A Perfected Kombucha Beer, The 'Healthy Alcohol' Will Soon Hit The Mass Market

By now you've probably heard all about kombucha from the green juice-slugging, farmer's market-enthusiast crowd. As Kombucha, the healthful fermented tea full of probiotics, gains mass appeal, brewers are pushing a new version of this supposed super drink: kombucha beer. That's right, this "healthy alcohol" may be the next big thing, and, according to The GuardianHoneymoon Brewery is trying to perfect kombucha beer with the help of Los Alamos National Laboratory, the birthplace of the atomic bomb. 

Kombucha beer has been attempted before, by Unity Vibration in Michigan, and Beyond Brewing in Astoria, Queens, but Ayla Bystrom-Williams, aka the 29 year old home-brewer behind Honeymoon Brewery just may have a leg up on the competition with a $25,000 check for technical support from Los Alamos National Laboratory.  Los Alamos is involved in an initiative with New Mexico entrepreneurs to benefit from the lab's sophisticated equipment if they can attract interest from a scientist.The whole process is being kept top secret, although the top engineer on the project, David Fox, said, "We definitely feel validated to have [Los Alamos] involved in a very precise microbiological role."

Is kombucha an "immortal elixir," as it was first described thousands of years ago in China? Not quite, but Fox says that the probiotics will definitely help with digestion, and that the finished brew will also have high levels of vitamin B and healthful antioxidants.

Expect the Kickstarter to show up sometime later this year.