Wild Drinks

Wild Drinks is the definitive book on infusing, brewing and fermenting delicious and often nutritious things to drink, from mead to kombucha to cider to kvass. With the entertaining and assuring voice of fermentation expert Sharon Flynn, it is a perfect jumping off point for anyone who is curious to learn more about this magical and witchy world.Across six chapters, Wild Drinks features more than 60 recipes. Learn the basics of wild fermentation and read about the equipment you need to start your fermentation journey. Discover drinks made from grain, including doburoku (farmhouse sake), wild beer and kvass; explore recipes for wild apple cider, country wine and wild soda; try water kefir, kombucha, ginger beer and fruit vinegars, and come to understand the art of imparting flavour, from shrubs to flavoured waters to syrups and liqueurs. And in the spirit of reducing waste, the final chapter shows how to use fermentation byproducts – ranging from crackers made from sake lees to kimchi pancakes, nettle risotto and Basque cider chicken.Recipes include fascinating historical context and quick tips, and Sharon considers the traditions associated with these ancient fermentation practices too.

Sharon Flynn is one of Australia's leading authorities on fermentation, and her little blue book, Ferment For Good (Hardie Grant, 2017), is beloved of aspiring and accomplished fermenters alike. Ferment for Good bursts with Sharon's warmth, charisma and wisdom, a thread that carries through into her second book, Wild Drinks. In both books, Sharon draws on a body of knowledge established over more than two decades living in Malaysia, Japan, the US and Europe as an expat. In each country, she saw the benefits of fermentation on the microbiome first hand when her youngest daughter was ill. This led her back to Australia, and to the birth of her business, The Fermentary, in 2013. That business has established a loyal following and provided a platform for her to talk about the need for a focus on real food and flavour over health fads and profit. She has undertaken residencies in Tennessee and Japan, the former with renowned fermentation evangelist Sandor Katz, who, in 2020, she hosted in Australia. Sharon travels widely, sharing her passion for the ancient art of fermentation at regularly oversubscribed workshops and events.