The popularity of a fermented tea drink called Kombucha continues to grow in Canada, and so does the number of people making it.
Small town Kombucha brewers Wild Child Brew is getting into a relatively untapped market by opening their own Kombucha Tap House.
“We do everything start to finish,” owner Brennan Andres said.
Andres said the company began brewing in Blackfalds last March. They started selling their drinks at local farmers markets, and then in half a dozen central Alberta stores. But Andres never expected the business to grow this quickly.
“We’ve had local companies pair up with us right away, right from the very start. Right before we even sold a single drop of kombucha.”
Wild Child staff claims the fermented tea drink has many health benefits, such as helping with digestion.
Its popularity continues to rise. In 2016, Google searches for kombucha more than doubled compared to the year before.
But, there are some who are still learning about the beverage. Christie Zapisocky hadn’t heard of kombucha until recently through a friend, and was in Wild Child Brew Monday to try it out for the first time, “I think it's great, I think it's really neat, it's something different.”
Andres says those looking for the drink can find kombucha on tap at many stores, but he believes Wild Child Brew is one of the first producers locally to run their own tap house. He’s hoping by doing so, they can expand on their environmentally friendly way of doing things.
“The whole business model is designed as a reuse your bottle…refill. So we want to set up in different communities with refillable bottle stations essentially.”
The company is still in the midst of moving their Blackfalds Brewery into their new Red Deer Tap House location. They currently have five flavours of Kombucha on tap, as well as some cold brew coffee out of Calgary. Their store is in the business park at 5579 47 Street.
