Beer Forum

Hey brewing friends,
I have a SCOBY going from a store bought bottle and tonight I changed from the bottle I it came in to a larger glass jar. I had this brilliant idea to add raw organic sugar AND... here's the kicker... instant yeast. How do we feel about this? In hindsight I fear that that may not have been a super great idea. Thoughts? Ideas? Reassuring comments?!

XO,
SHM

I'm not sure of your question. You can continue to use the 'scoby' to make more kombucha as long as you feed it the tea/sugar solution. There is no need to add yeast. The kombucha culture I believe is a yeast/bacterial blend. Are you thinking of making beer with it?
mark
www.backyardbrewer.blogspot.com
www.thebackyardbrewer.com

No. Beer and mead are separate projects. I thought I would try to turbo boost my kombucha with more yeast but I was worried that that might off set the balance or "piss it off" in a sense.
I made a SCOBY from a store bought bottle and have been feeding it sugar and tea. I haven't actually begun the official batch yet, just working on my SCOBY. So do you think that adding the yeast didn't make a difference, it was just unnecessary?

SHM

I don't know alot about Kombucha but yeah, I would say you would "set off the balance" by adding additional, not to mention unique, yeast to the mix. I would let the scoby do what it does unmolested. If you want a faster reaction, a alcoholic and stronger version will result by preparing your sugar/tea blend and just adding your favorite ale yeast.
mark
www.backyardbrewer.blogsot.com
www.thebackyardbrewer.com

Instant yeast is designed for fermenting starch in a comparatively dry environment, and might eventually produce nasty fusels.

I have grown kombucha for a couple years now. Once I threw a SCOBY into some wort. After a couple weeks it turned cloudy and overall just kind of blah. I highly don't recommend it- if anyone is thinking about it out there. Cheers!