Home / Food & Drink / Top Stories

The Best Hard Kombuchas to Drink in 2022

Put down the hard seltzer and go for a hard kombucha this winter.

best hard kombucha Gear Patrol

By Tyler Chin

Published

·

Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more

Health nuts have been on a kombucha kick for a minute now. The fermented tea drink is an effervescent and slightly sweet probiotic food that supposedly aids in digestion, weight loss and immune system support. If you’ve ever had kombucha, you might have noticed something interesting on the label: It contains just a hint of booze. The alcohol in your grocery store kombucha is small enough to not get you drunk, but if you’re looking for some kombucha that will get you buzzed, there is a category of hard kombuchas you’ll love.

Hard kombucha has a sour-sweet flavor not dissimilar from a gosé, and they can be low in alcohol, like hard seltzer, or even super boozy, like a wine. In an age where people are looking for other alternatives to beer, hard kombucha is there to save the day (or night). To get from kombucha to hard kombucha, brewers give their booch a second round of fermentation to produce alcohol. The world of hard kombucha is an exciting product category to explore. Hard kombuchas can be brewed with ingredients like tropical fruits or even hops you’d find in beer. So if you’re already a fan of kombucha and want to try the hard stuff or you’re looking to expand your horizons, here are the six best kombuchas to drink right now.

The Best Hard Kombuchas of 2022

Boochcraft is literally what it sounds like “craft booch.” Based out of San Diego, Boochcraft makes organic hard kombucha using real fruit instead of added sugar. The brand features a number of lines from its core collection — with delicious flavors like Lemon Maple and Apple Jasmin — to its Liquid Art Lab, which releases limited brews with unique flavors like Blackberry Sage and Coconut Mamaki. Also, all drinks clock in at a boozy 7 percent ABV, but you wouldn’t know it from tasting it.

Flying Embers has an interesting story, because it almost should never have existed. In the beginning of its founding, the 2017 Thomas Fire in California nearly destroyed everything before it became a reality. Luckily, Flying Embers persevered, and its kombuchas (and even hard seltzers) are a gift to all who try it. There are a range of delicious flavors, ranging from low-ABV to boozier options. Flying Embers even started a nonprofit to support wildfire prevention and first responders.

Jiant specializes in a type of beverage called jun komucha, a combination of organic tea, honey and water. The tea itself is special in that it’s dragon well green tea, a sweeter and more delicate tea that lacks the astringency of most other green teas, and the honey, specifically acacia honey, makes for a sweeter and smoother drink. Offerings, like Hicamaya (grapefruit and hibiscus) and Guavamente (guava and mint), are made with botanicals and only use real fruit juice.

JuneShine, like Jiant, uses a jun kombucha to make its hard kombucha. All of its ingredients are organic, and it makes some of the tastiest hard kombuchas we can find. You can tell the brand is having fun with its flavors with options like Prickly Pear Margarita and Grapefruit Paloma, cocktail-inspired brews minus the bartender setup.

If you love Sierra Nevada’s beer, you need to try Strainge Beast, the brewery’s line of hard kombuchas. The kombuchas are flavored with hops (this is a Sierra Nevada brand after all), and they’re as thirst-quenching as a sour beer. The brand has three 7-percent ABV kombuchas — with flavors like Ginger, Lemon and Hibisus — and a low-ABV, low-calorie option in Watermelon, Sea Salt, Lime and Mint.

Walker Brothers High Gravity Kombucha GingerDrizly

Walker Brothers High Gravity Kombucha Ginger

The Walker brothers are a real brother duo, who became inspired to found Walker Brothers by their aunt. Walker Brothers actually makes both hard kombuchas, which are 110 calories, and non-alcoholic kombuchas, which are 70 calories.  The ingredients are organic, the flavors are fun and the kombuchas are damn good.