Fermented Adventure The Podcast

This episode features ⁠⁠ Jasmine Mason  and Ashley Johnson of ⁠ The Cider Jawns . Jasmine and Ashley met while attending St. Joseph's University. They started a social media page after attending Pour the Core at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. This cider event left an impression on them. Jasmine and Ashley determined that the cider space was not serving or appealing to people of color. The next st...

This episode features Brandon Green of  ⁠⁠⁠ Stockyard Cider  ⁠ . Brandon began his journey making beer and apple wine right in his closet, under the steps, in West Philly. Brandon loves bubbles. He ventured into bottle conditioning and making his own cider. Like most it was a hobby. Career changes brought about a pivot for Brandon and his family. He moved the whole operation from Chicago back to P...

This episode features ⁠ Michelle Cudia of  Cudia Cocktail Consulting⁠ . Michelle started working at Tria Taproom as a bar manager. They were looking to extend their draft cocktail program. At the time she didn't have any experience with craft cocktails. She set out to write the whole plan for the bar. She was able to spread her "cocktail nerdiness" to events and the public. In 2019 M...

This episode features  ⁠⁠⁠ Megan Farley of  ⁠⁠ ⁠ Winterset Cidery   ⁠ . Nick and Niña Williams came as customers. They fell in love with the orchard and thought that it was serendipitous that a Williams Pride apple tree resided there. They set out on their journey and purchased the Cidery in 2019 with no cider making experience. Meghan joined the cidery in April of 2022. She entered with winemakin...

This episode features  ⁠⁠ Eleanor Leger  of  ⁠⁠ Eden Ciders   ⁠ . It was December 2006 when Eleanor and Albert went to Montreal. They tasted ice cider for the first time. Their reaction was that it was amazing. They thought that they could procduce this ice cider in Vermont. The made their first batch in their basement. Six years after making it and selling to to local restaurants they began to ex...

This episode features  ⁠ Becky Harris ⁠  of  ⁠ Catoctin Creek Distilling Company ⁠ . Becky and Scott founded Catoctin Creek in 2009. At the time there were about 200 distilleries in the United Sates and 6 in Virginia. They began with a vision of making rye whiskey which was "the whiskey" up until prohibition in the Mid-Atlantic States. At Cotoctin they use batch pot still distillation. T...

This episode features Miika Lipiäinen of Kyrö Distillery Company . 5 Friends in a sauna were passing around a bottle of U.S. Rye Whiskey.  They started to ask themselves... "Why isn't anybody making whiskey out of Rye in Finland?"  The idea stuck and they began reaching out to those in the distilling industry to help and to determine if this was a viable concept.  Two and a half yea...

This episode features Josh Douglas of Widow's Peak Distilling Company . Mike and Mark Ilg were on a ski trip when they devised a plan for a distillery.  Mark had been an avid home brewer for 15 years so the challenge of distilling intrigued him.  2 weeks later, after reading a book, he professed to Mike that he was ready to distill vodka.  They set up shop distilling their spirits i...

This episode features K.C. Kulp , Tim Baker and B randon Wyatt of The Whip Tavern . K.C. lost his job as an IT specialist at a major brokerage firm in NYC in 2003.  He decided to purchase a biker bar and turned it into The Whip Tavern. K.C. always had a desire to be in the restaurant business.  He opened the whip in 2005 and today it is a premier destination restaurant.  A quiet lit...

This episode features Jay von Czoernig, Rick von Czoernig , Eric von Czoernig and Michael Froelich of von C Brewing Brewing Company. von C got started as a senior project for Jay while he attended North Eastern University.  This is when he wrote the business plan in 1993.  The von Czoernig family history of brewing goes back to 1860.  The lineage reaches back to Christian Schmidt wh...

This episode features Laura Fields of The Delaware Valley Fields Foundation . In this episode Laura and I go down a number of whiskey history tangents.  We hope that you enjoy this fascinating journey into some little discussed stories of our past. Highlights From our Conversation: Jefferson's Bourbon Stoll and Wolfe Jack Sullivan Michters Wild Turkey Leopold Brothers Alan Bishop Judson and M...

