I've searched through this site (using keywords separately, also joined by a + symbol, and also with the kombucha keyword added), but I still can't find a definitive answer to my question.
How do I directly measure the sugar content in my Kombucha after 2nd ferment is complete and I'm ready to drink it? How do I directly measure the alcohol percent by volume?
All I've been able to dig up here and elsewhere on the Interweb is folks arguing about Brix refractometer readings and how the mix of some residual sugar and alcohol make hygrometer readings inconclusive. I read second-hand anecdotes that there is "almost no" sugar left when the yeast has done the sugar-->alcohol tango and "less than 0.5%" alcohol when the bacteria has drunk its fill and spit out acetic and gluconic acids. But nothing definitive.
Personally I try to avoid sugar but I'm not so strict that I expect Kombucha to be sugar-free. I have no aversion to alcohol at all. I just want to know what's in what I'm drinking and be able to answer the reasonable questions I'm asked when I share the drink.
Can anyone explain how to test for sugar and alcohol content in Kombucha?
How do I directly measure the sugar content in my Kombucha after 2nd ferment is complete and I'm ready to drink it? How do I directly measure the alcohol percent by volume?
All I've been able to dig up here and elsewhere on the Interweb is folks arguing about Brix refractometer readings and how the mix of some residual sugar and alcohol make hygrometer readings inconclusive. I read second-hand anecdotes that there is "almost no" sugar left when the yeast has done the sugar-->alcohol tango and "less than 0.5%" alcohol when the bacteria has drunk its fill and spit out acetic and gluconic acids. But nothing definitive.
Personally I try to avoid sugar but I'm not so strict that I expect Kombucha to be sugar-free. I have no aversion to alcohol at all. I just want to know what's in what I'm drinking and be able to answer the reasonable questions I'm asked when I share the drink.
Can anyone explain how to test for sugar and alcohol content in Kombucha?