Get cultured: Edmonton's first kombucha brewery eyeing expansion

Edmonton's first kombucha microbrewery hopes to bring the fermented tea to the masses.

Boocha, started by Brian MacLean, ByronHradowayandJennDarling, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to get their product into more outlets across Edmonton.

Kombuchais a sweetened, fermented tea drink, made with cultured yeastbacteria, widely hailed for its health benefits.

A mixture called aSCOBY(symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) is plopped in a jar of tea mixture and left to brew.

The blob "eats"most of the sugar in the tea, transforming it into afizzy, fermented, slightly sourbut mostly non-alcoholicbeverage that is relatively low in calories and sugar.

"We're really focused on bringing this to the masses,"MacLeansaid in an interview withCBCEdmonton'sRadio Active."You're not always going to please everybody, and this isn't meant to sound negative, but you don't need to have dreadlocks or enjoy 'grounding yourself' to enjoy this."

Using natural ingredients such as cane sugar and dried berries, the small operation brews several flavours, including cherry, lavender, peach, maple and 'snozzberry.'

Edmonton consumers are thirsty for something different,MacLean said. He thinkshis company's bubbly, cultured tea is hitting the spot.

'It's very good for your gut'

"It's full of probiotics and amino acids. It's all naturally carbonated and it's very low in sugar and calorie count, so it's a lot healthier than a pop or something like that.

"It's very good for your gut health."

Kombuchaoffers non-drinkers an alcohol-free alternative, MacLean said.

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"People are excited that they can go out with their friends for a night out but they're not stuck drinking a pop, which is just pumped full of useless sugar," he said.

The three longtime friends began brewing at home in their Old Strathcona apartment.After pumping out some home-brewed batches of beer, mead and wine last year, they decided to venture intokombuchaand were a little underwhelmed with the results.

We enjoyed the health benefits but the flavour wasn't always something that was appealing- BrianMacLean

"We enjoyed the health benefits but the flavour wasn't always something that was appealing."

The trio decided to keep brewing kombucha but started experimenting with more intense flavours. The drinks were a hit with their friends and they decided to make it a legitimate enterprise.

"When we started making our own, we thought, how can we keep some of these health benefits but focus on a flavour that's more appealing to everybody?

"We started making it ourselves, and we gave it some of our friends, and they said, this is the best kombucha I've ever had. So we said, 'Hey, lets give this a shot.' "

They have since moved their small brewery into the basement of theStarliteRoom.Their kombuchais currently being sold at the 104thStreet Farmers Market, NookCaf and behind the bar atStarlite.

Their first morning at the market, they sold out in two hours, MacLean said.

'We're just doing what we enjoy'

"We could have never anticipated how much we were accepted by the city," he said. "Since day one, people thought we were this big, crazy company.

They are also launching a tap at Under the High Wheel on Whyte Avenue,and are working on developing a new ginger flavour in partnership with Yellowhead Brewery.

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The business is doing well, MacLean said, but theyneed a facility big enough to meet the growing demand.They want to expand their brewing facility, and stop bottling it themselves.

To raise some capital and get on the keg production line, Boochahas partnered with the Alberta Treasury Branch Booster campaign to raise $10,000 by March 14.

If they don't hit their goal before the campaign ends, donors get their money back in full. Boochahas raised more than $4,000 so far andthe foundersare optimistic they'll hit their benchmark.

"It's been crazy how, if you go where kombucha isn't, how much pull there is for it," MacLean said.

"I never thought a brewery and a music venue would be transforming the three of our lives over what's commonly known as a hippie drink."