Water kefir is a great fermented product for beginners and makes a delicious replacement for soda. It’s easy to make and can be flavored with fruit or juice and bottled to produce a lightly carbonated probiotic beverage.
This flavoring and bottling period is called the second fermentation, as sugars from the flavor additions feed the bacteria, allowing more fermentation gasses to be produced, and resulting in a fizzy finished product.
IDEAS FOR FLAVORING WATER KEFIR
The possibilities for flavoring water kefir are nearly endless. While water kefir is quite sweet naturally, you may want to add dried fruit, juice or even herbs and spices to give your water kefir an extra kick. Before bottling, check out our list of 10 Ways to Flavor Water Kefir.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO BOTTLE WATER KEFIR
Equipment and Ingredients:
- Finished water kefir, grains removed
- Flavoring (see ideas for flavoring water kefir)
- Grolsch-style bottles or other tightly-sealed containers
With grains, a strainer, flip-top bottles, crystallized ginger, and more, the Ginger Water Kefir Kit is an easy way to get started making flavored water kefir at home.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR BOTTLING WATER KEFIR
- Attach the caps to your bottles if not already assembled. (Watch our How-To Video on assembling flip-top bottles.)
- Check the bottle for cracks prior to use, as cracks will weaken the integrity of the bottle.
- Add desired flavoring to the bottle.
- Fill bottle with water kefir, leaving about 1-inch of head space.
- Close the bottle securely and let sit at room temperature for 24-72 hours.
- In warm temperatures, burp the bottles once per day, to avoid excessive pressure build-up.
- Place the bottles in the refrigerator, if a cold beverage is desired.
- Use caution when opening the bottles. Contents are under pressure.
We suggest placing a towel over the top of the bottle and apply downward pressure on the cap while opening the bottle, to minimize fountains of water kefir or flying bottle caps. Open over the sink or outside.
Looking to replace soda with bottled or flavored kombucha instead? Watch our video on Flavoring and Bottling Kombucha!
