Overview:



Katie Legenski ’16 Eng welcomed Following the Gong to Antifragile Brewing in downtown State College where she serves as the head kombucha brewer for Moody Culture. Katie shares her experiences at Penn State Berks and in the College of Engineering, where she earned her bachelor of science in chemical engineering with honors after study abroad opportunities and a major setback on her thesis. Katie also shares her experiences deciding to pursue work in the pharmaceutical industry rather than a PhD, and her decision to uproot everything and hike the Appalachian Trail. She then explains all things kombucha, fermentation, and brewing, providing insights on this career path and the value of understanding various components of engineering and science in a field that marries her work experience and passion. Finally, Katie shares opportunities for community in State College as an alumna and powerful perspectives on finding the joy in your self-defined success. This episode is great for any Scholar, and especially those in STEM majors, those interested in brewing beverages like kombucha, those staying in State College after graduation, and any Scholar interested in hiking, rock climbing, or dancing. Katie’s full bio and a detailed breakdown of topics can be found in the show notes below.



Guest Bio:



Katie Legenski ’16 Eng is head kombucha brewer for Moody Culture in downtown State College, PA. The Moody Culture brewery is housed in the Antifragile Brewing Company taproom and brewery at 324 E Calder Way, State College. Brewing kombucha consists of choosing a brewing tea, inoculating with starter culture, maintaining the appropriate temperature for fermentation, flavoring with fruits or herbs, and carbonating the resulting beverage. Katie has been head brewer since March 2023 and has since introduced new flavors to Moody's line up including passionfruit, black currant, and the first decaf flavor: orange blossom tulsi. She's also quite proud of developing hard kombucha featuring alcohol fermented with the kombucha instead of spiking non-alcoholic kombucha with seltzer or grain ethanol which is industry standard. She earned a BS in chemical engineering in 2016 from Penn State. Prior to brewing for Moody Culture, she completed a southbound thru hike of the Appalachian Trail and worked in early drug discovery at both Glaxo Smith Kline and Johnson and Johnson. She's been fostering a love for fermentation for over a decade and is always happy to discuss all things fermentable. Other interests include social dance, rock climbing, fiber arts, and piano. She can be reached on LinkedIn and on Instagram at @kitkatlegenski.



Episode Topics:




• What exactly kombucha is


• The benefits of starting at a smaller Penn State campus, and overcoming challenges of adjusting to University Park


• Studying abroad as an engineering student


• Overcoming thesis research areas deep in the process because of technical limitations


• How brewing is microbiology is brewing


• Shifting from an academia track to a workforce track in your final year of undergrad, and the importance of knowing your “why”


• Perspectives on working in pharmaceutical research and production


• Deciding to “carpe the diem” by making the decision to hike the Appalachian Trail


• Thoughts on walking the entire Appalachian Trail – and then adjusting back afterward


• Getting into homebrewing and judging


• The roles and responsibilities of a kombucha brewer at a small craft brewery


• The kombucha brewing process, including flavor development, suppliers, and marketing


• Developing alcoholic kombucha


• The evolution of the brewing community


• A crash course for those interested in home brewing n how to get start


• Getting involved in the Happy Valley community through activities dance and rock climbing


• Defining success by your own metrics








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Credits & Notes:



This show is hosted, produced, and edited by Sean Goheen '11 Lib (Schreyer), '23g Bus.



The artwork was created by Tom Harrington, the College’s Web Developer. 



The sound effect is “Chinese Gong,” accessed via SoundBible (https://soundbible.com/about....