The Truth About Water Kefir: What They Don’t Tell You

With the growing interest in gut health, probiotics have become a major focus in the health industry. Supplements, probiotic-rich foods and drinks are all part of a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry that continues to grow each year as consumer awareness of the benefits of beneficial bacteria on overall health and wellness increases. Some have ventured into making their own probiotic-laden foods and drinks for maximum benefits and savings. Homemade water kefir is one of these products that has gained popularity. In this article, we will explore the truth about homemade water kefir, specifically what is not commonly shared concerning the problem of unwanted alcohol content.

Unwanted Alcohol in Homemade Water Kefir

When I began learning about the microbiome and the role it plays in the health of the immune system, I began looking into how I could introduce more gut-healthy bacteria into my family’s diet. I had already been taking a probiotic for a few years, and it had helped me become more regular. But now I became hopeful that perhaps I could strengthen my kids’ immune systems so they wouldn’t pick up every bug they came in contact with at swimming lessons.

After reading a few articles and watching a YouTube video, I felt ready to start making my own water kefir. The fizzy drink that was promised after doing a second ferment with juice especially appealed to me. I was hoping this would also appeal to my children.

I bought a packet of water kefir grains from the health food store and followed the instructions to activate them. It was finally time to make my first batch!

I completed the first ferment and then transferred the water kefir to a swing-top bottle for a second ferment, adding about 1/4 cup of grape juice. After a day, I eagerly opened the bottle — maybe a little too eagerly! The water kefir exploded out of the bottle, clear across the kitchen and into the living room. I had read to be careful when opening the bottle, but I had not expected this! I lost half of the water kefir, but my husband and I drank the rest. And that’s when I realized there was a problem.

After drinking half a glass, I began to feel drowsy with a warmth that ran through my body. I poured my husband a glass and asked him if there was alcohol in it. After a few minutes, he confirmed there was alcohol in it, and enough to cause his head to spin and require him to lie down.

This puzzled me. Nowhere had I read that water kefir contained alcohol. I must have done something wrong.

So I researched and discovered that water kefir contains some alcohol, but it should be low, typically under 1% alcohol by volume. What I had made definitely contained more. What had happened? Here’s what I learned:

Fermentation Time

I learned that the longer the kefir is left to ferment, the higher the alcohol content. This happens because the yeast will continue to break down the sugar, and the byproducts of this process are carbon dioxide and alcohol, hence the need to be careful when opening the bottle!

Sugar Content

The amount of sugar added to the initial mixture increases the alcohol content. When there is more sugar, the yeast consumes more of it, producing more carbon dioxide and alcohol as byproducts.

Temperature

The temperature at which the fermentation takes place can also impact the alcohol content of the final product. Fermentation speeds up at warmer temperatures and slows down at cooler temperatures.

Further Attempts

Now that I had researched what might have gone wrong, I felt confident that my second attempt would be successful. I cut the fermentation time in half and tested the second batch. There was still a lot of C02 but I hoped the alcohol would be significantly reduced. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The second batch seemed to have just as much alcohol as the first batch — I felt woozy and my husband passed out on the couch.

After a few more failed attempts where I adjusted the sugar, the type of juice added for the second ferment, and even the temperature, I disappointedly concluded that water kefir was not going to work for our family. Health benefits aside, I was not willing to drink that much alcohol, and I certainly wasn’t going to give it to my kids.

A New Hope — Coconut Water Kefir

After a couple of weeks, I came across a post about coconut water kefir. I remembered reading that using unsweetened coconut water was an option for reducing the amount of alcohol created in the fermentation process.

The author of this article claimed that drinking coconut water kefir had cleared up her skin. This intrigued me as I had noticed that over the two weeks when I was attempting to make water kefir, my skin had completely cleared up, but had since started breaking out again.

Now, I have been struggling with mild acne most of my life, but it has become worse since having children. I began to wonder if this would be the answer to clearing up my skin. With this hope, I decided to try water kefir again, but this time I would use unsweetened coconut water.

There were a couple of things I decided to do differently: first, I would use unsweetened coconut water; and second, I would not do a second ferment at room temperature.

What I later opted to do was add 1/4 cup of grape juice after transferring the coconut water kefir to a bottle after the first ferment, and then I sealed the bottle and immediately place it in the fridge.

Success At Last

This time when I tested a glass of coconut water kefir, I did not get the same drowsy feeling I had with water kefir, and my husband, who I had now discovered was more of a lightweight than I was, experienced no negative effects.

My skin has also improved, and my son, who had a chronically white coating on his tongue, now has a completely pink tongue. This gives me hope that his overall health is improving.

Final Thoughts

Water kefir is a good source of gut-healthy bacteria and, in my opinion, it is superior to what you get in a probiotic supplement. It helped me become even more regular and it cleared up my skin.

However, if you’re planning to make your own water kefir, be aware that the alcohol content may be more than you’re willing to drink, and in this instance, will not be suitable for children.

If you would like to boost your gut health using water kefir but do not want the alcohol, try cutting out the second ferment at room temperature (place the bottle in the fridge as soon as you add the juice), or better yet, do the above but use unsweetened coconut water instead of sugar water. Because coconut water has fewer natural sugars, there is less for the yeast to feed on, which means less alcohol will be produced.

If you prefer a sweeter drink, add a little juice to your glass. For my children, I add 2-3 TBSPs of coconut water kefir to a glass of juice — they don’t even realize I’ve added it!

If you would like to learn how to make coconut water kefir, check out my simple step-by-step recipe here.

Do you have experience with making water kefir? I would love to hear about it! Please share your comments below!