Sometimes my ferments don’t go over too well with the kids. They’re just not as in to the tangy, sour flavors of a good kraut or relish, and getting them to get plain asparagus is tough enough, let alone trying to get them to eat lacto-fermented asparagus. But there is one lacto-fermented beverage I’ve tried that has consistently been a hit with kids and adults alike – water kefir root beer.
I haven’t tackled brewing with actual roots yet, although I did track down some of the needed ingredients at Mountain Rose Herbs and Frontier. For now, I’ve just been using root beer extract
To make root beer flavored water kefir, follow the basic instructions for water kefir. To one quart of finished water kefir, add used one teaspoon of root beer extract
While I’m talking about water kefir, I’d also like to mention one health “problem” that I have run into from drinking water kefir. I haven’t seen this mentioned anyway else, and I probably should have thought of it myself, but it never really occurred to me until it happened.
Most of the recipes I’ve seen for water kefir suggest putting a piece of clean eggshell in during your ferment, to make sure you have enough minerals for your kefir grains to eat. For good measure, I usually put in an entire egg shell, or sometimes half a chicken egg shell and half a duck egg shell.
Welllll…like I said, given that I get quite a bit of hard water buildup on my faucets, I should have known better. I really didn’t need to add the eggshells in my water kefir. My well water has plenty of calcium and minerals already. When it was warm outside (there were three days this season that were warm – seriously), I started slugging down water kefir. The effects were very obvious. Instead of my usual 4-5 number on the Bristol Stool Chart, I moved into the 2-3 range. Too much calcium causes constipation.
So just be warned – if you have hard water, you probably don’t need to add extra minerals to your brew. Also, if I drink larger quantities of water kefir, it tends to unsettle my stomach (possibly because of the excess calcium?). For me, kombucha has the opposite effect. Around here, we regularly use kombucha to settle an unsettled stomach after eating out, or when someone is just feeling “a little off”.
Water kefir and kombucha drinkers, what effects have you noticed since you started drinking your brews? Has anyone else run into this? Let me know.
20 Responses to “The Dark Side of Water Kefir – Root Beer Water Kefir”
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I haven't tried kefir or kombucha. It's on my list for this year though. A root beer variety might be a nice way to ease into it.
I haven't met anyone yet who wouldn't drink this.
A friend was just talking about root beer kefir and I really wanted to try it. Thanks for the recipe!
That's an interesting idea. As far as the egg shell goes, better make sure that the drinker isn't allergic to eggs. Egg allergies are fairly common food allergies, and are often quite severe.
Wow- this is an incredibly helpful post! DEFINITELY getting some extract next time I go to the store. Yum!
And very interesting observation about the hard water. We have horribly hard water, too, but I've also been adding egg shells. Maybe I'll just skip that step.
Water Kefir is on my list for this year as well Laurie. Thanks for the info on the calcium. I'd never heard of that before.
Thanks for stopping by, everybody.
Eleanor, I only brew for family and occasional friends, so we've got no egg allergies in the group, but now it looks like it won't be a concern either way. I knew my hard water would be good for something! It's got plenty of iron, too.
Mmm rootbefir! I tried doing sassafrass and some other botanicals with Kombucha but didn't quite master the combo.
I find that I have to drink plenty of water with the KT or I may get a bit dehydrated. Love it on ice in the summer! I bet it would be fantastic on a snow cone =)
I've been thinking about trying switchel, too:
Switchel:
8 cups pure filtered water
1 cup raw honey
½ cup raw organic apple cider vinegar
½ cup black strap molasses
½ tsp. Ground ginger
I have tried the rootbeer recipe a few times and it doesn’t fizz up like my other kefir recipes. It is like drinking flat rootbeer. I am following the recipe to a “t” and even purchased the suggested rootbeer extract. My kefir and grains are healthy and otherwise produce great “homemade pop”. Has anyone had this happen and do you have any suggestions?
Thank you for such an thoughtful and informative site!
Yep – mine generally doesn’t get terribly fizzy. You could try adding some more sugar when you bottle to give the microbes more to ferment, and leaving it in a warmer location for a day or two. Sugars and temp drive the fermentation and CO2 production.
Thanks for your words of encouragement.
Thank you! Will do!
I haven’t made water kefir yet (looking for free grains). But I can drink all the kombucha I like without any ill effects. But if I drink too much milk kefir I have 30 minutes to find a bathroom. It becomes an emergency. I learned that the hard way while out shopping.
Molly – thanks for sharing. So often we hear only the positive effects of these foods, but I think it’s good for people to realize they might have unexpected side effects.
Hi
Just to say – the first batch of water kefir grains i had i could not let brew for more than 24 hours, regardless of sugar or fruit content, because the alcohol level would be too high. however i got another batch and this second one, from a different supplier, have the lovely feeling that water kefir gives but i can leave these for 48 hours and i don’t get any sort of ‘alcohol’ related feeling from it. not eloquently phrased (long day!) but hopefully you know what i mean 
Glad you found some grains that worked for you.
[...] Root beer kefir: I’ve also experimented with a more “kid friendly” option by using root beer extract and a little extra sweetener. I used one teaspoon of root beer extract combined with one tablespoon of sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water, and mixed both into one quart of finished kefir. It makes a drink very much like minimally carbonated root beer. The longer it ages, the less sweet it will be. We use it on sno-cones, too. (See my youngest with the sno-cone maker here.) [...]
Be careful when using raw honey, it is a natural antibacterial. It contain hydrogen pyroxide which is produced in the bees mouth. Black strap molasses is a great additive if your needing minerals, I haven’t noticed it changing the taste at all.
I saw your post about drinking too much water kefir. I find similar things to be true with my body. I can drink as much kombucha as I want for an upset stomach, but water kefir can have the opposite effect. I think it is actually due to the production of acid from the kefir grains. Water kefir is very high in acid, which can cause: stomach pain, cramping, bloating, constipation/diarrhea. Too much acid is not a good thing for anyone’s body. Thanks for the post!
Thanks for adding this information, Sara. It’s interesting how some foods that taste acidic can have the opposite effect in your body, and vice versa.