Mycology

New things are happening around here in The Fortress. I am happy to announce that I will be holding a long-anticipated workshop for kombucha home brewing. This is a topic that I have been very passionate about for nearly 2 years now. I have been doing continuous brew since I started 2 summers ago. I had started drinking kombucha and thought it was incredibly powerful and potent and when I did some further research on it, I found out not only was I right, but it was more than what I had originally thought. Turns out, there is so much going on in this fizzy, sour drink that it can easily be categorized as  a super food. I would put it in the same group as spirulina, chia, avocado, quinoa, prune, blueberry, turmeric and pepper. Of course, there are more, but these are the ones in regular rotation at my house. The beneficial acids, bacteria and antioxidants are so beneficial that the list of things they treat is long, extensive and impressive. I've been selling this ancient culture out of my kitchen for almost as long as I've been a brewer. It is sometimes called a mushroom though it is not actually a fungus. It resembles a very sophisticated and pristine looking solid that is smooth to the touch and teeming with life. It is fermented like beer or wine. It grows like a plant with just the right conditions. It feeds you. It can be thin and flimsy or it can be thick and tough like skin. I am absolutely obsessed with every aspect of brewing kombucha. I am eager to diffuse the idea that it is hard to brew your own. I want to incorporate this ancient method of home health into the lives of others because it is not simply something you drink. It is part of a lifestyle, an integrated methodology of taking responsibility for what we put into our bodies. If you drink it, you should brew it. I think of it like clean, healthy food. If you eat like that, you should prepare it yourself as often as possible. And if you prepare it yourself, you should grow it yourself. This is the most superior form of symbiosis in my opinion. One hand washes the other, forever.