How do you tell when fermentation is complete? Will you see gases escape?
1095308
Gasses escaping through the airlock is a sign that the fermentation is working, not an indication of the fermentation being ready. Depending on how big your fermentation vessel is, what you are fermenting and for what purpose, you may not see gas escape through the airlock very often. Depending on what you are making, fermentation does not necessarily complete. If you are fermenting vegetables, complete fermentation is not the goal. If fermentation would be complete, the bacteria (probiotics) that cause the fermentation would no longer have anything to eat and they would die. Usually, the goal of eating fermented foods is to ingest live bacteria that are deemed beneficial to your intestines. Usually, you want to allow some minimum amount of time for fermentation, many recipes indicate 1 to 2 weeks. During this time, the fermentation will start and really get going. After that you usually taste the product every day or two to see if you like the taste. Make sure to use very clean utensils for tasting. If you like the taste, you stop the fermentation process by refrigerating the product. I urge you to use a recipe for this type of fermentation. It is critical to get salt content right to allow for beneficial bacteria to grow and harmful bacteria (such as botulism) to be inhibited. If you are fermenting in order to produce wine or beer, the goal is is not probiotics but rather alcohol, which is created by yeast. I don't have experience with making beer, but for wine you would let the fermentation complete. You would be able to tell because the liquid you are fermenting would no longer contain bubbles and no bubbles would pass through the airlock. Again, a recipe should give you some indication here.
1900465
You can but the beer will be very bitter. Your looking at least a month. The longer you ferment the beer the better tasting it is.
702093
I can only guess since there's a possible fermentation process going on here, there may be a negligible trace.
902863
Are you talking about in the air-lock or in your carboy? I you are talking about in the carboy both are okay, but after the first day or two you should have a lot of little bubbles. If you do not then you should check the temp of the area it might be to low.
1666270
I have had no odor whatsoever from my Harsch crock. When you open it to check the fermentation, you will want to smell (ant taste) the fermented veggies to determine if they are "done" enough for you.
2200153
Try changing out the milk every 24 hours. That's what I did, and by, I think, the third day, I got good fermentation. My grains have been going strong since. (Also, you didn't say where you were keeping the grains and milk. Not in the refrigerator, right?)
980899
Leave a headspace of at least 1" to prevent overflow. Leave extra headspace, up to 2" for very active ferments like sugary beets or when the weather is really warm.
1919707
Yes, you can find several calculators online to compensate for the alcohol after fermentation. I have a refractometer and a hydrometer and I used an online calculator that wasn't accurate for this use. Plus it uses a much smaller sampling size compared to a hydrometer.
451888
No. At the end of the brewing cycle it does that sound. But after that it is completely quiet.
1898051
I have not used the lid for fermentation. However, I have done canning. As long as the seal is tight...it is ok, do NOT use anything to pry it off the top.
1806693
Hi Jessica, This should be a perfect time to order a starter kit as the weather is cool and Scobies go dormant when they are cold, so it is better shipping weather for them. Just make sure you have all your jars & tea & everything, (as my scoby came in a plastic zip-lock...) Keep the scoby and starter tea refrigerated until you give it away, as at room temperature it will keep fermenting. Your kit will probably come with good instructions but it will help if you read up on it first, especially if the gift recipient is new to Kombucha (which I didn't so I brewed my first batch rather blindly...:-)) My favorite web sight with really clear instructions is royalkombucha.com., I learned a lot there. Hope this helps - what a great gift idea - I LOVE my Kombucha!
1153983
I forgot to mention that the packets do have a Best used by date..I've never had a fermentation problem as long as I paid attention to the alcohol tolerance of the yeast and my specific gravity / total alcohol target.
335327
Truthfully, you don't really need an airlock at all. It's just to show you when the fermentation has stopped. Fermenting usually takes about 5 days. I have never heard of fermenting pickles, but a mason jar is going to be way too small. It would have to be at least a 1 gallon sized jar with about 2-3 inches of breathing room at the top so that it doesn't overflow during the fermentation process. Hope that helps, and good luck!
2193105
Tea, SCOBY, cover. That will get you there. It may also get you mold and an inferior product. I found that out myself. Like anything else, you reap what you sow and cutting corners where cleanliness is concerned is a horrible idea where fermentation is involved. If you follow all the instructions you should get a a good product. I find storage temperature greatly effects carbonation. High means more due to yeast production. Good luck however you choose to proceed.
1142217
Virtually. There are trace amounts of alcohol from the brewing process. Less than 0.1% though.
524065
I would take a warm wet cloth and put it over the strip if it dose not read then you may have a bad strip mine is always in the 70 degrees range depending on how active your fermentation is. Hope this helps good luck
920139
Brine coming out the top means there is activity in the ferment. A good thing. Don't worry about the brine coming out the top but do check inside to make certain your ferment is still covered in brine or you will have mold. Sometimes once the ferment gets active it pushes enough of the brine out the top that you need to replace a bit of it.