Brewing a batch of kombucha has been a long time coming for me. I’ve always enjoyed drinking kombucha, its tanginess and that slight effervescence is very refreshing and enjoyable – especially on a warm day. As I learned more about the health benefits of kombucha, I began to look more into brewing it at home.
Why did I want to brew kombucha?
- I’ve enjoyed just about every kombucha I’ve tried
- Healthy / health benefits
- Free tap on my 7 faucet kegerator in my garage
- I brew beer (and coffee… and cold brew), so why not brew kombucha
Three good reasons is enough for me to try just about anything, so with four solid reasons, I finally decided to get the necessary equipment and ingredients after about 2 years of wafering around and coming up with every reason why not to brew kombucha. Some of those reasons included:
- Not wanting to order a scoby online (wasn’t sure I could trust that)
- I didn’t want to brew a bad batch and be turned off from brewing more
- Different process, different equipment
I finally decided to start brewing kombucha after having Blue Ridge Bucha on our podcast, Drips & Draughts. After recording the show, I spoke with owners Ethan and Kate about sourcing a scoby, and they pointed me to Kombucha Brooklyn.
I reached out to Kombucha Brooklyn owner, Eric, and asked for some suggestions. He was nice enough to respond and suggest a complete 1 gallon kombucha starter kit, so that’s what I went with, but I stepped it up to 2 gallons.
I may not have mentioned it earlier in this post, but my intention when brewing kombucha was to get it into a keg and put it on draft in my keezer. I’ve got a few 2.5 gallon kegs that float around between my house and my brothers, so my end goal in brewing kombucha is to start putting it on draft in my kegerator.
So there you have it. My reasoning for wanting to get into brewing kombucha. I have always enjoyed drinking kombucha, so I figured its about time to start brewing it for myself. Stay tuned for future posts which may (or may not) include:
- Brewing my first batch of kombucha
- Adding fresh, local fruit and herbs to flavor kombucha
- Stepping up brewing equipment for larger batches of kombucha
- How to put kombucha into a keg
- How to put kombucha on draft at home
- Let us know if there are any other topics that you might want us to cover
Health Benefits of Kombucha
Just a quick list of some of the health benefits that I’ve heard about. I can’t attest to any of these, so do your own research.
- Great source of probiotics and promotes gut health
- Good source of antioxidants
- Contains antimicrobial properties
- Stimulates the immune system
How do you deal with rising yeast levels in your brews? Does the cone at the bottom of the fermenter hold the yeast?