Kombucha question...
 

I made my first batch and actually lost track of time and it sat/brewed for nearly 14 days. The sponge had grown to cover the entire top of my glassware and there are some dark brown spots on the sponge. I strained the liquid (because there was stuff in it) and it is chilling in the fridge right now.

So, I guess my question is...is it supposed to smell like vomit? Really, it smells like sour vomit. My daughter said it smelled like apple cider, but I am thinking juice vomit.

Second, do I scrape off the new sponge growth? Make it a second sponge? Do I trash the first sponge? What about the dark spots?

Re: Kombucha question...
 

Hmm, mine usually smells like a cross between wine and vinegar. And it tastes good. The scoby should cover the whole thing, don't throw it away, you can use it to make more. :) The dark spots are fine, normal- what you don't want is mold that looks like bread mold. Google "moldy scobys" and you'll find what I mean. And you'll also find pictures of healthy scobys. 14 days should be fine for your scoby, but you might find it a bit tart. If you can't drink it, just start a new batch. :shrug3

Re: Kombucha question...
 

it's very vinegary smelling... i like mine a little on the sweet tart side. if you aren't going to make 2 batches at once, i guess you could just leave it together. :think

Re: Kombucha question...
 

what they said.... I have had a few batches that smelled like sour socks... I dumped those and started anew...

Re: Kombucha question...
 

You can toss the new sponge, feed it to your dog, leave them stuck together, give it away, or separate them to make 2 batches.

It shouldn't smell like vomit, lol. If you have a cold your smell may be off -- it should smell vinegar-y.

Brown spots are normal, truly black spots are not, neither is fuzz. If you see genuine black (dark brown is fine) or fuzz throw *everything* away, sterilize your jar, and get a new scoby. (This has never happened to me--it's pretty rare).

The brown floating stuff is yeast. It's very nutritious but you can strain it if you want.
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