How these Sacramento-area fermentation queens run a one-of-a-kind brewery

The Sacramento region may have reached its craft brewery saturation point, but Mindscape Fermentations is in a category of its own.

There’s beer, sure, but kombucha is the main draw, along with seltzers, probiotic sodas and $2 “gut shots.” The last of those is the acidic solution left over from housemade pickled vegetables such as crunchy beets, spicy green beans or purple turnips.

Mindscape is the creation of Lauren Price, Charlotte Crott and Lauren Houston, who started what they believe is the Sacramento region’s only entirely woman-owned-and-operated brewery in Rocklin Crossings shopping center in May 2022. It’s an outlet for their shared love of fermentation, the metabolic process that transforms grains into beer and vegetables into pickles.

“(Fermentation) is old alchemy. It’s like the most ancient rite, to take goods that may seemingly not be the best version of themselves, and then to be an observer and a creator and a changer and turn it into something that’s kind of magical,” Price said.

The two Laurens met while working at sour-focused Mraz Brewing in El Dorado Hills, then met Crott, Cool Beerwerks’ former head brewer, at a beer conference. Price and Crott now split Mindscape’s brewing duties, and Crott leads the fermented food program. Houston manages business operations, and also uses leftover fruit to make sangria and vinegars, the latter of which are then turned into nonalcoholic syrups called shrubs and mixed with sparkling water.

Mindscape takes what the world gives it. That’s why Brie cheese is paired with a chutney made from pomegranates, apples and feijoas (pineapple guavas) that customers donated from their pesticide-free backyard trees. It’s why a winter equinox party on Dec. 21 will unveil 100 bottles of huckleberry kombucha, foraged and brewed by Price.

The gifts go both ways. Mindscape is happy to share its SCOBY, a Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast used to make kombucha, with customers provided they bring their own containers. And as the holidays approach, Mindscape’s martini mixers and bloody mary baskets make for opportune presents.

It’s likely the only brewery around that makes a kottbusser, a German beer outlawed in its home country since 1877 due to purity laws and the inclusion of molasses and honey when brewing. Mindscape makes its own molasses for that beer, because of course it does, and all beers are gluten-reduced.

Price’s newest project is a kefir water, a less acidic alternative kombucha. While the default version is a mere 1.5% ABV, she’s working on a “magic juice” version with an alcohol content closer to beer.

There are charcuterie boards, hummus plates and Manchego-salami panini with house-fermented garlic spread, but Mindscape’s food menu is fairly limited. Customers are welcome to bring in outside food (excluding shellfish) as a result.

Mindscape beverages can be found at eight Placer County restaurants and bars including Moksa Barrel House (Roseville), Gander Taphouse (Loomis) and Infusion Taproom (Lincoln), or at the Rocklin brewery at 5424 Crossings Drive, Suite 105.

What I’m Eating

One can’t accuse Koi Japanese Bistro of misleading customers. The first steps into Nikki Nguyen’s, Alain Ng’s and David and Jenny Macawile’s restaurant put customers on a small bridge overlooking a koi pond, before walking into a high-ceiling space decorated with cherry blossom trees and seasonal holiday decor.

Opened in February 2022 in the Newton Booth neighborhood on the fringes of Sacramento’s city center, Koi balances Japanese familiarities such as teriyaki, ramen and (especially) sushi with more inventive small plates.

Take the miso-and-mushroom risotto with pan-seared scallops ($13), a creamy, savory concoction that benefits greatly from a squeeze of the accompanying lemon. Or plump grilled oysters with uni and crab compound butter (MP, available in multiples of three), a rich “cheers” to start off your meal.

There are two ramen choices: tonkotsu or shoyu (both $13). I went for the former and appreciated its salty, tangy broth and tender pork chashu, but especially the juicy lollipop chicken drumstick (an extra $2.50, or included in the shoyu ramen).

Koi’s deepest menu section is its sushi rolls, and the sesame seed-speckled futomaki ($19) made for a pleasant mix of unagi, tuna and salmon with pickled and roasted vegetables. But the salmon bombs ($16) were my favorite sushi-adjacent dish: four spoonfuls of seasoned imitation crab, sweet potato and green onions, wrapped in salmon, torched and drizzled with garlic aioli and soy sauce before being served with a peppery slaw.

Koi Japanese Bistro

Address: 1920 29th St., Suite A, Sacramento.

Hours: 5-9 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. Friday, 5-10 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday.

Phone number: (916) 619-8569.

Website: https://koijapanesebistro.godaddysites.com/

Drinks: Sake, beer, wine, soju, hard cider, tea, soda and juice.

Vegetarian options: Three veggie rolls, and small plates such as pan-fried mushrooms, agedashi tofu and glazed sweet potatoes (all $9).

Noise level: Medium-low.

Openings & Closings

▪ San Francisco-based Seniore’s Pizza has expanded to 1501 N. C St. in Mansion Flats, its second area location after debuting in south Sacramento last year. There are familiar pies, and also ones such as the PMC (pepperoni and macaroni and cheese).

▪ Charm Thai debuted last week at 711 Elvas Ave. in East Sacramento, a short walk from Sacramento State University. Look for noodle or rice bowls during lunch, and dinner items such as the “eggplant delight” (stir-fried Chinese eggplant, ground pork, shrimp, bell peppers and basil in a roasted chile sauce).

▪ Placerville Biergarten announced its closure in a Facebook post Tuesday after six months in business. The biergarten at 696 Main St. carried 10 beers on tap and had a bevy of bar bites including charcuterie boards, sausages and chili sandwiches.

Get Sacramento's Food & Drink news delivered to your inbox

Sign up here to receive our free weekly Food & Drink newsletter, written by Bee food reporter Benjy Egel. You'll exclusively receive an early look at restaurants, bars, festivals and more.