips would be appreciated!

Also, I'm activating a dehydrated scoby (from Cultures for Health) but have heard that snagging a scoby from someone is better so if anyone has been brewing for a while and wants to share one, that would be awesome!

Thanks!

Hi Claire, my wife just brews them on the counter.  We keep our thermostat at 60*F and ours seems to turn out just fine.

You can talk to my wife about a scoby; she has lots.  She usually charges $20 but you might talk to her.  Will PM her email address.

Heat isnt *necessary*, fermentation just speeds up as the temperature warms - and slows as it drops. Whether its beer or kombucha, you can brew all year round, just allow a few weeks difference :p

And remember how much warmth is near the ceiling vs the floor~

I'm in Oregon and we use seed heating mats. We found it too slow without. Secondary fermentation with fresh juices will yield a nicely carbonated batch

Thanks everyone! I think I may rehydrate two scobies simultaneously, one w/o a mat and one w/ and see how they progress.

Hi, I'm in Stevensville and brew Kombucha on the counter top in a large mason jar. My house is usually between 59-65F and the kombucha does well. You can grow a scoby really easily yourself by mixing a store bought bottle and normal sweet tea you usually use for new kombucha brew. A scoby will form in a week or two. I use the GTs original, I think they are $3 at the good food store.

I tried kombucha (Health Ade organic/raw ginger lemon) for the first time last week and liked it so much I used the "mother" from the bottle to start my own SCOBY. I'll definitely be watching this space for updates on others' starters!