Fermentation Support Forum

Hey everyone,

So I successfully started my second ginger bug a little over a week ago (after my first attempt didn't work). Once the ginger bug was ready I added a little over 1/4 cup to around 750ml (0.79 quarts) 100% pineapple juice. It has been fermenting 3 days now, I left it under the oven light at around 80-82 F, it has a tight lid, and I used 100% pineapple juice (non- organic and pasteurized). It has very very very few tiny bubbles at the top on the sides but otherwise nothing. I don't think it's working. This my second attempt and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. How do I know if it's good or not? What am I doing wrong?

Thanks:)

So I just opened the pineapple soda and tasted a tiny bit. It did taste a bit fizzy but also bad. Not sure if it had tiny bit of alcohol or mold or what. ???

Did you keep your bug at that elevated temp?

Christopher Weeks wrote:Did you keep your bug at that elevated temp?

Yes I kept the bug and soda under the oven light at 80-82 F with the exception of when I had to use the oven for baking. Than I took the bug and soda out and put them on the kitchen counter. Once the oven was cool again I put the bug and soda back under the oven light.

So, I'm not an expert -- I've successfully fermented just eight or ten sodas, and not for a few years. But here's my best guess: You used too little culture. If the bug wasn't frothy, then maybe it wasn't as successful as you thought. If it was, then 1/4 cup into a bit over 3 cups of juice is maybe a little scant. I've only made a gallon of soda at a time, but I think I dumped a quart of frothy bug in each time. (Which isn't, I guess, that far off from your ratio....so I guess I don't know. Maybe pineapple juice isn't sugary enough to really take off. Did you aerate it?

My suggestion for testing would be to dump a packet of champagne yeast in (which should be much more vigorous than even a healthy bug) and see what that does. If it's able to turn the juice, then at least you know it's possible -- it helps to rule out some possible causes.

I also never elevated the temp of my sodas -- just fermented them on the counter in the kitchen, but if your bug was thriving at that temp, the colony should continue to do so after being fed the juice.

Thanks...i'll try again with your suggestions