PROBIOTICS
KEFIR, KRAUT, KOMBUCHA Fermented foods are alive and well in Southern Oregon By Sarah Lemon for the Mail Tribune
D
eflated from working as a nurse throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Lisa Brown felt her enthusiasm bubble when brewing kombucha. The longtime Phoenix resident who loves to garden naturally gravitated to fermenting “the flavor of the day” — homegrown vegetables, homemade wine and handmade cheese from goat milk she purchased. Brown’s small batches of kombucha grew in significance with her adult daughter’s encouragement. “It’s crafted; it’s creative,” says Brown, 54. “There’s an infinite amount of flavor choices.” Strawberry-lavender, citrus-juniper and elderberry-grapefruit kombuchas are the signature flavors Brown sells at local farmers markets. She and her daughter, who works for a kombucha company in Northern California, dubbed their enterprise Moxie Brew and started dispensing their elixir from kegs. “We sell out in the summer,” says Brown. “They love it; they come back every week; they bring their growlers.”
52
JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE
Lisa Brown, left, and Alyssa Brown make a giant tea bag for a batch of kombucha.
“We sell out in the summer. They love it; they come back every week; they bring their growlers.” Lisa Brown, Moxie Brew PHOTO COURTESY OF ROGUE VALLEY GROWERS AND CRAFTERS MARKET
Strawberry-lavender, citrus-juniper and elderberry-grapefruit kombuchas are the signature flavors Phoenix resident Lisa Brown sells at local farmers markets under the name Moxie Brew.
| Our Valley
0508_A_52_OV____.indd 52
4/23/2022 12:43:07 PM