Blue Ridge Bucha wins award for environmental practices.
Photo by Jeff Gleason
Kombucha is gaining ground not just as an alternative to soft drinks and water, but even as a substitute for beer and wine. And fans of the fermented tea say it helps fight off disease and signs of aging. Waynesboro couple Kate and Ethan Zuckerman started brewing kombucha and selling it out of the back of an old Honda Civic 16 years ago. In 2010, the Zuckermans founded Blue Ridge Bucha, using refillable bottles. “In addition to composting our brewery waste, using energy-saving measures, and committing to a regional footprint, the majority of our kombucha leaves our brewery in kegs, dramatically reducing packaging waste,” says Kate. For their efforts, the couple was named a winner of the national SCORE Awards, which honor the achievements of entrepreneurs and small business owners across the U.S. To date, the couple’s refillable bottles and innovative draft systems have saved more than 750,000 bottles from landfills. BlueRidgeBucha.com
Other Kombucheries Around the State:
Buffalo Mountain Kombucha, Check, BuffaloMountainKombucha.com
Mountain Culture Kombucha, White Hall, MountainCultureKombucha.com
MTO Kombucha, Vint Hill, MTOKombucha.com
Ninja Kombucha, Richmond, NinjaKombucha.com
Red Mushroom Brewing Company, Norfolk, Facebook.com/RedMushroomBrewingCompany
This article originally appeared in our December 2018 issue.
