How To Tame Water Kefir Fizz

For those who brew it’s such a gratifying day when you open your bottle of water kefir and it has the perfect amount of fizz. On the other hand, it’s equally frustrating when you open the lid and water kefir sprays all over the room – you need to tame your water kefir fizz. Some of you have had the pleasure of an unplanned kitchen wash down and have messaged us with photos of water kefir dripping off the ceiling. Yikes! And don’t worry we have been there too! So below are our top tips.

Preventing Excess Fizz

The best way to prevent excessive fizz is to burp your bottle or bottles every 12 hours when you are making your second ferment. If you are using high sugar fruits/juices you should burp it every 6-8 hours. HOT TIP: If you’re not sure how fizzy your brew is, before you unclasp your bottle, put a dish cloth over the lid and open it over the sink. That will prevent it from spraying all over the room and the dreaded kitchen wash down.

Some Other Tips and Tricks

We suggest using pineapple juice for the first few rounds of your second ferment but once the grains get acclimatized to your water, pineapple juice makes the drink very volatile because of it’s sugar content.

So, we suggest:

1. Changing over to fruits that have less sugar content once your culture is producing the desired amount of fizz if you want to tame your water kefir. We have a beautiful selection of recipes to try here.
2. Keeping your second ferment at a cooler temperature will keep it from becoming so volatile.

In Conclusion

Burp your bottles during the second ferment. Once your drink is fizzy and you are happy with the sweetness, put it into the fridge. The cold air will significantly slow the fermentation process and it can stay in the fridge for up to 2 months and sometimes longer. REMEMBER: Water kefir never goes bad, it just turns to vinegar. Make sure you open the bottle periodically to release the air and make a point of enjoying at least one cup of water kefir daily. Your gut will love you!