saramc
Well-Known Member
I just stumbled across a kombucha section on TTB website, http://www.ttb.gov/faqs/kombucha-faqs.shtml
Interesting.
Interesting.
K16. What if my kombucha is intended to be kept refrigerated, but it is stored by the retailer in an unrefrigerated area, and the alcohol content increases to 0.5 percent alcohol by volume. Am I held responsible for the taxes?
A. Yes. Refrigeration of the product is not an adequate method of ensuring that the alcohol content will not increase while in the original container after removal, because you cannot control whether the product will be refrigerated after removal. To avoid possible tax liability, you must use a method of manufacture (such as pasteurization) that will ensure that the alcohol content of the beverage will not increase while in the original container after removal.
Most commercial KT is pasteurized & the probiotic effects are wiped out. It's crazy, isn't it? We all know that even if fruit juice is refrigerated it will eventually ferment but it's not treated as an alcoholic beverage because of that property. The TTB doesn't treat fruit juice as a potentially alcoholic beverage, but does treat Kombucha that way.
Most commercial KT is pasteurized & the probiotic effects are wiped out. It's crazy, isn't it? We all know that even if fruit juice is refrigerated it will eventually ferment but it's not treated as an alcoholic beverage because of that property. The TTB doesn't treat fruit juice as a potentially alcoholic beverage, but does treat Kombucha that way.
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