Fox Tale Fermentation Project brewing success
Fox Tale Fermentation Project owners Felipe Bravo and Wendy Neff are brewing magic in their little Hobbit hole of a cafe in downtown San Jose. Actually, it's probably more apt to say they're fermenting magic.
“People don't really understand what the range of fermentation could be,” said Bravo, the head brewer. “That's why we didn't call ourselves a brewery or a beer bar.”
Even though Fox Tale was recently named the nation's best new brewery by Hop Culture magazine, there's a lot more than beer happening at 30 E. Santa Clara St. And it will all be on full display as SF Beer Week begins this weekend. Fox Tale plans to release five new draft beers and three new bottled beers, as well as host several special events for the brewing celebration that has spread across San Francisco, the South Bay and the East Bay.
In addition to the beers, there'll be a whole bunch of new fermented foods, too. This is what sets Fox Tale apart. Bravo gives all the credit to Neff, who previously led the Superfoods program at Facebook and started the first fermentation program there. It's her sense of adventure that led to packaged items like Ginger and Jujube Kimchi, Fire Belly Sauerkraut and a fermented verde salsa. The cafe menu is filled with fermentations as well. Looking for avocado toast? You can have one topped with pickled beets and guindilla peppers and another with fermented ratatouille.
“I really enjoy the most being able to create stuff for people that they've either never had before or it intrigues them,” Neff said. “I try to make things that are beneficial in a lot of ways for people. It's really about exploration of all sorts of ingredients and flavors and ingredients.”
The fermented foods also provide special ingredients for Fox Tale's unique beers, like the Sunday Funday made with macerated peaches and nectarines or the Curcurbit Curiosity, a sour farmhouse ale with sage and roasted Blue Hubbard squash. Bravo is especially excited about the release of No Más, a gose-style ale conditioned with Persian lime, pink pepper leaf and lacto-fermented honey.
“We just have ideas and figure out how to make it work,” Bravo said. “Most people don't mix the bacterias in the same way that we're doing it. That's
something totally new that we're not really seeing anyone do.”
Fox Tale also has the best menu of nonalcoholic beverages you're going to find. Dubbed “Mock Tales,” they combine fermented fruits and honey with syrups, teas and other ingredients for something that is a much more flavorful experience than just ordering a sparkling water or cola.
Bravo and Neff said they've seen a definite uptick in customers since the Hop Culture article posted in December and hope more people discover them during SF Beer Week. The cafe — loaded with shelves of fermentation books, merchandise and art — will host beer release events Saturday-Sunday and Feb. 17. But the big event will be Cultura Day on Feb. 18, which will see the release of a new food menu and Viva Cultura, a red corn lager.
You can get more information about Fox Tale Fermentation Project at foxtalefermentationproject.com, and the full list of SF Beer Week events is available at sfbeerweek. org/schedule.
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