If you’re a kombucha brewer, you’ve definitely seen yeast before. We get lots of questions about what that brownish stringy stuff is that’s floating around your brew or growing along the bottom of your SCOBY. Don’t worry, it’s not mold, its just yeast! While it might not be the most attractive part of home brewing (and can even make your brew look a bit cloudy), yeast plays a critical role in the fermentation process and helps carbonate your kombucha by releasing carbon dioxide.  We personally love to pop a bottle of booch with lots of carbonation. 

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• Yeast is beneficial to both brewing and your body! It is a probiotic that helps keep your gut balanced and digestion moving along. It can also help reduce flare ups from harmful yeast like Candida. If you have a Candida overgrowth in your gut and begin to drink kombucha, you may notice symptoms temporarily flare up while the probiotics in the yeast go to work rebalancing your gut.
• Yeast is rich in B vitamins, which do EVERY body good by stabilizing your mood and helping fight depression. Additionally, the B6 and B12 vitamins found naturally in kombucha yeast are great for hormone balance, memory, skin, digestion and enzyme production - to name just a few!
• Yeast has been given to athletes for hundreds of years because it increases vitality and decreased distractions. Yeast is also rich in zinc (repairs tissue), selenium (repairs cell damage), and reduces iron deficiency! Enjoy a glass of kombucha before your next workout. 

So if you’re noticing some brown stringy stuff growing around your SCOBY or in your brew, don’t worry about it. If you see something in your jar that green and white that looks like mold, check out our quick read about what causes mold.