New York, NY –New York’s kombucha businesses are uniting to call for an increase to the alcohol-by-volume limit for kombucha, currently at .5% ABV. The issue has plagued the young industry since 2010 but presents an added strain on small companies, which lost up to 70% of sales due to last year’s restaurant closures and are still struggling to regain ground.

The limit, currently set at a restrictive 0.5% ABV, means rigorous testing, shorter shelf lives, and strict monitoring of  the live product, which is difficult to precisely control without costly technology. These limitations have kept local businesses from expanding into new territories and competing with larger national brands.

The KOMBUCHA Act, “Keeping Our Manufacturers from Being Unfairly Taxed while Championing Health Act,” would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the taxable alcohol-by-volume (ABV) threshold for kombucha from 0.5% to 1.25%, bringing it up to date with the levels set in countries such as Canada, Mexico and Australia.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and supported by Congressman Joseph Morelle (D-NY-25), has received strong bipartisan support and follows a trend of tax updates such as the CIDER Act, which was heavily supported by New York lawmakers to ease regulations on small craft cider producers, which had similar issues with ABV variability.

Businesses supporting the bill include microbreweries and regional distributors. Tim Garman, a co-owner of Fairpoint Brewing and the man behind “Timbucha,” has been advocating for the Act for years but says the change is overdue:

“As Monroe County’s very first kombuchary… we were super excited about producing our Timbucha Kombucha – a live, low calorie, probiotic health beverage… However, antiquated ABV laws from Prohibition times have made it extremely difficult for any company in NY to comply without very expensive equipment, which is a barrier to growth. It’s slowing NY down.”

Says Jeff Empric, a founder of New York’s largest kombucha brewery, Bootleg Bucha:

“When we first started our business, regulators didn’t know how to handle kombucha: we were asked to pasteurize, filter to one micron and even obtain a New York State Farm Winery License. We stuck to our process and helped make kombucha production legal in New York, but this issue continues to challenge our industry’s ability to offer raw, traditional kombucha. Kombucha is as much a craft as beer and cider, and as New York’s largest kombucha brewery, we hope that Senator Schumer and other NY lawmakers will support the jobs we bring to our state by moving on the KOMBUCHA Act, removing this barrier to growth and cleaning up an outdated code that does not account for living beverages.”

Kombucha Brewers International, a global trade association for kombucha, has set up a campaign for US kombucha consumers to urge their lawmakers to support the KOMBUCHA Act. The petition can be viewed here.

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About Kombucha Brewers International:

Kombucha Brewers International (KBI) is a non-profit trade association that represents the commercial Kombucha category globally. KBI strives to promote, protect and enhance the overall well-being of the industry by creating an open line of communication between brewers, consumers and regulators while advancing the industry through advocacy, education, research, and modern legislation. To learn more, visit www.kombuchabrewers.org.

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