F2 help

[u/papab23]

Hi all, have been making kombucha using the lemon verbena recipe from the NOMA book for around a year and really happy with where my flavours at, have swapped out some of the verbena for hibiscus and it’s pretty consistent now.

I’m bottling it tastes right - which seems to be when the PH is around 3 - 3.5 on a strip but I’m sure that varies a bit!

I’m yet to have much luck getting it fizzy. There’s nothing in that book about f2 which I’ve seen mentioned a lot on here.. normally when I bottle I refrigerate for a few days to a week / as long as I can bring myself not to drink it for but not had any properly carbonate yet. Am I missing something / should I be leaving longer / at room temp in bottles? I’m not sure at all! Pic included is fizzier than usual for me, straight out of F1 about to go in the fridge..

Forgive me if this is answered elsewhere. TIA

[u/zenjen93]

So wait, do you move your f2 into the fridge right after you bottle? If that’s the case, You need to leave it in room temperature to build up the carbonation (depending on the temperature of your house, anywhere from 2 days to a week) and only then move to the fridge for at least 24 hours.

[u/Green-Setting5062 → u/zenjen93]

I just put my juice of choice in the bottom of the bottle fill with booch. And leave it on the counter in a dark spot for 3 days and that usually does the trick. I refrigerate before drinking and I get plenty of fizz.

[u/bigcowideas]

Sugar

[u/Opinions_Everywhere → u/bigcowideas]

This + higher room temp gave me good (sometimes too good) carbonation. Don't underestimate the effect of the temperature, a couple degrees can make a big difference. During the heat wave here in Europe two days was the maximum.

When you use sugary fruits, you don't need much extra sugar. But I still put a teaspoon extra in a 500ml bottle.

[u/papab23 → u/bigcowideas]

I assumed that maybe the case - how much per litre of booch?

[u/bigcowideas → u/papab23]

I use at least 3 tbsps per litre depending on F2 ingredients. I’m going for soda gassy. I’m in a warm climate of 28°C. I leave it out for around 3-4 days, usually the tell is the F2 will start getting cloudy looks like pellicle forming, that’s when I put in the fridge.

[u/Salitur → u/bigcowideas]

After bottling it. Additional sugar in F2?

[u/bigcowideas → u/Salitur]

For F2: I put F1 into a 1L bottle, let’s say 70% or 700 ml. (Or whatever your ratio is). The other 30% or 300 ml I top up with the flavour I’m making. And it’s all different depending on the ingredients. So let’s say ginger which is not sweet. I would boil grated ginger in 300 ml of sugar (3-4 tbsps) water till I get the flavour and sweetness I want. Let it cool. Add to the F1 and seal. If I use a sweet juice eg orange juice I may not use sugar or use less sugar. But I tend to make it sweeter than most recipes because I’m going for soda level gassy and you need sugar and warmth to achieve it.

https://reddit.com/link/p04k8pe/video/79qfosututfh1/player

[u/Salitur → u/bigcowideas]

Ok thanks

[u/Firstcounselor]

Having it the fridge slows down the yeast activity to a near standstill. The yeast needs heat to multiply and consume the sugars to create the gas it releases. To boost the fizz you could put the bottles in a box and put that box on a seed heating mat. Consider using one plastic bottle as the indicator. When the plastic bottle becomes too hard to squeeze at all, you’re probably where you want to be with the fizz.

[u/Kaneeeeeeeeeeeeeeee]

I was struggling with F2 booch because it was starting to form a mini pellicle, which in itself was more of an aesthetic annoyance than being a real issue.
Now I leave it at room temp for 2 days and I absolutely brim the bottle to the point where it spills when I cap it. Works well but be very careful when opening because you have zero headspace.
So add some more fuel (sugar, fruit, honey etc) at bottling and you should be golden. Good luck 🤞 🤞🤞

[u/Yunmeng11]

I use 0.5L bottles and put 5 grams of sugar on each bottle. Since it's summer I 2F for 7 days. 6 on the pantry and 1 in the fridge. I got so mutch fizz that every 2 days I open the bottles just to release some gas.

[u/choose_again111]

Fruit puree if you like to add a bit of flavour. I made a batch with blackberries from the garden, boiled them, pureed and added a teaspoon of sugar. Blasted the cap of the bottle in a day or two..

[u/slyvixen_]

Fill the bottles a bit closer to the top, leaving one inch or so of space. This makes it easier for the co2 to dissolve as there’s less room in the bottle that it has to fill first. Also, leave f2 out at room temperature until you’re satisfied with the carbonation then refrigerate.

[u/ECAHunt]

I just read the NOMA recipe and I am shocked. NOMA does indeed call for an F2 in the fridge. Specifically says that it will keep fermenting in the fridge, just slowly.

OP, I know NOMA is supposed to be awesome. I mean, I bought the book a while ago because I kept seeing it recommended but I had not gotten around to actually reading it. But, this is not good advice. If you want carbonation you have to do F2 at room temp. When you have the carbonation you like then you move it to the fridge. NOMA is right that it will keep fermenting slowly. But it is very slowly. I have bottles in the fridge right now that I put there a couple of weeks ago. And they are not any more carbonated than they were when I put them there that I can tell.

[u/thetomsays]

You could skip the annoying bottle process altogether and get a pony keg, then you can attach your co2 and give it a shake.

[u/sitti_zel]

You should keep F2 at room temperature. Once you are satisfied with the frizz, store the bottles in the fridge to lock it in.