BOUCHE Kombucha is alcohol-free. Yet the label reads: below 0.5% vol. Sounds contradictory? It isn't. Here is the short explanation.

What "alcohol-free" means in Germany and the EU

In Germany and across the EU, a drink counts as alcohol-free if it contains up to 0.5% alcohol by volume. At that level the effect of alcohol is barely noticeable, unlike the 4.5 to 6% vol. of a regular beer or 11 to 14% vol. of wine. Only the term "without alcohol" ("ohne Alkohol") guarantees 0.0%.

BOUCHE sits between 0.2 and 0.5% vol., within the legal definition of alcohol-free, not at 0.0%.

Why not simply 0.0%?

Kombucha is made through fermentation. Yeasts convert sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide; bacteria then convert most of that alcohol into organic acids, the acids that give kombucha its characteristic taste. A small residual alcohol content always remains. Removing it completely without changing the drink through an extra technical process is hardly possible, and not our goal.

BOUCHE is fermented and filled in-house, then heat-pasteurised after filling. This stabilises the flavour and keeps the alcohol content consistently between 0.2 and 0.5% vol., from the brewery to your glass.

Who should still be careful

For pregnancy and breastfeeding, official bodies name no proven safe lower limit for alcohol. Whether BOUCHE at 0.2 to 0.5% vol. works for you is best decided together with your doctor or midwife; more in Kombucha during pregnancy. People in treatment for alcohol dependence should check with their doctor. For children, restraint applies to any drink with measurable alcohol.

Sugar is consumed, alcohol stays minimal

During fermentation, most of the sugar is consumed. What remains is a drink with low residual sugar and a minimal, natural alcohol content. Both are signs that fermentation ran its full, careful course.

Whether it is Dry January, Sober October, or just a Tuesday: BOUCHE is made for mindful drinking with no compromise on flavour.