We Tried All The Hard Kombuchas—And Found One Favorite
For when you're looking for a better-for-you buzz.
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Kombucha has been on the come-up these past few years, and for good reason. This ancient method of fermenting tea packs plenty of probiotics into a refreshing beverage that balances tartness with sweet, fruity flavors. Most standard kombuchas you can find at the grocery store have negligible amounts of naturally-occurring alcohol from the fermentation process. However, a new variety, hard kombucha, adds more alcohol for a better-for-you buzz.
While the market for hard kombuchas is still relatively new, there are multiple brands offering their own spin on boozy booch. There are so many ways to make hard kombucha: Should you choose black or green tea? With apple or ginger flavors? Why is choosing the right hard kombucha are so...hard?
We rounded up some of the most popular hard kombucha brands and a few that you may not know about. After an extremely scientific taste-test of seven brands and over two-dozen flavors, our team of experts ranked them all from worst to best. So next time you want to crack open a can of something besides the standard hard seltzer or beer, check out our picks below.
Luna Bay Booch
Luna Bay Booch Co. is a women-owned brand based in Chicago that naturally ferments their kombucha to six percent ABV. We wanted to like this brand, but the ones we tried fell flat. The Huckleberry Basil flavor tasted like "dirt" and "overcooked basil," while the Watermelon Sea Salt flavor was reminiscent of "airline peanuts" and tasted "like they only used watermelon rind."
Boochcraft
Boochcraft is one of the top hard kombucha brands, so we went into this tasting with high expectations. Some of the limited-edition flavors were really enjoyable (shoutout to Peach Iced Tea), but the rest were decidedly not. Wild Berry and Strawberry Lemonade had mild fruitiness, but both have overwhelming aftertastes that reminded us of "cleaning supplies." Unless you're willing to risk their limited-edition options, it's not worth buying.
Kombucha Cocktails
This brand is different than the others on this list because the kombucha isn't the source of alcohol. Instead, Kombucha Cocktails uses vodka alongside kombucha and other flavorings to make unique spins on classic drinks.
The consensus among our team of tasters was that these beverages were WAAAAAY too sweet. "I'd have a major headache after drinking one of these," said one of our tasters. If you don't want to spike your blood sugar with one can, look elsewhere.
Flying Embers
We first tried Flying Embers' products in our hard seltzer taste-test, and it's safe to say that we were underwhelmed. However, their hard kombucha is what they're known for—and for good reason.
The Orange Passion Mimosa flavor has a hint of guava, and it tastes like Sunny D for adults. The addition of different types of hops adds a nice bitterness across all the flavors without being too overwhelming. Long story short, we're into it.
Strainge Beast
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. has expanded their offerings by launching their own line of hard kombucha. They use organic ingredients to flavor their beverages and make four fruity blends.
We loved their classic flavor that combines ginger, lemon, and hibiscus. The ginger taste was at the forefront, but our tasters agreed that "it actually tastes like kombucha," unlike other brands we tried. Other people mentioned that it reminded them of "a sour beer, in a good way." This brand is definitely Delish-approved.
Kombrewcha
Kombrewcha is the OG when it comes to hard kombucha. First launched in Brooklyn in 2014, Kombrewcha is now part of Anheuser Busch and has revamped their packaging.
We loved how these flavors were light and mild. Our tasters said the Mango Pineapple flavor specifically was "very refreshing" and "went down easy." If you want to drink a hard kombucha without intense kombucha flavor, this is the brand for you.
JuneShine
San Diego-based brand JuneShine makes our favorite hard kombucha by a long shot. One of the flavors, Midnight Painkiller, was a little "scary-looking." Our tasters couldn't decide if the murky blue color of the kombucha was more similar to "dirty dishwater" or "Windex."
The rest of the flavors, though? Amazing. Their Grapefruit Paloma was the best hard kombucha out of any of the ones we tried because of its "tart and refreshing" flavor. Mango Daydream smells "like a tropical vacation" and tastes even better. If you want to buy kombucha with a buzz, JuneShine should be your first pick.
Expertise: TikTok Trends, Drinks, Pop Culture
Education: B.A. in Journalism and B.S. in Communications from NYU, Culinary Arts degree from The Institute of Culinary Education
About Me: As an associate editor at Delish, Gabby works on everything from features to recipes to content on our social media channels. Before joining the team, she wrote for StarChefs Rising Stars Magazine, Mashed, and Food52. When she’s not developing cocktail recipes, she’s making cocktail-inspired dishes like Dirty Martini Pasta and Aperol Spritz Trifle. Her features cover online trends like the Millennial Shopping Cart, rank everything from hard seltzers to frozen French fries, and answer some of your most pressing food safety questions. You can also find her posting content on Delish’s TikTok, including her three-part series about cooking like influencer Nara Smith that garnered over 3M combined views. She loves eating spicy food, collecting cookbooks, and adding a mountain of Parmesan to any dish she can.
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