Hi everyone,
I've been making coconut milk kefir using water kefir grains (which according to Sandor Katz's book aren't actually kefir). Unfortunately, my fermented product is pretty alcohol-intensive, sort of like a coconut beer. I'd like to minimize the alcohol level. I've been making the kefir using full-fat coconut milk, molasses, & baking soda. I ferment the brew at about 58-65 degrees Fahrenheit. Does anyone have recommendations on how to minimize the alcohol? Thanks!

Use less molasses. It is the only thing you are adding with significant levels of sugar therefore using less of it will result in less alcohol being produced by the yeast in the kefir grains.

Henry Jabel wrote:Use less molasses. It is the only thing you are adding with significant levels of sugar therefore using less of it will result in less alcohol being produced by the yeast in the kefir grains.

Thanks for the recommendation. Other than molasses, what can I feed the grains to keep them healthy? The grains were sickly when I gave them brown sugar or cane sugar crystals.