If keeping alcohol level low is important to a home brewer, venturing beyond the primary fermentation phase is probably not a good idea. Victor Rusu at Beyond Brewing chose to apply for a brewing permit, and go the alcoholic route, and explore "the artisan side of kombucha".Ĭhilds also began selling of home-brewing kits, which placed control of the taste and alcohol-level in directly into the hands of the consumer. GT Dave, which produces Synergy kombucha, decided to make both alcoholic and non-alcoholic kombucha, differentiating between the two types with color-coded labels – black signifies purchase for 21-year-olds and above. Childs took the latter route, which significantly increased production costs for Kombucha Brooklyn, but allowed him to release a product which was in line with the laws of the TTB while still satisfying the discerning taste buds of kombucha connoisseurs. The TTB gave producers of kombucha two options: license themselves as a "brewery/winery" or change the brewing process to bring the product to non-alcoholic levels. Under such sudden and unexpected scrutiny, it was discovered that some bottled kombucha contained over. In 2010, two events shook the worlds of kombucha drinkers: Whole Foods pulled the juice from its shelves, and Lindsay Lohan failed an alcohol test, which tabloids blamed on kombucha consumption (an assertion which ultimately proved to be false). "People were enjoying this naturally effervescent beverage." Hippies and yogis started the trend, and it quickly caught on with celebrities and socialites in Hollywood. "In 2009, it was hot and heavy," he explained as he poured me a cup of tea in his Bed-Stuy laboratory. In 2010, two events shook the worlds of kombucha drinkers: Whole Foods pulled the juice from its shelves, and Lindsay Lohan failed an alcohol test.Įric Childs, the owner of Kombucha Brooklyn, gave me some insight into his experience as a kombucha producer and how the landscape has changed. In order to reach ABV levels in excess of 3 percent, the beverage must have grains added and go through a third fermentation, producing what brewers call "kombucha ale" or "probiotic beer." (The sugar level decreases over time and the kombucha becomes more vinegary.) "Secondary fermentation" happens when the liquid is bottled and allowed time to develop its flavor and fizz ABV levels can reach above. 5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV), considered non-alcoholic by the TTB, only goes through a "primary fermentation" process of five to 30 days, depending on desired taste. At its most basic, kombucha is a sweetened tea that contains a slippery, living mat of stuff known as a "mother" or SCOBY-a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast-that produces various compounds including alcohol and acetic acid, the primary flavor of vinegar. Not all kombucha is created equal, though. The percentages are typically very low for the commercial kind, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) says that it can be sold as non-alcoholic if it contains less than. Kombucha may or may not contain wondrous healing powers, as many of its most devoted drinkers claim, but it definitely contains booze. For her, the theoretical health benefits were worth making an exception when it came to alcohol consumption at AA. She had been drinking kombucha and home-brewed stuff since 2006, and associated it with a multitude of positive advances in her health. When it came to kombucha, however, she wasn't willing to give it up. And day by day, she trudged toward a happy, sober life. Each completed step was a victory, each AA coin a talisman attesting to her hard work. She quickly adjusted her lifestyle by giving up many of the people, places, and things that threatened to derail her on her path to recovery. My AA friend attended her first meeting earlier this year after fearing she was losing her sense of self-control after moving to New York from a much smaller and less-bar-centric city.
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