alcohol content question

[Guest guest]

I haven't been able to measure the alcohol content due to my hydrometer needing

a taller container than I have. I let my kombucha ferment to the sour stage as

I don't want an alcoholic drink. My second ferment is with fruit for a night

and then the next day it is imbibed. I understand that there is a very small

amount of alcohol present in it. My neighbor would like to drink it for the

health benefits but she's an alcoholic and wouldn't like to fall off the wagon.

Does anyone have any suggestions or comments that I may do?

Thanks,

Donna in Alaska

[Guest guest]

I don't think the problem with the hydrometer is due to the container you used.

I also tried to use a hydrometer to measure the alcohol content. I used a

test-tube type vial to hold the liquid, per the instructions from the local

homebrew shop. I measured several times during the brew process, but the results

were all over the map. I think the problem is that the hydrometer doesn't

really measure the alcohol directly. It measures the decrease in density as

sugar as is converted to alcohol. The lower the density, the higher the alcohol

content. With kombucha, sugar is converted to alcohol, but there is a

sumultaneous process that converts alcohol to the various healthful substances

that we like. At least that's my understanding from the websites I researched.

I think you would need to have a lab measure the alcohol content, and for home

brewers who don't follow an exact process, it would probably vary from one batch

to another. Most lab tests I've read (some on this site in the archives) give

an alcohol content between 1/2 percent and 1 percent. Hope this helps you and

maybe saves a few people the expense of buying a hydrometer.

>

> I haven't been able to measure the alcohol content due to my hydrometer

needing a taller container than I have. I let my kombucha ferment to the sour

stage as I don't want an alcoholic drink. My second ferment is with fruit for a

night and then the next day it is imbibed. I understand that there is a very

small amount of alcohol present in it. My neighbor would like to drink it for

the health benefits but she's an alcoholic and wouldn't like to fall off the

wagon. Does anyone have any suggestions or comments that I may do?

> Thanks,

> Donna in Alaska

>