Page 32 - Flathead Beacon // 5.18.16

BUSINESS IS PERSONAL 33 TRANSACTIONS 33 Business
A New Kind of Brew
Canvas Kombucha starts making popular fermented tea drink in the Flathead Valley
FBY MOLLY PRIDDY OF THE BEACON
OR ALMOST AS LONG AS HUMANS have been living in a societal struc- ture, we’ve been using fermenta-
tion. King Hammurabi of Babylon put rules on beer-making 4,000 years ago, and Ramses III of Egypt consecrated the gods with more than 400,000 jars of beer.
But while most of the images con- nected to the idea of fermentation include beverages that get their drinkers tipsy, there are others, such as sourdough bread, which produce a certain avor and provide health bene ts beyond trying to drown our sorrows.
Which is where Aaron Roberts and Rebekah Alcott come in, with their new business Canvas Kombucha Brewing Co., which hopes to ll a gap in the local mar- ket for the health conscious, fermenta- tion-loving consumer in the Flathead.
Roberts began brewing kombucha – a fermented, e ervescent drink made from green or black tea – about seven years ago while living in Bend, Oregon. Brewing was a major activity in Bend, and Roberts said he was drawn to kombucha because of its complexities.
“Beer’s pretty straightforward for the most part,” Roberts said. “Kombucha just intrigued me. It’s healthy, and I can make it and drink it and feel good.”
Kombucha is a relatively new busi- ness in Montana, with Bozeman recently welcoming a new brewery. Kombucha, which is also known as “mushroom tea”
Aaron Roberts, head brewer of the Canvas Kombucha Brewing Company, shows a SCOBY, or symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, during a workshop at Exhale Pilates in White sh.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
although mushrooms aren’t involved, began gaining popularity in the United States in the mid-1990s, largely for the health bene ts it boasts.
The moniker of “mushroom” stems from the SCOBY, or symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, which oats atop a batch of booch. With the rubbery con- sistency of a thick jelly sh, the cellulose
SCOBY is the life of the kombucha, and can be used and shared repeatedly, like a sourdough starter.
The SCOBY provides the bacterial and yeast, and the whole mixture gets to work fermenting for a few weeks before it is ready for consumption. After the general kombucha is made, avors can be added.
Canvas Kombucha touts the health
bene ts of its beverages, which it says contain probiotics, various vitamins, live yeast enzymes, antimicrobial and anti- fungal e ects, and others.
The young company is brewing its cre- ations out of the kitchen at the Apple Bar- rel on U.S. Highway 2 near the airport, but also has a ll station at Ceres Bak- ery in Kalispell, where patrons can bring
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MAY 18, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM