Keeping kombucha and other ferments at or under 1% alcohol

In BC a drink is liquor once it holds more than 1% alcohol, and making liquor needs a manufacturer licence. Kombucha — and, by the same chemistry, water kefir and ginger beer — can keep fermenting in the bottle; a BC study found 70% of BC kombucha makers had products above 1%. Your food safety plan should show how you keep it under the line, including testing at bottling and at the end of shelf life; at 1.1% or more, federal rules also require the alcohol percentage on the label.