Ever wonder how to make hard kombucha (i.e. kombucha with more alcohol in it)? We’re breaking down the basics to alcoholic kombucha. It’s easier than you would think!
The basics of hard kombucha
Kombucha naturally contains some alcohol (about 0.5%). This is due to the reaction between the naturally occurring yeast in the kombucha, which produces trace amounts of ethanol (alcohol).
Typical kombucha yeast strains do not produce much alcohol on their own, so what do you do if you want to increase the amount of alcohol in your kombucha? Add a different kind of yeast!
By adding a different strain of yeast, such as champagne yeast, to your kombucha, you can make a hard kombucha beverage with a higher ABV (alcohol by volume), around 5%!
After much experimentation (and years of brewing non-alcoholic kombucha to help guide me), I’ve finally landed on the method of brewing hard kombucha that’s both easy and reliable. Let’s brew!
Main Ingredients & Supplies needed for alcoholic kombucha
Kombucha from a first fermentation
First up, you’ll need some kombucha! Take your batch of kombucha straight from the first fermentation to make hard buch. (Here’s how to make kombucha in the first fermentation.) You can use kombucha made from green or black tea here.
Yeast
Adding an additional strain of yeast (different from the kombucha yeast) will help drive up the alcohol content of your kombucha. The type of yeast you choose to use will impact the finished flavor. Some options include:
- Champagne yeast (like this EC-1118 dry wine yeast), which gives a distinctly champagne flavor to your hard kombucha
- Ale yeast (like this SafAle US-05), which has a more neutral flavor
Airlock
The final extra piece of gear you’ll need to brew hard kombucha are airlocks. These effectively let carbonation escape without letting oxygen in.
“But doesn’t kombucha need oxygen?” Good question! When making kombucha in the first fermentation, the bacteria need oxygen to ferment properly. But once the kombucha is finished and you’re ready to booze it up, you’ll want to prevent oxygen from getting to the bacteria so that the bacteria don’t eat the alcohol you’re making! (More on the relationship between bacteria and alcohol in kombucha here.)
A lid won’t work here because you need to allow for air to leave the bottle!
How to make hard kombucha
The process of making hard kombucha is a little different from making traditional kombucha in that we’re adding an extra step in the middle. It goes something like this!
- 1st Fermentation: Make the kombucha (6 to 10 days). This is when you turn sweet tea into kombucha!
- 2nd Fermentation: Make it boozy by adding yeast and sugar, then let alcohol develop (7 to 14 days)
- 3rd Fermentation (optional): Add flavors and seal shut to carbonate (3 to 10 days)
Easy enough, right? Let’s dig into the details!
1st Fermentation: Make the kombucha
In the first step, you’re making kombucha just as usual. You’ll just put sweetened tea, starter kombucha, and a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) into a large jar and let it ferment for 6 to 10 days until you reach your desired flavor (a mix of sweet and tart). Get instructions for the first fermentation here.
2nd Fermentation: Make it Boozy
In the second step, we’ll add a slurry of yeast, sugar, and water, which will increase the alcohol content of your brew. You’ll need:
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp yeast (champagne or ale yeast, see notes above)
- 1 gallon of kombucha (from first fermentation)
- Airlocks
1. Yeast Slurry: Stir together the hot water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Let it cool to lukewarm, then stir in yeast. Allow the yeast to activate for 5 minutes, until bubbles form and the yeast is frothy.
2. Bottle: Meanwhile, transfer kombucha to bottles or a growler (or any vessel with an opening that will fit your airlocks. Portion yeast slurry equally into each bottle of kombucha.
3. Airlock: Fill airlocks with water (to the designated line – you may need to read the instructions for your particular airlocks). Place airlocks onto each bottle.
4. Ferment: Set bottles somewhere dark and room temperature, and let ferment for 7 to 14 days. It’s ready when the flavor is somewhat dry and boozy! If you’re not moving on to the next step (adding flavor), seal the bottles shut and transfer to the fridge to stop the fermentation process.
“I’ve made it and it’s WONDERFUL!
I was wondering what you needed to do to raise the alcohol content. More Yeast? More sugar?”
3rd FERMENTATION: Add flavor
In this final (and optional) step, you can add flavors to give your hard kombucha a fun taste. This is the equivalent of the “second fermentation” in traditional kombucha brewing. You’ll just add whatever flavors you want to your bottle (like pureed fruit, fruit juice, ginger, herbs, or spices), then seal it shut. Let sit for 3 to 10 days, until bubbly and carbonated. Transfer bottles to the fridge to stop the fermentation process. Check out all of our flavor recipes here!
How much alcohol is in my hard kombucha?
The amount of alcohol in your finished hard kombucha will depend on how much sugar you added in the 2nd fermentation. Typically each 1 cup of sugar will give you about 4% ABV. Increasing this ratio and adding more sugar will result in a higher alcohol level.
