Maplewood couple brews, markets kombucha

On April 1, Maplewood residents Tom and Tricia Nieder launched St. Louis’s first commercial kombucha brewery—Companion Kombucha (COM KOM for short), according to a press release from the Nieders.

Kombucha is a healthy and delicious alternative to other soft beverages and juices. It’s low in sugars and loaded with probiotics, organic acids and b vitamins. It has a “trace amount” of alcohol. It’s been called the “Elixir of life” and dates back to around 2,000 years ago, being first documented during the Tsin Dynasty in 269 BC.

“There are a lot of health benefits to drinking kombucha, and when you drink it you just feel great,” co-founder Tricia Nieder said. It has rapidly risen in popularity across the country, and the Nieders have been working for over a year to get to the point where they can share their kombucha with the St. Louis community.

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Tom Nieder said they underestimated how hard producing kombucha would be.

“A lot of people make it at home like we’ve been, and it’s pretty easy, but then we found that going from a gallon or two per week to the over 500 gallons we have currently in production was a tremendous undertaking,” he said. “Just the technical aspects of controlling the alcohol content during the natural fermentation process took months and months to figure out.” He said since no one else is doing it locally they had to invent the wheel every step of the way.

So far they are selling COM KOM in six locations, including The Stone Spiral in Maplewood, United Provisions in the Loop, Rise Coffee in the Grove, Local Harvest Grocery in South City, Sweet Katie Bees in O’Fallon, Illinois, and Fields Foods in Lafayette Square.

COM KOM received a tremendous reception at the recent Earth Day Festival at Forest Park, Nieder said.

They are currently in talks with grocery chains, which will allow them to reach more thirsty consumers.