There was a time when fermentation (the transformation of rotten food into well-preserved victuals or, better yet, alcohol) was considered divine. Divine may not be the word we would use to describe Icelandic súrsaðir hrútspungar, a block of pressed ram's testicles that is pickled in lactic acid to form a sour pâté; or chal, a Turkic beverage made from spoiled camel's milk. In America, our capacity for what the Japanese call umami is often limited to beer, cheese, and the occasional miso soup. Still, even within our flavor zone, there is much to explore — like beer made from millet! During Fermented NightLife, UC Berkeley's Dr. Patricia Bubner joins millet brewmasters to impart the advantages of fermented fodder, after which cicerone Rich Higgins — one of only 10 beer masters in the world — speaks on the elegance of sour beer (samples provided by the local farm-to-table brewery Almanac Beer). Peer under microscopes at bacteria, sniff strains of developing yeast, and check out historic fermentation vessels before scientifically evaluating nibbles from the Cheese School of SF, umami purveyors Aeden SF, and the fantastic preserving community at Punk Domestic.
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