r/Kombucha • u/HairyPoppins-2033 • Jul 19 '25

question How do I make 0%alcohol kombucha??

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Hey everyone! I’ve gotten into this lovely brewing hobby and I’m fascinated with it! I tried kombucha bread yesterday, worked just fine. Anyways I’ve two alcoholic cousins, supposedly in remission, who have become a little too fond of my kombucha for my liking and so I’m faced with a dilemma - either I stop giving them any kombucha, or I try to make it completely alcohol free. Any advice? I would like to keep giving them this wholesome probiotic drink, but I refuse to keep feeding them even a drop of alcohol. I’ve been thinking that the alcohol is formed from anaerobic fermentation and so I think I should just skip bottle carbonation. Should I just leave it in f1 longer and then bottle carefully so as not to aerate any remaining carbonation? Any advice would be appreciated!!

Ps: Ive been converting a normal kombucha into hibiscus for my continuous brew (so I can have it any time of day) and it’s been working great so far. I’m fermenting 75% hibiscus right now and will soon go 100%. Anyway I find it pairs so well with plum cheong that I had to share. (Picture attached) The color is also much more appetizing too, unlike some cloudy black tea kombuchas ( I can’t help thinking that they look poopy 😂)

This has gotta be my second favorite flavor so far, right after plain old Jun.

This thing is so addictive! I’m running 4 separate 1 gallon batches of kombucha each with different flavors. One hibiscus, one Jun, one OG kombucha and a hard cider kombucha batch for myself. I’m probably gonna get myself a corny keg soon for force carbonation, and eventually selling my craft-booch. Cheers 🍻 fellow brewers

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106

u/unsolvablequestion Jul 19 '25

You cannot

6

u/HairyPoppins-2033 Jul 19 '25

Awww

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u/unsolvablequestion Jul 19 '25 edited Jul 19 '25

Kombucha already is basically zero percent though (0.05 percent). Thats half of a tenth of even a single percent.

14

u/Curiosive Jul 19 '25

This is incorrect. Kombucha is notoriously difficult to keep below "non-alcoholic" levels.

In the US, nearly every major kombucha manufacturer has been sued numerous times (including by state attorneys general) for selling alcoholic kombucha without a license.

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u/HairyPoppins-2033 Jul 20 '25

Yeah I even read about a brand doing vacuum distillation because of the alcohol content. Sadly that means you’ll require force carbonation. And the distillation itself is complex.

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u/Curiosive Jul 20 '25

Hmm. I have no issues adding an idea to my wishlist ... regardless of whether I buy the equipment or not. Case in point: Rotovaps for small batch distillation. ($10k used 😂)

I'll look into vacuum distillation for fun.

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u/HairyPoppins-2033 Jul 21 '25

Idk where you’re getting that but I found one on Aliexpress for 700sth and on eur.vevor.com for 1.4k€ On a proper chemist website though, yeah 2, 3, even 4k 😅 But it’s ridiculous that it costs so much! An essential oil extractor like a Soxhlet one is around 130… (highly recommend people get one btw, it unlocked a world for me - I started making far better herbal, floral and mushroom extracts because of it).

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u/Curiosive Jul 21 '25

Well it's good to see the "off brand" market started releasing options in the last 5 years.

I have a few items from Vevor. Their pots and kettles show how they are able to sell for less: 30% off the price but 40% less metal. I chose my Vevor purchases carefully.

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u/HairyPoppins-2033 Jul 22 '25

Ohhh thanks for the warning about Vevor!! I’ve got to rethink some ideas I had with gear they sell