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

>

[Guest guest]

Hello I had the same concern as your neighbor. I forget which list member it

was but last year they checked their kt for alcohol at the beginning of

brewing and periodically at different stages of process and couldn't find a

reading of alcohol in it. The happy herbalist site has quite a bit on the

subject,check it out. I am in recovery and have been drinking kombucha for

quite a while with no problems. I have not felt triggered in the slightest.

If there was alcohol in it my addiction would have noticed it by now. I do

not do a second ferment as my understanding is that is where the alcohol

starts to creep in.

As a further safety measure I got a home breathalyzer which I blew into 30

minutes after drinking some kombucha and have seen no sign of alcohol in my

system. I drive a schoolbus and am subject to random alcohol/drug screens. I

feel secure that my recovery is not in danger

Gail

> 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

>>

>

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