My kombucha scoby grew a weird second layer that looked like a tiny brain

I was cleaning my fermentation station last Tuesday and noticed my kombucha scoby had grown a thick, wrinkly new layer on top. I looked it up in my old copy of 'The Art of Fermentation' and found out it's called a 'pellicle' and it's totally normal, just extra cellulose from the bacteria. The book said a healthy one can get almost an inch thick, but mine looked like a science experiment gone wrong. Has anyone else had their scoby do something this strange?

3 comments

3 Comments

angelamurphy14d ago

That brain-like pellicle is a good sign, means your brew is really active. Mine got so thick and folded once I could peel layers off like weird mushroom leather. The texture gets wild if you let a batch go a bit too long, like a rubbery pancake with deep grooves. It's all that bacteria building up its house, totally normal but always looks alien.

rowanw9114d ago

Totally, it's like a science experiment in a jar. I had a kombucha scoby that got so thick it looked like a weird jellyfish pancake. You could actually see little air bubbles trapped in the layers, like a weird sponge. I almost didn't want to touch it because it felt so alive. Makes you wonder what's really going on in there, right?

path4714d ago

Reminds me of the time my neighbor tried to make sourdough starter and forgot it in the back of his pantry for like three months. When he finally opened the jar, it had grown this crazy, dry, cracked crust that looked like the surface of Mars. He was convinced it was a new life form. We ended up poking it with a stick in his driveway, and it made this hollow sound. Fermentation just makes stuff look haunted sometimes.