My first attempt to combine kombucha and beer is underway. I used the same 2.5 oz of sugar (in this case pale malt extract)to 1 quart of water recipe that I use with standard kombucha, in addition I left the tea out. The tea is normally included partly for flavor and partly to provide a nutrient source to the yeast/bacteria because white sugar is pure sucrose. Malt is not a pure sugar so it should contain give the culture plenty of nutrition.As you can see the culture (at the bottom) has grown quite large since the last photo I posted of it, and fermentation is generally visible within 24 hours of pitching.
It remains to be seen if the yeast and bacteria that make up the kombucha "mushroom" will be able to utilize the more complex maltose that makes up the bulk of malt extract. It will be about 2 weeks before I have a taste test for this one, but I am really looking forward to it. The next step will be to split the culture and try adding hops.
Tasting Notes.
Hi, I really appreciate your material on fermenations, and most recently on the Kombucha experiement, really looking forward to seeing how this turns out as I'll be bottling my first batch of Kombucha in a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteTook a sample today and it tastes ready to bottle, nice clean acidity with a hint of residual sweetness.
ReplyDeleteHi there, thanks for the information. I was thinking of trying using malt syrup. So how did it turn out after some time of second ferment? Was it able to eat up the residual maltose?
ReplyDeleteSorry, back when I posted this (five years ago) I wasn't too good and linking back when I posted updates. Here are my tasting notes on the Malt Kombucha.
ReplyDeleteThe tea is actually included to change the Ph of the kombucha liquid (making it acidic) in order to discourage the growth of mold. That's really why it's necessary - besides the fact that the kombucha culture have been developed with it - so tea is the liquid environment they've evolved to thrive in.
ReplyDeleteI did one recently with dry malt extract and it turned out really sour and not nice at all.
ReplyDelete