Celebrate Your Gut: Fermentation Festival Over Father's Day Weekend

NEW PALTZ, NY — The 3rd annual Fermentation Festival highlighting local food and beverage artisans returns June 15.

Guests at the annual event hosted by Twin Star Orchards, home to Brooklyn Cider House in New Paltz, can sample local cider, kombucha, wine, beer, cured meats and cheeses, chocolate, kimchi, pickles, hot sauce, breads, and much more at the Tastings & Market Tent, and learn how to make fermented goods during hands-on workshops and seminars.

It has become a very popular festival.

"I think the rising interest in fermentation goes hand in hand with how people are becoming more health conscious and interested in whole food, local produce and gut health. For so long, we've lived on industrialized, processed foods," Susan Yi, co-founder of Brooklyn Cider House," told Patch. "I think that's the reason why so many of us have gut issues. We're so used to eating things that are dead rather than alive. Nowadays, as people are becoming more educated about health, whole foods, food systems and more, we're drawn to fermented foods because they're so rich in flavor and loaded with nutrients and good bacteria — we're interested in 'live' foods, rather than being afraid of them."

"As a smaller cider producer, I understand that when you're producing food or beverages in massive quantities, it's impossible to work with natural yeasts and nurture microbial activity," she said.

The unique festival celebrating the diverse traditions and health benefits of fermentation returns from 11 a.m. to 6:39 p.m. June 15.

A portion of ticket proceeds will benefit local non-profit Phillies Bridge Farm Project, which provides sustainably grown produce for local community members with a focus on food-insecure households.

New this year, to explore the culinary heritage of Yi and her brother Peter, who cofounded Brooklyn Cider House and own Twin Star Orchards, the “Deep Dive Into Korean Ferments” series will feature workshops on making traditional Korean condiments and drinks like kimchi, gochujang, makgeolli and cheong.

"Coming from a Korean-American family, fermentation has always been an integral part of our culture, though something we didn't quite realize or appreciate until much later in life," Yi told Patch. "The Fermentation Festival lets us take pride in the long and important history of fermentation in Korean culture, and it also allows us to celebrate the vital and vibrant role that fermentation plays in so many food and beverage traditions around the world."

Festival guests include Alice Jun, founder and sool maker at Hana Makgeolli; Jonathan White, co-founder of Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse; and Rich Shih, co-author of Koji Alchemy and one of the key culinary explorers of mold-based fermentation in the US will hold a free talk on fermentation.

There will also be live music with Good Time Honey and Lucas Perez from 12pm-6:30pm and Twin Star’s signature artisanal wood-fired pizzas, burgers and BBQ will be available for purchase.Full schedule here, along with tickets to the market, seminars and workshops.

Tasting Market Sessions 1pm-3pm and 4pm-6pm (VIP entry at 12pm)

The Market will offer tastings from over 35 different producers of cured meats, cheeses, chocolate, kimchi, cider, beer, kombucha, wine and more. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door; VIP entry ($65) includes early 12pm entry to the market, Fermentation Festival tote filled with fermented goodies and a commemorative tasting glass. Participants: Angry Orchards, Atina Foods, Barry's Tempeh, Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse, Brooklyn Cider House, Culture Cream, Cooper's Daughter Distillery, DACHA, Drifter Ferments, East Branch Farms/Kimchee Harvest, Enlightenment Wines Meadery, Fruition Chocolate, Gary’s Pickles, Graft Cider & Hudson North Cider, Greenpoint Cidery, Hana Makgeolli, Hippie Circus, Kim's Kitchen, La Salumina, Laughing Gut Kombucha, Nyrture Natto, Perry's Pickles, Ram's Valley, Roe Jan Brewing Co., Rose Hill Winery & Cidery, Rough Cut Brewing, Third Bean Chocolate, Treasury Cider, Tuthilltown Spirits Distillery, Wayside Cider, Westwind Orchard, Whitecliff Vineyard, Wild Arc Farm, Wild Culture Kitchen, Worldlings Pleasure, Yesfolk Tonics.

Deep Dive Into Korean Ferments

• 11am Kimchi Workshop with Kim Jiyeon ($60) – learn to make kimchi from a third-generation kimchi maker
• 12:30pm The Fiery Flavors of Gochujang with Rich Shih ($50) – Rich Shih, co-author of Koji Alchemy, will explore how gochujang is made and explain the range of delicious uses for this spicy and umami-filled condiment
• 4:00pm Makgeolli Tasting & Demo with Alice Jun ($60) founder of Hana Makgeolli, who will discuss the history of sool (Korean spirits) and lead a guided tasting, guests receive a kit to make their own makgeolli
• 5:15pm Cheong & Sweets with Olivia Yi ($45) – learn how to make Cheong, a traditional Korean fruit preserve, with Brooklyn Cider House’s assistant cidermaker

Tasting Seminars & Demos focusing on the craft of fermenting different products:

• 11am Co-Ferments with Dan Pucci ($40), a discussion of co-ferments and tasting of three unique beverages that defy categorization
• 12pm Saucy & Spicy Ferments with Richard “Ram” Rajkumar ($40), learn how fermentation enhances heat and flavor in sauces from a Hudson Valley chef and hot-sauce maker
• 1pm Transforming Cacao into Chocolate with Carina Paliocha ($40) – follow the journey of cacao from fruit to chocolate, beverages and more
• 2pm Breaking the Barriers of Food Pairings with Yancey Stanforth-Migliore and Peter Yi ($60) – learn about matching flavors and textures during a tasting of wines, ciders and small bites
• 2pm Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse: A Small-scale Regenerative Farm's Solution to the Climate Crisis with Jonathan White ($50) – the Bobolink Dairy founder leads a discussion of regenerative farming and tasting of cheese, bread and charcuterie
• 3pm Keynote Speaker Rich Shih discusses mold-based fermentation (free, advance tickets required)
• 3:30pm Foundations of Fermentation with Eric Sauber ($60) is an in-depth look at the world of fermentation in all its forms with tastings of yogurt, kombucha, vinegar, bread and ship-koji cured beef
• 5pm What is Koji? with Rich Shih ($50) introduces the fundamentals and versatility of this magical ingredient and how easy it is to cook with it, during the seminar learn how to make shio koji (umami marinade), kojizuke (pickles) and amazake (a sweet rice drink)

Phillies Bridge Farm Project is a not-for-profit working farm with a mission to promote local sustainable agriculture, to provide CSA shareholders with abundant organically grown vegetables and herbs, to share part of the harvest with people in need, and to educate people of all ages about the sources of healthy food and the study of nature.

At Twin Star Orchards, visitors can explore the 210-acre dog-friendly orchards and partake in cider tastings or enjoy their wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, burgers and hardwood smoked barbecue available by the scenic pond.

A selection of their own and other New York State hard ciders plus wines, spirits, cheeses, and other local products are available for purchase in the tasting room. It is located at 155 N. Ohioville Rd, New Paltz, NY; 845-633-8657.

"Even though this interest in fermentation is on the rise right now, the truth is that humans have been fermenting foods for thousands of years," Yi said. "So as we inch toward post-industrial agriculture and post-industrialized food, maybe we're finding our roots again. That's a good thing for all of us, especially for our guts!"

Editor's Note: Olivia Yi was mis-identified in the original version of this report. Patch regrets the error.