I have returned from Madison and have no EZ cap bottles. Sadly, they wanted around $30 for a 12 pack, which seemed a bit excessive to me. The good news here is that I was awarded by my originally resistant friend with a  pack of bottles. He had drunk the Grolsch! He was a trooper for the cause and for this I am pleased. What I did find in Madison, however, was a 6 pack of half-gallon canning jars. I was unable to find them at all the major stores in Chicago but Madison happened to have 2 packs of them, which G. and I split. They wanted to know what I was canning at this time of year. When I slyly whispered “home brew” they looked amused. 

What I should have realized is that my possession of these jars now means that I have new homes to fill. While in Madison, I decided that I was going to try to find some local brew to bring home with me as an experiment in growing my own SCOBY. I was going to buy the local stuff (which I had sampled at a party in December and found to be very pleasant) but they sold it only in half-gallon jars for $15 and they wanted a $3 bottle deposit. Since I only needed about 16 ounces of the liquid, I decided to go with a bottle of the GT brew. According to their website, the kombucha is brewed in purple rooms with spiritual music playing and no negativity from their employees. (I’m sorry, but I can’t attend work today. I’m feeling a little down.) I can’t say that I go through this length for my kombucha, but I can assure you that it’s brewed with love. On the way home, my GT started leaking. Why? I have no idea. I’m hoping that it’s still a viable source for my experiment. I also bought some ginger to try some ginger-flavored brew.

I bottled up 16 ounces of Santos and 16 ounces of Ramirez. I labeled them and will put them down for the second ferment for their five days. I also sanitized another half-gallon jar. I added sweetened green tea and half a bottle of the GT raw kombucha (I got the ginger one because they didn’t have regular) and I’m hoping to see some action!

I am also now keeping a notebook of my experiments. It contains names, dates, lineage, and recipes, as well as brewing conditions. I feel that it’s important to keep track of my successes and failures. My goal is to find one or two good brews and stick with them.