Local kombucha brewers seeing a growing taste in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG -

Local brewers say kombucha started as a niche product but has become mainstream, and while there are only a few breweries that make the beverage in the city – they say the drink is becoming a popular choice for Winnipeggers

Michelle Leclair is the owner of Wolseley Kombucha – the first kombucha brewery to set up shop in the city.

She started out in 2016 – brewing the drink in her home kitchen part-time.

The drink is made by fermenting tea and sugar with a kombucha culture called a Scoby – an acronym for a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Leclair said the result is a low-sugar, low-alcohol health beverage full of beneficial bacteria and organic acids.

"Essentially I was just brewing kombucha for myself. I had a lot of digestive issues at that time, and I was buying so much kombucha I thought, 'You know what, I am going to try making it,'" Leclair told CTV News.

"Last fall, I took the leap and even though it was during a pandemic, I left my healthcare job to do Kombucha full time."

Since then, Leclair said Wolseley Kombucha has opened a storefront and brewery on Wall Street and has received a warm welcome from the community.

"I feel like Winnipeg is always behind on some of the bigger cities, but the response from the community has been great," she said.

"I feel like once people try kombucha and they realize how good it makes them feel, more people are getting on board, they are sharing it with their friends, their family. So I do feel like, even though Winnipeg is a little bit behind, it is definitely picking up a lot."

Prism Kombucha started in 2017, and is brewed locally at FortWhyte Farms. Nicolas Audette, the manager at Prism Kombucha, said they too have seen a spike in the drink's popularity.

"In North America, Kombucha is a growing market that is growing at a very fast pace. It started really as a niche product that’s become more mainstream," he said.

"It's a growing product that's becoming more popular because of its health benefits. And also, because it is a healthy alternative to high sugar pops and soda drinks."

He said Prism Kombucha also likes to add a bit of home into the mix.

"We like to take our teas and blend them with local ingredients here. So our product is a true reflection of Manitoba and of the ecosystem and the nature around us," he said. "It always tastes better when you're using local ingredients that are either wild-foraged or better picked fresh in Manitoba here."

Though it plans to expand across the country in the future – he said right now, Prism Kombucha is focused on the local market.

"It's definitely something that's growing in popularity in Winnipeg here," Audette said.

Leclair said she is working to get Wolseley Kombucha available in certain grocery stores next year. A lot of her sales have to do with educating people on what kombucha is.

"I feel like once they start drinking it, then you basically have a customer forever," she said.