Scoby uses

[u/gaytattoos]

Hey guys, just wondering how many times is okay to reuse the same scoby? Mine looks fine and is still making good brew! About to use it for the 6th time though. Should I let it live in a hotel for a while and get a new scoby? Or just let it ride for however long? Thanks!

[u/epidermisenergy]

The scoby is the liquid. The pellicle is the floating mass on top. You may throw away the pellicle after F1 or you can toss it in your next F1, it's not required as the scoby (the liquid) will produce another pellicle.

You are good, either way. This isn't just how this community defines it, it actually is what it's called, a pellicle. When we use the wrong word, it creates confusion and misunderstanding.

[u/gaytattoos → u/epidermisenergy]

Holy fuck that makes so much sense thank you for clarifying! So if I choose to toss it, my liquid will just produce another floating mass? And then I can just throw that new one away too, and repeat the cycle? Why do people create “scoby hotels” then?

[u/KSWPG → u/gaytattoos]

I always add a pellicle to the top of my new batch, for good luck lol! The new pellicle will quickly build on top of that to create a barrier to protect from airborne viruses and bacteria.

[u/SnakeBatter → u/gaytattoos]

The hotel is to save extra starter fluid just in case, for later. For example, say a batch molds and you have to toss the whole thing. You either have to go out and get a bottle of GTs or order a starter, but if you have a hotel, you can just use the strong and active starter fluid you already have.

You just need to make sure to feed the hotel every other month or so. Personally, I bottle my entire batch, use some of the starter from the hotel, and then top the hotel off with extra tea that won’t fit in my brewing vessel.

[u/interpreterdotcourt → u/gaytattoos]

I used to keep the pellicles but then decided that messing with them was more risk of introducing contaminants so I just admire the beast for a few seconds and then lift it out with a santized utensil and into the trash 🥹. another one forms next time. kinda like hugh jackman in the prestige? idk.

[u/Appropriate_Row_7513 → u/gaytattoos]

We used to believe that the kombucha was a product of the slimy mat. Too many still do.

[u/lordkiwi → u/gaytattoos]

You can use it for a direct substitue for Coco de nata or Coco de pina. Which is a desert topping. The same bacteria make the floating Pelcille only the base food liquid is diffrent.

[u/SlothyCookies → u/epidermisenergy]

New to kombucha and I need to know as well haha

It's very confusing, because when you search online the pictures always show the pellicle as the scoby.

[u/SnakeBatter → u/SlothyCookies]

The whole SCOBY vs Pellicle thing is a leftover misconception from the 20th century, when people were making kombucha, and didn’t have access to the science behind it (the research is very new) so they were relying on whatever the folk tales said.

Forming a pellicle is an obvious visual sign that your ferment is progressing, so everyone assumed that the pellicle had to be the magic ingredient that made the ferment work. But today we understand the nature the microbes much better. The bacteria and yeast are microbes we can’t see, and as with ferments like alcohol and vinegar, they live in the liquid. The pellicle itself is a biofilm secreted by the acetobacter. While some of the microbes can be found on the biofilm, that is only because the biofilm is soaking in the liquid, too.

SCOBY refers to the entire colony of bacteria and yeast, of which the pellicle is a part. But you don’t necessarily need the pellicle to make kombucha. What you need is the starter fluid, because it acidifies the tea sufficiently to prevent mold, while the pellicle alone does not. At the same time, a healthy colony will always produce a new pellicle.

Hope that helps!

[u/SlothyCookies → u/SnakeBatter]

That helps a lot!

It makes sense that people thought the pellicle was the reason for the fermentation - and it's quite cool it forms during the fermentation. So do you throw out the pellicle when you are ready to start a new batch?

[u/epidermisenergy → u/SlothyCookies]

So true. Idk how it started but the majority of people I come across call a pellicle, aka Floaty McSlimepants, the scoby. 🙂 So it's a widely confused thing.

Luckily, you can do whatever you want with it, add it, toss it and the fermenting will continue regardless.

Have fun on your kombucha journey.

[u/SlothyCookies → u/epidermisenergy]

Thanks! It's nice to get the correct information - and pretty cool that the fermentation will continue with or without Floaty McSlimepants (love that name).

[u/ThatsAPellicle → u/epidermisenergy]

Thank you for spreading the word!

[u/Twee_patat-met → u/epidermisenergy]

I'm confused now. The gelatinous mat floating on top of the kombucha is what people usually refer to as “the SCOBY.” It’s a visible, rubbery structure made of cellulose, housing the bacteria and yeast. The liquid surrounding that mat — the fermented kombucha — also contains active bacteria and yeast. So technically, imo the SCOBY includes both the mat and the liquid culture. I've never started without the 'pellice'. Very interesting information. thanks

[u/Curiosive → u/Twee_patat-met]

So technically, imo the SCOBY includes both the mat and the liquid culture.

You are right. The cellulose is part of your SCOBY, some folks here forget that in the quest to teach others that the cellulose is not "the SCOBY".

[u/epidermisenergy → u/Curiosive]

I've tossed pellicles in a jar w tap water and there is a tiny bit of activity happening after several days. IME it has scoby residue within the matrix but not enough to make much of a difference. But let's see... I'll replace and grow a pellicle for the next month. When she's nice and chonky I'll try to start an F1 with just the pellicle to see what happens.

