Belly Up Get your fill of culture at the Reedsburg Fermentation Fest

Modeled on the common framework of a wine tasting, a “Cheese Tasting Fundamentals” session basically provides the same amount of appeal but without the embarrassing drunkenness. On Oct. 8. (12-2 p.m.) in Reedsburg, Cheesemaker Bob Koenig, of Carr Valley Cheese, will host a workshop wherein he’ll explain how different types of Wisconsin cheeses are made. Attendees will eat the cheeses and listen attentively as Koenig disseminates informational spores from his mind and mouth, and knowledge will bloom like a gorgeous fractal unfurling of delicate mold inside a hunk of bleu. It’s part of the concurrent Reedsburg Fermentation Fest: A Live Culture Convergence, running Oct. 7-16, which celebrates farming, conservation, and topical human-crafted art—which will be set up as bitchin’ temporary installations along a 50-mile tour of the beautiful Reedsburg farmlands. Also roaming around: mobile farm stands constructed by artists selling fresh produce from local farms, sourdough bread, pickles, and artisan cheese.

FATSOMETER: 7. After tasting 10 different cheeses, it’s going to be all braunschweiger on bread, and we also hear there is a lot of homemade beer up in this fermentation bash.