Arts
In our 50th episode -- The Pandemic vs. Irish Pubs. Can wine be any cleaner? The fermentation inoculation. And magic molluscs.Joshna is once again joined by Susan Boyle, drinks consultant, researcher, writer, storyteller, and performer based in Ireland. She writes about beer, presents drinks features on Irish national television and radio and hosts tasting and masterclasses. Susan is also one half of Two Sisters Brewing, makers of Brigid’s Ale. She is pursuing a PhD at the Technological University of Dublin focusing on the importance of storytelling and place to beverages, and won an outstanding speaker award at the Oxford Symposium of Food and Cookery for her research. Susan was recently named a Fulbright Creative Ireland Fellow at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.This is a particularly difficult time for bars and restaurants around the world, which typically bring people together in person. We delve into Susan's perspective on her family business - the Irish pub. These pubs are the center of communities in Ireland, so how are they faring and how is the pandemic affecting the wellbeing of the Irish who are connected to them?People are asking, "How can I drink more wine without any of the consequences of drinking more wine?" While the clean eating movement isn't all bad, there's obviously an element of trying to have your cake and eat it too when it comes to alcohol. This makes celebrity calls to literally wash the grapes better all the more absurd… we dig in on where to draw the line.While we don't advocate any action based on largely unsubstantiated evidence, we like the suggestion coming from certain countries that fermented vegetables might decrease the mortality risks associated with COVID-19. Once again it seems like there's something going on with fermentation and our gut flora which is beneficial. Do what you will with this information, but there's no harm eating a few more vegetables (even fermented ones!).Finally, how well do you know your oysters? A team of researchers adopted some pet oysters to find out why they open and close. What they found is lovely!