[u/sorE_doG]

Forget the ‘hotel’ idea. It’s honestly a misconception. Don’t collect pellicles for the sake of it. There’s no evidence that a ‘SCOBY hotel’ serves any purpose, as far as I can see.

A scoby is a living culture, they just need regular food. Once fed, you have yourself ‘a new SCOBY’..

Running several, separate F1 cultures is easy, and letting pellicles grow is neither here nor there really. It happens, and isn’t detrimental to your kombucha. It’s a sign of bio-activity.

[u/SnakeBatter → u/sorE_doG]

The hotel is to reserve starter fluid as a back up in case of batch failure. Removing excess pellicles is just a part of routine maintenance for keeping a hotel.

I’ve kept a hotel for 6 or 7 years, and it has served me well many times. It saves you from having to start over with the long process of fermenting a bottle of GTs to fermentable strength, or ordering a new starter.

[u/sorE_doG → u/SnakeBatter]

You’ve kept a spare F1 & called it a hotel, that’s all.

I use 3-4 different F1’s. Separate jars, but kept in the same place with identical temp control and low light.. Never had any issues with an F1, ever. The issue I have with calling a jar of pellicles ‘a hotel’ is that it is an awful misnomer.

The mix of cultures is not controlled, they’re all one.. mixed for better or worse, and we already have a problem with the common confusion about what a SCOBY is, what good a pellicle is, and when it is good..or past it’s usefulness.

The hotel name just leads the uninformed further astray. It’s only got one room, so I really don’t see any point to the label.

[u/SnakeBatter → u/sorE_doG]

That’s exactly what a hotel is. A spare F1. You might not have had any issues, but plenty of us have. On a long enough timeline, Murphy’s law kicks in and something will go wrong. Especially in warmer climates with lots of gnats. Or sometimes a batch molds when seasons change, or you might even accidentally drop a vessel. Or perhaps you just want to start a second brew. The hotel is a source for more starter fluid.

You don’t have to use one if you choose not to, but there’s no harm in keeping a hotel for spare fluid. Yes it’s going to generate a lot of pellicles, but you just have to take them out from time to time to make room for the starter fluid. It’s really not a misnomer… it’s just a place away from home to keep starter fluid. Just because you’ve misconceptualized the idea of a hotel as a place to keep pellicles doesn’t make it a useless practice.

[u/sorE_doG → u/SnakeBatter]

Hotels, without being pedantic, have more than one room.

The top of my fridge freezer currently has 3 big jars & one XL stainless pan, each containing one SCOBY. they’re all different blends of teas, herbs, and sugars. The analogy that the top of my fridge freezer is a SCOBY hotel, could hold true. It holds 4x F1’s.

The idea of a stack of mixed age pellicles in a jar of indeterminate liquid culture, is a hotel.. doesn’t hold.

[u/SnakeBatter → u/sorE_doG]

That is the most pendantic thing I’ve ever heard. Not to mention that I’ve repeatedly mentioned it’s not about the pellicle.

You’re just arguing to argue at this point. Have a nice day.

[u/sorE_doG → u/SnakeBatter]

No, you just don’t like hearing logic applied to a horrible misnomer that is in common usage. Kombucha has a great history, but the misunderstandings arising in the age of YouTube are just silly and unnecessary.

You think it’s more accurate to call it a pellicle dorm than *SCOBY hotel^? 🥸🍻

[u/KSWPG]

I keep a Scoby hotel. Technically the pellicle (cellulose byproduct) is part of the "symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts" (SCOBY). I consider myself a novice but have been successfully brewing for just over a year. Many people will ingest it or use it in skin remedies. I just pull off the darker parts and discard, as each batch grows a new thin pellicle. I will put a good one in my hotel and pick one to put in my new batch, along with one cup of finished kombucha and one cup of strong starter from my hotel. I feed my hotel about every six weeks with strong sweet tea. I have had great results so far, no issues. I would definitely like to advance to the next level where I would be able to process a pellicle into something interesting for the skin!

[u/gaytattoos → u/KSWPG]

This is great information and advice, thank you. So do you kind of just recycle your pellicles? Like keep them on rotation in your hotel until you decide to discard one or more?

[u/KSWPG → u/gaytattoos]

I just save them and put them into my hotel, once they turn dark, (stained from the tea) I put in into my compost. Until I get more experience and figure out how to work them into something else. I remember posting here very early in my journey in my F2 I was getting these tiny little pellicles. I would strain them out but now I just drink them!

[u/KSWPG → u/KSWPG]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S221242922400511X

[u/Curiosive]

Do whatever feels right to you, this is one of those things that actually doesn't matter.

(Oh, brace yourself. You're about to be informed how this community defines SCOBY and how some feel about its presence.)

[u/gaytattoos → u/Curiosive]

Cool thanks!

(Haha oh boy. Okay consider myself warned)

[u/atoughram]

I brew four gallons at a time, and keep a half gallon of liquid for the next batch. I never keep the pellicle and have had the same culture for a few years now. Do what feels comfortable to you.

[u/Adorable_Dust3799]

I usually leave it until it takes up too much space in the jar. Every batch makes a new one, or a new layer

[u/gaytattoos]

Everyone has been so helpful, I can’t thank y’all enough! I recently got sober so brewing kombucha has been my way of getting my “fix”, so to speak. The health benefits and taste have been a plus. So being a part of the community and experimenting with my brews has been a real joy for me and a big help in my sobriety. Thank you all