Copper Crock Fermentation School Reserve a seat

Madison, Wisconsin

A fermentation trail
between the lakes.

Hands-on workshops, multi-week series, and online video modules from a fermentation school in Madison, Wisconsin.

Reserve a workshop seat See the courses

Five stops on one route — kraut, kimchi, sourdough, kombucha, cured meat.

01 — The stops

Five stops, one brine-and-bubble route.

Every course is a stop of its own. Take the one you came for, or string several together across a season.

  1. 1

    Workshop · hands-on

    Kraut & Kimchi

    Cabbage, salt, and pressure. We pack and press together, and talk through what happens in the weeks after you carry it home.

    Workshop seat
  2. 2

    Multi-week series

    Sourdough Starter Series

    Build a starter at the bench, keep it alive between sessions, and come back to bake with it. The long, slow stop on the route.

    Multi-week
  3. 3

    Course · brewing

    Kombucha Brewing

    First ferment, second ferment, bottles and flavor. You leave knowing how to run both at home.

    Workshop seat
  4. 4

    Advanced · curing

    Charcuterie Curing

    Salt, air, patience, and more patience. For cooks who have already spent some time in the brine.

    Multi-week
  5. 5

    Online · video modules

    Modules at Your Own Counter

    The same methods, at your own kitchen counter. Video modules you can follow on your own schedule.

    At home

Not sure where to start? Tell us what you want to make.

Reserve a seat

02 — Legend

Read the map before you walk it.

Three formats run through everything we teach. Find the one that fits your kitchen, your calendar, and how much counter space you are willing to give up.

  • Workshop

    A single hands-on session at the school. You come in, you work with your hands, you leave with something fermenting.

  • Multi-week series

    Several sessions on the same route. You meet weekly, tend what you started between visits, and finish something larger than a single jar.

  • Online modules

    Video instruction you can follow from your own counter, in your own time, wherever the trail happens to start for you.

A row of ceramic fermentation crocks on a wooden workshop table
Key Stoneware, weights, and time — the crock line between sessions, everything quietly working.

Madison sits between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, and the school works a short walk from the water.

03 — Longer routes

Some ferments don't finish in an afternoon.

The starter series and the curing course run over several weeks, so the interesting part happens between sessions — at your counter, in your kitchen, on your schedule.

  1. 01
    Meet at the bench

    Sessions start at the school, where the salt, the scales, and the crocks already are.

  2. 02
    Tend it between visits

    Feed the starter, burp the jars, keep notes. The route continues while you are away.

  3. 03
    Finish at the far shore

    Bake, bottle, or slice what you made — then decide which stop on the trail comes next.

Glass jars of kombucha backlit on a dark counter
Second ferment Bottled and left to build its fizz. Patience, again.
Cured meats hanging in a dim curing room
The long stop Curing runs on its own clock — the one room on the trail where nothing can be hurried.

04 — Enroll

Pick your stop.

Choose a workshop seat, join a multi-week series, or take the route home with online modules. Tell us where you want to start and we will take it from the trailhead.

  • Kraut & Kimchi Workshop seat
  • Sourdough Starter Series Multi-week
  • Kombucha Brewing Workshop seat
  • Advanced Charcuterie Curing Multi-week
  • Online Video Modules At home

Reserve your place

Send your details and the stop you have in mind. We will reply from Madison, Wisconsin.