How to bottle Kombucha at home

You’ve got a batch of Kombucha that’s ready, now what? Here’s how to bottle Kombucha so that it’s carbonated.

Obviously, you’re going to need some bottles. Being a home brewer, I’ve got loads of glass beer bottles laying around. If you don’t have beer bottles, you can use plastic soda bottles, or glass swing-top bottles. If you don’t want to buy the swing-top bottles, you can buy some Grolsch beer and and reuse the bottles.

The other option is to use new or recycled beer bottles and purchase some bottle caps and a bottle capper.

How to bottle Kombucha at home

It’s important to clean and sanitize your bottles. A good scrubbing and then a run through the dishwasher will sanitize them. For you homebrewers, the sanitization process is the same as beer bottling.

If you use a drink dispenser jar, it’s a simple matter of placing the bottle under the spigot and filling it. You’ll want to keep some headspace in each bottle, but not too much, or you increase the risk of exploding bottles. I usually aim for an inch or so of headspace in each when I bottle Kombucha. Don’t forget to reserve a two cups of Kombucha to use in your next batch.

Bottling is also the best time to add flavors to Kombucha. Experiment with fruits and things like Ginger root.

Now comes the hard part: waiting. If I store the bottles in the basement, which is a bit cooler than the rest of the house, it takes two full weeks to carbonate. Your experience will probably be different based on temperature and bottle size. One trick that I use is to use at least one plastic bottle per batch. I use something similar to these bottles. When the bottle is hard and you can’t easily squish in the sides, that means the Kombucha is carbonated. At this point, you should put all he bottles from the batch in the refrigerator to stop the carbonation and prevent them from exploding and/or turning to vinegar.

More on Brewing Kombucha:

• How to make a Scoby
• How to Brew Kombucha at Home