howdy all.
as for on-trail kombucha replacements and/or suggested equivalents...
any recommendations?
i know 'yogi' brand makes a tea with 'booch in it, but it doesn't seem
to yield the benes of the traditional fermented brew.
thanks in advance~
leslie

Leslie,

Fermented and still-alive stuff on the trail would be tough... While still alive, Kombucha would be most stable if there was no more sugar for digestion. However, this means it'd be more acidic and/or alcoholic than most people would want.

Wish I had more ideas for living probiotics for the trail. Is miso powder active again, once rehydrated? (Paste miso shouldn't be exposed to boiling water, as it's alive.) Various alcohol brews would be stable enough for packing. Oh, and "old" Alaskans are called "sourdoughs" for a reason.

On a related but different note, there are possibilities for sprouting while hiking.

Good luck!

thanks, ross.
yeah, i think 'booch would (unfortunately) be limited to town accessibility only.
(regarding your location-- how readily available is 'booch on the PCT)?
this aside, hmmm...i question how kevita drinks would travel on trail? (www.kevita.com)
they're far less fermented and hone more elo replacement-type benefits, (similar to coconut water), yet still replicate the living attributes like their booch sidekick.
as for your inquiry, re: rehydrating miso, i'll look into it.
peace!

I don't really know what kombucha is, but you can get kefir starter at some stores (not the grains, but maybe the grains would also work, they just require more care than the starter). Kefir works at room temperature, so if you are willing to cart around liquid milk, you could make kefir in your backpack. I'm not sure what kind of container would be water-tight enough, but if you can keep it upright and inside a couple layers of ziploc bag, you could possibly do it.