Fermentation Lesson, Little (and big) Boy Style.

Jeff has been reading the Hobbit to the boys at night. They are more than halfway through, and are absolutely loving it. The other night, they were at the point where Bilbo freed his dwarf friends from the wood-elves' capture, smuggled them to the dock, and hid them in the empty wine barrels. One by one he sent them all down the river, hopping on the last barrel himself. The talk of wine and ale led to lots of conversation. The boys wanted to know what it was and how it was made. Jeff explained to them that they both were made with yeast, which was like a little bug (I later explained that it was a fungi, as they thought yeast must have legs and eyes, etc). According the Asa and Addison, via Jeff, the yeast eats the sugar and pees alcohol in the wine, and the yeast poots in the beer and makes it bubbly. (The yeast poots also make the little holes in bread, of course). Jeff warned me that I would be hearing a lot about how yeast makes beer, wine & bread... and he was right. Bright and early the next morning, they both excitedly explained their new knowledge. Any excuse to talk about bodily fluids and flatulence is never ignored.