The only way for me to answer this with confidence is to say: “Ours isn’t!” Alcohol is a natural byproduct of the fermentation process. When yeast consume sugar, they excrete minute amounts of gas (carbon dioxide) and ethanol. This is what gives beer its fizziness and alcohol content and explains why yeast has been so popular throughout human history: fizz and a buzz? Good times.
But Mr. Brewer, I Want to Avoid Alcohol
However, not everyone is looking to get bombed and many people, like myself, avoid alcohol altogether. How does kombucha fit into this? Kombucha is commonly non-alcoholic. By New Zealand law a non-alcoholic drink must contain less than 1.15% alcohol. Beer averages 5-6% and wine is between 12-14%, so 1.15% is a pretty low benchmark. You aren’t going to feel a buzz with that. We have our kombucha lab tested regularly and the alcohol content ranges from 0.4% to 0.8%. This means the naturally occurring alcohol levels in our kombucha are basically undetectable to humans. To your health!
