Organized by the Portland Underground Grad School.

How did bitters go from traditional digestive medicine to quirky cocktail ingredient? Reclaim ancestral digestive medicinal knowledge and make your own bitters in this hands-on workshop.

In this 3-hour workshop, learn about the history of bitters, their physiological effects on your body, and ways to reclaim their original medicinal purpose. We will cover the effects of different herbal ingredients, and ways to use bitters in non-alcoholic settings. We’ll also cover the tools, processes, and basic formulas for making bitter tinctures at home. Participants will co-create a snack using bitters as a liquid spice rack, taste a variety of commercial bitters, 24+ single ingredient tinctures, and will blend two batches to take home.

About the Instructor

Rebecca Reilly is the Food Science Coordinator at OMSI. She has worked in science education for 15 years, in every setting from public school, US Peace Corps, non-profits, urban farms, science camps, and museums.  She has an MA in Teaching in Diverse Contexts, has co-written two books of curriculum, and loves to teach people of all ages the science behind their everyday knowledge.

About PUGS

PUGS is based on the idea that you can't stop learning at any point of your life. Our goal is to create a lifelong learning community that works for everyone's real lives. That means education that fits in work schedules and are priced to be accessible to all. We are here to provide Portlanders with grad-school level education that everyone can afford. 

Local experts with real-life experience in their field are your teachers. We believe that knowledge isn't locked up in the ivory tower; it's everywhere and in everyone. We provide a platform for local experts to share their knowledge and insight with others without the high cost or bureaucracy of the university system.  We are fundamentally about lifelong education for social justice, personal empowerment, and Portland civics.