Ok. In honor of National beer day and in an effort to teach my kids some science during quarantine, we embarking on “the great beer-yeast-sourdough experiment”

We will be comparing three kinds of beer: a bottle conditioned stout, a Hefeweizen, and the mighty Rainier. We also have a negative control, and grapes as an additional comparison group.

Step 1: sterilization of the jars to ensure no wild yeast contamination

Step 2: boil water to sterilize, then dissolve 2 tablespoons of sugar per cup of water. pour 1/2 cup of sugar water in each sterilized jar and cover. Take a walk while allowing sugar water to cool.

While we wait for the sugar water to cool: the idea behind this is to see if we can cultivate yeast from beer to make sourdough. We’re going to start them on sugar water, then if they grow, transfer to flour after we’ve grown them up.

If we get multiple hits, we’ll then compare the starters to see how the bread turns out. This is the ultimate win:win:win. I get to drink beer, we do science, and ultimately end up with some bread!