Containers for easy, mess free kombucha making?

March 26, 2017 7:09 AM

MeFites who have been making kombucha for a while: what containers have you had success with for your primary ferments? Looking for ones that make it easy to do a transfer to bottles for a secondary ferment.
posted by ryanshepard to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

Best answer: This bottle has been satisfactory. If I had to do it over I would order a larger size, because I drink more kombucha than I thought I would, and many expert brewers think that the larger the brewing vessel, the more stable the cultures. Also, be prepared to clean out the spigot every other month or so. SCOBY tendrils get inside and reduce the flow. I use a doubled-over pipe cleaner and that seems to work. I initially thought I would be doing continuous brew, which makes the spigot very nice to draw off the day's kombucha, but I am on the verge of buying another bottle so I can have more kombucha. The lid does not get used-- I place a piece of floursack fabric on top, secured with one of my wife's hair rubber-band things. Also, it is important that the spigot is all plastic, which this one is despite the appearance of the chrome paint on the exterior. I hope that helps.
posted by seasparrow at 7:22 AM on March 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

I do continuous-brew in a one-gallon jug with a spigot, not unlike the one seasparrow linked to, but a cheap one from a thrift store (as long as the spigot is unleaky, it's good). I transfer to swingtop pint bottles for secondary if I want some fizz.
posted by jackbishop at 7:37 AM on March 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

Spigots always leak and clog in my experience, not worth it imo. I use two 1/2 gal mason jars. I like having some redundancy and ability to do minor A/B testing.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:45 AM on March 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

I really liked my "big huge pickle jar with a bit of cloth secured by a rubberband for a lid and soup ladle for serving" method.
posted by oceanjesse at 8:16 AM on March 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Just coming in to +1 on seasparrow's recommendation. The spigot on it is good and has never leaked or clogged, in my experience (I have been using it consistently, for kombucha, for about 3 years).
posted by nightrecordings at 8:38 AM on March 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

I also use the jar-with-a-spigot, swing-top bottles, and continuous brewing. I've never had clogged spigot problems (until just this week for the first time!).

(I use what I think is an ingenious combo of a folded piece of cheesecloth tied over the rim of the jar and then draped over with a linen napkin, and also a little muslin bouquet garni bag tied over the spigot. My house is prone to fruit flies and ants.)
posted by jeweled accumulation at 8:46 AM on March 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

I brew in these Anchor Hocking one-gallon jars. When I'm ready to bottle, I pour some of the tea into a glass measuring cup like this and pour directly into the bottle, holding the spout of the measuring cup right up against the lip of the bottle. I personally find this a lot easier than dealing with a funnel; my kombucha tends to get fizzy during the first ferment and using a funnel makes it fizz and bubble a ton when I try to bottle.

I imagine having a container with a spigot might make things a little easier, but lifting and pouring liquid out of the jars I use is actually pretty easy and I hardly ever spill more than a few drops here and there.
posted by kitty teeth at 10:07 AM on March 26, 2017

Apropos of spigot clogging (I'll concur leaking can be a problem) it really shouldn't be a problem with continuous brew as long as there's half an inch or so of liquid retained. My scoby floats, and a decent amount of tea under the scoby generally seems to ensure the spigot stays clear of dangly bits.
posted by jackbishop at 4:04 PM on March 26, 2017 [1 favorite]