Bagels. Kimchi. Beer. How all my favorites become culinary surprises through this thing called fermentation.
In this episode of Wisconsin Foodie, Host Luke Zahm roams Door County, Wisconsin to witness two fermentation processes with local ingredients that are standouts in the ever-changing landscape of food culture. Luke starts his journey with Mattea Fischer of Cultured in Sister Bay, who has taken the art of fermentation and applied it to kimchi, sourdough bread and bagels. This woman-owned small business embraces the oldest form of bread-making, with everything being naturally leavened. Mattea’s love of fermentation is attributed to her mother’s passion for making kimchi and a basement fridge that was always full of all kinds of gnarly-looking concoctions.
Luke joins Mattea to make garlic scape kimchi and ends up reflecting on how fish sauce, Worcestershire, and anchovies are more similar than you think. Kimchi is just one small portion of Cultured’s operations, and Mattea showcases her kimchi bagel sammie.
Door County is full of culinary surprises and Luke ventures over to meet with Matt Sampson of Sway Brewing and Blending who incorporates ingredients sourced from around the peninsula into his art of wild fermentation and creating beer that is uniquely from this place. Matt’s focus is on mixed culture saisons and other old world inspired beers with minimal intervention. He uses chemistry and fermentation to highlight local raw ingredients, several of which are wild plants harvested at Cold Climate Farms.
“This is unique, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a barrel room quite like this before.” Sway’s atypical look to a brewery with little stainless steel and lots of oak barrels is designed for Matt’s particular brewing and blending operation. Fermentation at this caliber has some level of risk and unknown in this type of beer process but it’s also magical when all the elements team up to make beautiful and nuanced flavors.
Here comes science. Luke helps hook up carbon dioxide to the bulldog, which pressurizes the barrel of fermented saison and shoots the beer onto 400 pounds of carbonic macerated Door County cherries. Once blended, it’s time to sample - except Luke’s not drinking, so the honor goes to crew member and beer aficionado Nelson Schneider. Wow, the difference in color, scent and flavor from the newly blended sample to what it ultimately becomes, a beer that was created to be a companion to good company and conversation.
0:00 This week on WI Foodie
1:15 From farmer’s market to storefront, the story behind this woman-owned business
4:10 Making garlic scape kimchi
7:36 Fish sauce, Worcestershire, and anchovies… more similar than you think
8:31 Did I hear bagels? Gotta taste this super garlic kimchi sammie
10:26 Wild fermentation in this Old World-inspired beer
12:19 Harvesting the wild
13:09 I’ve never been in a barrel room like this
15:42 Saison by way of Old World techniques
18:29 Luke’s not drinking, but look who’s stepping in to taste
22:02 Say what? (Outtakes)
Looking for a way to celebrate Women’s History Month this year? Support local women-owned businesses, and put deliciousness on your plate.
Cultured cultureddc.getminimart.com/
Sway Brewing and Blending www.swaybeer.com/
Cold Climate Farms www.coldclimatefarms.com/#/