water kefir grains care?

[mountainsunshine]

I brew about 2x per week and have a boatload of grains- eneugh for 3 1/2gal batches. In between brewing I store em in the fridge in a jar of sugar water. I have been using regular ole white sugar my grains don't seem as feisty as they were in the summer. Am I slowly killing them? Do I need to feed them better? Do they need to spend more time brewing and less in the fridge? or is it just winter?

Sarah

[Jojo F.]

It's temps. The colder it is the slower they grow. It's sounds like you have the knack for water grains!

[jessjgh1]

I've been wondering how to store grains too. I'm going to set some aside as backup in the freezer but I've been wondering what to do if I just needed to store them for a couple days or longer.
How much sugar and water do you 'store' them in? How long can they be stored like that?
Thanks!
Jessica

[rhesp1212]

I agree, it's more than likely the cooler temperatures....causes the fermentation process to slow down.

You can put them in a sugar water solution and store them in the fridge for a week or more. You may need to add some fresh sugar water periodically to give them something to eat if you go longer than a week. The refrigerator will greatly slow down the process. You can also dehydrate some of the grains if you have extras and want to save some as back ups for future use. Just spread them out on some paper towel on a plate or tray and let them air dry for 3-5 days (or longer sometimes).

If you think they are not doing their job right, add in some organic un-sulfured fruit to your brew or add some backstrap molasses (unsulfured) to your brew adn they'll perk right up!