Ruin the original flavor" is exactly what I used to say. Then I tried something like what green.iris is talking about and it actually made the whole thing better. Changed my mind completely.

I always stuck to the fridge method too, but my last batch sat out for a week and it was the best I've ever made. The warmer temp really does speed up the good bacteria. Guess some rules are meant to be broken.

Ever try to factory reset that thing?

Used to think these things were just silly jokes. The cost and work you mentioned makes it seem like someone really believed they were doing something big. Changes how you look at it.

Come on, that's just a weird pigeon. They do weird stuff sometimes.