Foggy Bottom Fermentation Workshop (6/18/16)

I attended the Turf and Terrain Foggy Bottom event about fermentation and microbes, where we got to start a "ginger bug" base for making carbonated soda with natural yeast as well as a sourdough bread base. In the ginger bug, the natural yeast will ferment and carbonate the base, and after a few days I can add more sugar, water, and fruits of my choosing to make carbonated soda. At the event we got to try one soda made this way and it turned out really well, so I am looking forward to that!

We also got to swab natural objects around the area to collect yeast and other microbes, which we added to sterile wort that the leader of the event would use to attempt to make his own beer with the naturally occurring yeast (the beer I am making uses store bought yeast, which is much more common; only a few Belgian breweries use natural fermentation for their commercial beer). Hopefully I will get an update on how my sample turns out.

For more information about these projects, check out microobservatory.com and @microobservatory on instagram.

The flower I swabbed:

The ginger bug (before fermenting):