The Sequatchie Valley Institute @ MindSay 
I was just replying to a friend's page, and I was inspired to write about a visit I made to a beautiful place in southern Tennessee. This peaceful, intentional community is called The Sequatchie Valley Institute at Moonshadow. We were there for a gathering called Food For Life; a coming together of people for the purpose of teaching others (and each other) about ways to produce food locally, healthily and with local resources. Workshops included participatory fermentation of many kinds - beer, wine, mead (honey wine), champagne, miso, pickling, sauerkraut, sourdough, tempeh, chocolate (xocolatl) and others; medicinal herbs and herbalism - including a demonstration talk on tinctures and other preparations; wild foraging; Biodynamics; edible landscaping and principles of Permaculture; canning, preservation and storage.
The rates for the workshops are very reasonable, provided you can get there (it took a little over six hours by car from Cincinnati, Ohio - but there was some bad traffic). People came from as far away as southern Argentina.
One concept which I must pass on before I go to bed is Wild Fermentation.
This concept is approximately as old as human culture itself.
Sometime after people (I'll leave the evolution or creation arguement to you) came to be, a person came across a beehive in the hollow of an old tree. They had likely seen beehives before, being observant; however, this hive was different. A storm had come the week before, and rain had washed the bees out (they had subsequently swarmed and started a hive somewhere new). Left behind, soaked with clean rainwater, was the product of long hours of labor by the (all-female) workforce. Now, a week or so later, it had begun to emit a pleasing and distinctly floral aroma - in fact this may have been what attracted the human in the beginning. Investigating further, the person found that the flavor also was agreeable and produced a hide bag tied at the mouth with sinew. Scooping as much of the liquid into the sack as possible, they hurried off home to show their (wife, husband, neighbour, tribal leader, etc). Or maybe they didn't. Maybe it was SO good they tried a bit more, and discovered that there was another issue at hand. The delicious, lightly fizzy brew made them feel like they had never felt before, and a long period of contemplation ensued.
Whatever happened next, fermentation had been discovered, and it affected every culture to some degree from then until now.
Wild fermentation is called so because yeasts (the life forms responsible for transforming starchy or sugary foods into alcohol) exist all around us every single moment of our lives. All that needs to be done is to attract them with a food source.
Just for starters (and because I'm tired), here's a simple mead recipe for you to try.
It's actually from a t'ej (Ethiopian Honey Wine) recipe, but who's arguing?
Dilute one part of your favourite honey in four parts warm, clean (chlorine-free please) water. Water may be simmered for ten to fifteen minutes to remove the chlorine.
It helps to have a CROCK (straight-sided cylindrical ceramic jar for food or liquids) which is half again the capacity of your liquid measure (to allow for frothing). YOU can use a clean five-gallon bucket for all I care, but I'll stick to ceramic.
A quick chat here about critical mass- if you have too little liquid, you won't reach critical mass (fizziness, to cut a long story very, very short). Aim for a total of at least a gallon. Two gallons works well. Remember you'll need a three-gallon container for two gallons of liquid.
DO NOT USE METAL: EITHER FOR THE CONTAINER OR YOUR UTENSILS
Acids can dissolve metals, creating a health hazard. Use a plastic or a wooden spoon to stir with.
An option here is to pour in a pint or so of organic fruit (I like blackberries and blueberries). This acts as a "kicker" and provides your honey/water with some natural yeast right away.
This step is not necessary, however, as the wild yeasts in the air all around you will be drawn to the sugars.
Cover the crock with a layer of muslin, cheesecloth, clean dishtowel, etc against flies and other beasties.
Stir the mixture as often as you can remember - literally - I doubt there's such a thing as too much, but there might be such a thing as too little. Every half an hour to an hour is a good goal, at first, but you don't have to be obsessive about it.
Now comes critical mass.
After a relatively short period of time (one to three days in warmer climates; probably no more than a week in cooler areas), you will observe bubbles beginning to break the surface, especially when you stir. After that point the activity will increase until a certain limit is reached. This limit signals the peak production of alcohol by your friends, the yeast. From here, the bubbles will gradually subside and the mead will appear more or less flat, although you will still see action when you stir. From here, you can either drink your T'ej / mead immediately for a young, fresh and quite fizzy aperitif, or you can decant it (pour the clear liquid into a container, leaving behind the dregs) into a small necked bottle -check the size - and buy an airlock from a brewery supply store for a dollar or so. Decanting goes more smoothly if you have a funnel or a sterile rubber hose (also at the brew store). The airlock is a little rubber stopper with a plastic tube poked through it. The tube has a cup at the top, and you pour water in the cup and drop a cap over the tube.. oh, for goodness sake, the guy in the brew store will show you.
So much for a simple recipe, see how much I care about you??
No matter what, taste must be your guide. That doesn't mean you'll always love what you taste, but maybe you'll expand your horizons.
Namaste,
Steve