This episode features our experience at Cidercon 2023 in Chicago .   Sunny Gandara Eleanor Leger Michelle McGrath The following were featured guests: Northeast Barrel Company Peterson Farms Flextank 33 Books Black Diamond Farm Alma Cider Uncle John's Cider Mill Brother Monk Ciderworks Dressler Estate BevFluence Blakes Hard Cider Cider Soms Northwest Cider Association

This episode features Jaime Windon of Lyon Rum . Jaime has a penchant for saying yes to crazy ideas.  On a whim she drove down to Kentucky and bought a 26 galloon still to make rum.  Lyon Rum was embraced by the small town of St. Michaels, MD as the distillery began to take shape and grow.  It's Jaime's love of making things for people and serving them that has helped to make this r...

This episode features Lyndon Smith of Botanist and Barrel . Lyndon and his wife Amie Fields have an extensive natural wine background.  They also have a wonderful family heritage of being wine producers.  Grandpa Abe even produced bathtub tropical hooch.  A defunct blueberry farm came for sale nearby where Lyndon grew up.  This farm now grows a wide variety of fruits including...

This episode features Mark Breen-Klein of Independent Spirits Distillery . Kerry, Mark's mother, was trying to decide a business to go into as her children were leaving home to explore their lives.  Without any experience or knowledge the decision was made to start a distillery.  Mark brought his biomedical engineering degree background into the family business.  His attention to de...

This episode features Mike Contreras of 2SP Brewing Company . 2SP was conceived in 2015.  Mike is the director of sales and marketing.  While he was working at Dogfish Head Brewing, the owner of 2 Stones Pub, Mike Stiglitz gave him a call.  He shared that he was thinking about starting a brewery.  He was already filling out his team with Bob Barrar, who at the time was already...

We reflect back on an amazing 2022 while sampling Wandering Bard Meadery's Oaked Black Cherry.   Highlights From our Discussion: Bar Convent Brooklyn Cidercon 2022 MeadCon 2022 Duck Butts Meadery

This episode features Amanda Beckwith of Virginia Distillery Company . Dr. George G. Moore was an Irishman who came to the United States in the 1970's.  He loved collecting and drinking single malt whisky's.  In 2011 the dream of a distillery began to become a reality.  In 2013 George's son Gareth took over the reigns when his father passed away.  Today, Virginia Distillery Com...

This episode features Tetsuro Mayazaki of Iichiko Shochu . Shochu is the original Japanese craft distilled spirit.  It is more popular than sake and Japanese whisky.  This delicious spirit is a newcomer to the American market.  All of these years it has been unique to Japan and its restaurants.  Iichiko Shochu is distilled from barley.  In 1979 Iichiko was launched.  ...

This episode features Matt Simon of Good intent Cider . For Adam Redding , cidermaking began as a hobby.  He took cider making classes at Cornell University.  Growing up in Gettysburg, he was exposed to the amazing apples produced in Adams County.  Matt joined Good Intent almost 6 years ago.  He studied food science at Penn State.  Matt reached out to Adam as graduation ap...

This episode features Luca Missaglia of Amaro Santoni . Luca is driven by passion.  Amaro Santoni, an Italian Apartivo comes from the heart.  He also has a love of cocktails and brand building.  His focus is to help bartenders get out of their comfort zone.  Luca grew up in Milan. Very early on he discovered that the zest for amaro was in his DNA.  Amaro Santoni is a tradi...

This episode features Laura Fields of The Delaware Valley Fields Foundation . Nothing ever stops in farming.  In 2015 they started out with five ounces of Keystone Rosen Rye grain.  Today there are over 400 acres that have been planted.  This project was created for distillers to purchase direct from farmers.  Currently, there are nine farming partners growing the Rosen Rye. &n...

This episode features Stephen , Karen and Steve Zolnay of I nvertase Brewing Company. When Stephen was 14 he bought his dad a homebrew kit for Father's Day.  Their first collaboration as father and son was a terrible pale ale that they made on the kitchen stove.  That beginning experience got them hooked on making beer together.  They graduated into making their own recipes, reading...

This episode features Philip Search and Don Benedetto of Canary Cocktails and Spirits . Philip has been in the beverage industry for a long time.  He's been involved with the coffee industry, managing bars and restaurants and helping to set up bar programs.  When Covid hit and impacted the bars in the area he was more then ready to roll up his sleeves and dive right in to help.  Don...

This episode features Chris Demars , Randy Litwin and Jenn Litwin of S pring House Spirits. Sixty years ago Chris's grandmother taught him how to distill spirits, make wine and brew beer.  Chris worked as a nuclear engineer which is kind of like being a distiller.  He longed to come back to the family farm and get back to his distilling roots.  He pays homage to his grandmothers bac...