How To Make Hard Kombucha
Ingredients
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp champagne or ale yeast
- 1 gallon unflavored kombucha, from a first fermentation
Instructions
- Yeast Slurry: Stir together the hot water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Let it cool to lukewarm, then stir in yeast. Allow the yeast to activate for 5 minutes, until bubbles form and the yeast is frothy.
- Bottle: Meanwhile, transfer kombucha to bottles or a growler (or any vessel with an opening that will fit your airlocks. Portion yeast slurry equally into each bottle of kombucha.
- Airlock: Fill airlocks with water (to the designated line – you may need to read the instructions for your particular airlocks). Place airlocks onto each bottle.
- Ferment: Set bottles somewhere dark and room temperature, and let ferment for 7 to 14 days. It’s ready when the flavor is somewhat dry and boozy! If you’re not moving on to the next step (adding flavor), seal the bottles shut and transfer to the fridge to stop the fermentation process.
- Flavor (optional): At this point you can flavor your bottles however you want! See our favorite kombucha flavors here.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
Hi there,
Is there anyway to measure the ABV content in kombucha since 2 and 8% might be a big difference? So far I have seen refractometers and hydrometers don’t work since de acidity of de booch spoils the measurement. Do you know any measure methods which are good?
Unfortunately to get accurate readings, you would need to send the samples into a lab (there aren’t great options for home testing kombucha).
Why can´t I use my refractometer that I use for brewing beer?
Can I use the type of airlocks used for fermenting vegetables in a mason jar?
Yes!
So I was hoping you can help me I am on my second fermentation and I’m 9 days in it’s my first time making hard boot and it’s a 6 gallon tank and I realized I only put one packet of sf05 in it’s slowly fermenting but would it be bad to add another packet of yeast in or should I just let it go with what it’s got fermentation has slowed way down
Hi, great resource.
The thought that’s rattling around my pea brain is; commonly for F2 people add fruits or purees and ferment further. You say that the Kombucha yeast isn’t able to handle a higher alcohol environment, however there is naturally occurring yeast all over fruits that definitely can handle higher alcohol environments. As we know it is not strictly necessary to add yeast to make fruit wines and similar beverages that can hit pretty high ABV’s so even with the Kombucha yeast converting some of the ethanol in F2, the other yeasts might be raising the ABV by themselves. My rudimentary understanding is that this would also be a mixture of ethanol and methanol.
Of course making simple syrups would eliminate this issue but I can’t see how using fruit pieces couldn’t raise the ABV considerably. I definitely noticed the alcohol in my Strawberry/melon F2 and even more in Orange. It is the reason I instinctively switched to simple syrups for F2 flavouring.
Can anyone tell me how incorrect I am?
Hi Sarah. So I have been brewing hard booch for several months now. I’ll use champagne yeast, also I’ve used safale us 05 yeast. Question I have is this; Why do some brews develop a secondary non- viable scoby and some don’t? I’ve consumed the hard booch with no adverse effects. Why does this happen and is it safe? Info on hard booch brewing is slim. Thank you!
A SCOBY is a normal product of all kombucha fermentation, and happens when the bacteria have access to air. So if there’s more or less air in your fliptop bottles, that could mean more or less SCOBY formation!
Hi Sara,
Why wouldn’t you add the yeast slurry to the whole gallon batch and then distribute it into the 750ml bottles?
You could do that too!
Hi Sarah! Thanks for the great info! What would happen if you added fruit to the 2nd ferment? I’m just starting with hard booch brewing but I’ve been brewing soft booch for a while now and typically flavor in the vessel during F2 and then strain before bottling for F3. I’m using an airlock on a gallon jar…can I throw fruit in with the sugar or could that lead to disaster?
I think it could just interfere with the fermentation of the right kinds of yeasts. Worth a shot, but I’ve stuck to adding fruit in F2 for hard buch!
I’m making my first batch. Wish me luck.
I also have several bottles of plain kombucha that have been through the second fermentation. Can I use that to make boozy bouch? Or must I use a 1st fermentation batch (as I am doing now)?
And I bought the airlocks from your link and they are too big for my bottles. I’ve taped them on with Duck Tape. Since the pressure is released through the airlock I’m hoping this will be ok. I guess I’ll find out!
If they’re plain you can use them for making hard kombucha! 😀
Hi Sarah, thanks for the awesome site!
Do you use airlocks attached to 750ml glass bottles for the second fermentation? If so, did the bungs that came with the airlocks fit the 750ml glass bottle openings? Reason I ask is that most airlock bungs seem to be for carboys.
Thanks,
Emlyn
Yes I did! I used these airlocks, which fit many of my bottles, large and small.
Hi there,
Brewing my first batch of boozy booch but it’s a 5 gallon batch. Should I use the same ratio of sugar/yeast for 1 gallon just multiplied by 5. So 5cups sugar and 5 tsp yeast for 5 gallons?
Correct! Always the same ratios 😀
Hi. I am on day 10 of the second fermentation. There is still a lot of champagne yeast sitting at the bottom of the jar. Would you strain this out before bottling for the 3rd fermentation? Thank you.
I would probably give it a stir to incorporate it back in!