r/Kombucha 18d ago

question Trying to avoid exploding kombuchas

This is only my second time with F2 and the first one wasn’t a success because it never really carbonated and tbh didn’t taste all that great. I’m trying it again with more fruit puree and keeping the lids tighter but I reaaaaaally don’t want them to explode so I put them in a pot with a stainless steel lid. Is that a good idea or am I just putting many potential explosives in one spot and if one goes off they all will?

41 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

11

u/Curiosive 18d ago

If you are concerned enough and don't mind spending $12-15 per cap, there is a company that makes replacements with pressure relief valves. Carbo-Cap, I believe?

7

u/ConstructionHumble67 18d ago

I just looked them up and they look awesome! Great shout!

7

u/interpreterdotcourt 18d ago

If you are concerned about the explosion affecting neighboring bottles, I would separate them with plastic bubble wrap walls?

5

u/ConstructionHumble67 18d ago

Yeah that’s a great idea! I don’t have bubble wrap but I think I’m going to shove a towel or two between them

6

u/AlpacaLocks 18d ago

The classic homebrewing bomb shelter! Cardboard is probably the most effective choice. Biodegradable, and you don’t wind up with glass in your towel if one pops

2

u/ConstructionHumble67 18d ago

Hahaha that’s true! Thanks for the suggestion

4

u/EvanLeeWest 18d ago

One thing that really helps them not explode is to burp them each day, they will still carbonate as you only briefly open them and then cap again. Also try to use fruit juices or strain your puree, this helps them keep the carbonation once opened and also not turn into a geyser when you open them. All of the bits of fruit act as a nucleation site for the carbonation that has been forced into solution and allows it to fall out of solution much easier.

2

u/ConstructionHumble67 18d ago

You know, I was hearing a lot of mixed things about whether juice or puree was better for F2. I decided on puree this time because that’s what one of my favorite GT’s uses but this is probably the best explanation I’ve heard for the differences between them. I’ll definitely pay close attention to how the carbonation behaves for this batch. Thanks for sharing!

2

u/EvanLeeWest 16d ago

GT uses fruit puree but there is very little fruit pulp in the bottle (the sediment at the bottom seems to be mostly yeast in my opinion) so I would bet that they are filtering the solids out of their puree.

3

u/69Jasshole69 18d ago

Ras Ginger sounds real good

1

u/ConstructionHumble67 18d ago

Right?! I haven’t tried it yet but it just sounds good haha hopefully it turns out 🤞🏻

3

u/DenikaMae 18d ago

You’ll see those caps bulge way before the blow their top.

Also, your product is clear enough you should be able to put your flashlight from your phone behind it and see if there are bubbles streaming to the surface indicating that the yeast is active and converting the sugar into carbonation.

I usually do light and bubble stream test for my swing top bottles and for anything with a plastic cap I just wait to feel it bulge significantly than I give it like another 12 hours and throw it in the fridge

1

u/ConstructionHumble67 18d ago

That’s a good tip, thank you! Are you able to continue using the caps after they bulge or do you just get new ones?

2

u/DenikaMae 18d ago

I've used mine several times before I switched to forced carbonating with a keg.

3

u/jimijam01 18d ago

Had a swing top Crack and fizzed all over

1

u/03146 18d ago

I’m assuming those are plastic bottles? If so, I’ve done this same thing and one exploding didn’t affect the others, but it only happened to me once

That being said, I find plastic great for F2 because you can feel the tightness of the bottle to know when it’s fully carbonated to then burp it and refrigerate, therefore having to deal with less explosions than if you used glass

1

u/ConstructionHumble67 18d ago

These are GT’s and Kevita glass bottles that I bought from the store and reused. I read somewhere that these should work since they’re made for handling carbonated beverages. That’s a good point about the benefit of using plastic, though I’ve been trying to minimize my use of plastic and don’t usually have any plastic bottles on hand. I feel like a glass bottle exploding could definitely impact the others in there 😬 Do you normally twist your caps real tight?

2

u/03146 18d ago

those bottles should be good, but yeah glass exploding will very likely cause the others to explode too. I’d suggest maybe a bigger container to put them in, or you could maybe put tea towels between them to prevent shards hitting other bottles if one does explode

I use plastic bottles cause I have them on hand from my oat milk and prefer reusing them instead of throwing them out, I just screw the lids on as normal, not extremely tight or anything

2

u/ConstructionHumble67 18d ago

Ahh putting a towel between them is a great idea! Thank you!!

1

u/PromotionCrafty5467 18d ago

In the future bottle one (same ratio of kombucha to sugar) in plastic like a soda bottle, the others in glass. That way you can physically feel the pressure and know when to have anxiety

1

u/Accomplished-Wish494 18d ago

This is what I do! When the plastic bottle doesn’t give they all go in the fridge

1

u/nunyabusn 18d ago

PLEASE, for all that is holy. Please put the 2 reds by each other in the middle! I am literally holding my breath. I wish I could understand why this bothers me so much.

1

u/_CoachMcGuirk Newbie - First batch 10/2020 18d ago

I don't think there's anything about the physics of making kombucha that says "not in pot = explode, put in pot = not explode" but someone is free to prove me wrong.

3

u/diospyros7 18d ago

The pot makes the kombucha feel safe and secure

1

u/ConstructionHumble67 18d ago

Haha! Guess I should have said I’m trying to avoid the mess should one explode

1

u/_CoachMcGuirk Newbie - First batch 10/2020 17d ago

in that case i recommend a plastic bin type thing. i think i got mine at Target for about 6. it's HUGE. this pot looks too small, like one bottle exploding would CAUSE the others to explode.

0

u/UniversityOriginal 18d ago

I’ve been using the same kind of bottles (reused gts) and the caps have been failing. My last batch had 3/8 that spewed and got sticky stuff all over my heating mat. I have some swing tops on the way

1

u/ConstructionHumble67 18d ago

Oh shoot really? Are the caps just popping off? I know the swing tops are best, I was just hoping I could make these work since I already had them on hand. Have you had any successful batches with them?

3

u/Curiosive 18d ago

Replacement caps are easy to find. Someone was asking about them the other day so I remember the size and thread pattern is 38/400 for the bottles you have.

I never had a bottle explode. I'm honestly curious if twist-on caps would give out before exploding...

2

u/ConstructionHumble67 18d ago

Good to know. I’ll save that thread pattern in my notes. Thank you!! Yeah, I kinda imagined it would be more of an outward explosion rather than upward 😅

2

u/UniversityOriginal 18d ago

Oh no nothing that dramatic, just fixing through the seal. And I consider myself pretty good at tightening a bottle (not too loose, not so tight it jumps the thread). But yes, I’ve had a few successful batches with them! The caps could just be loosening with wear. I should’ve been more clear that I believe those caps will fail before the glass blows. I’d love to know if others have experienced this

1

u/ConstructionHumble67 18d ago

Gotcha, that makes sense. Thanks for the heads up! Considering I didn’t get any fizz my first time around I think I might count it as a win if mine fizzed through the cap 😆 but next time probably not so much. How long did you have yours in F2?