Before the pandemic, it seemed that being a hyper local craft brand was a great idea. Then, the doors of all our favorite local retailers suddenly closed and the only places folks really frequented were grocery stores. This put our little kombucha business in quite a scary position. It became clear that we needed a better plan, one where we could reach more people, regardless of pandemic pressures.

Cans, it only made sense, especially living in a beach town. We invested in a Twin Monkeys Gunnison canning line, a huge expense for our tiny company. We chose our two flagships non alcoholic flavors that we had previously been bottling with a manual 4 head filler (Blueberry Lavender and Triple Berry Ginger), and 3 hard kombuchas (Lavender Hops, Raspberry Lemonade, and Pineapple Hops) to can. Local branding powerhouse, Creature Theory designed our labels.

Panacea Hard Kombucha cans designed by Creature Theory — Panacea in cans, the perfect choice for the beach or boat

We christened the canning line on February 18th. After a few little hiccups, we successfully filled 4 skus of cans, in less time than it would have taken to label the glass bottles using our old system. Wow! This machine is going to change our lives!

Alex Urquhart, head brewer, Panacea Brewing Company

Now that we’ve got the horsepower, it’s time to hit the streets! If you love Panacea, please ask all your local retailers to start carrying our new cans.

Wholesale inquiries can be made to:

Working the taproom is one of my favorite parts of owning this business. I LOVE seeing folks take their first taste of fresh, local kombucha. It’s a really unique beverage with a flavor profile unlike any other; kombucha is quirky and different, yet pulls you in rather inexplicably.

Trust me, I’ve seen all the faces:

The OMG. What did I just drink? face.

The WOW. This is interesting! face.

The PLEASE. Give me more! face.

The EW. That was gross! face.

But most frequently we get this face:

The WHAT? I’m confused, this kombucha tastes different! face.

And it does taste different, because it is different.

What kind of kombucha do you drink?

Homebrewed? Local brand? Regional brand? National brand?

We believe kombucha is always served best local.

Craft kombucha that is locally made in small batches using high quality ingredients and traditional brewing methods is not the same as the big brand commercially produced kombuchas that you can buy in most grocery stores. Don’t get me wrong here…I’m not saying commercial kombucha is bad; it’s just different. See, scaling production and distribution for a kombucha business is a logistical nightmare because kombucha is a living beverage. It takes a lot of care and attention in every step of the process. To become a nationally distributed powerhouse in the industry, compromise is inevitable. And that’s just business; as long as consumers know what’s up, I don’t think there’s a problem. So, if you didn’t know before, you know now.

What are the differences and why should you care?

First of all, our kombucha is really, really fresh. We actually prefer the taste of our kombucha aged about two months, but you’ll never find kombucha that old coming out of our taps because we can’t keep it in stock that long. Because kombucha is ALIVE, freshness matters.

Our kombucha is raw, never pasteurized. That means it’s still alive, and the billions of probiotics that are a part of the natural fermentation process slide right out of the bottle and into your belly.

Our kombucha is brewed the same way is has been brewed for centuries. We allow it to ferment as long as it needs to (usually around 3 weeks), efficiency be damned. We don’t add acids, enzymes, probiotics or flavorings to make a “kombucha like” beverage and call it kombucha.

If we can’t pronounce it or it’s engineered in a lab, we don’t add it. Yeah, I know. It seems weird that a healthy drink like kombucha would have uneccesary stuff added to the ingredient list, but start reading labels, and you’ll find it’s really very common. Kombucha only has to have water, tea, sugar, and kombucha culture. Anything else you find on and ingredient list is to enhance flavor, inhibit fermentation, improve shelf life, or boost probiotic count with lab cultured organisms.

And that’s just what comes in the bottle.

Drinking local also keeps your money in the local economy and creates jobs for people right here in our own community.