The Temptations might like the way you do the things you do, but I’m more interested in why we do the things we do. Not to question the motive behind a compliment, there’s just more intrigue in learning what’s firing off our impulses and leading us to where we are now. At Rude Brew Kombucha, the motivation is family, and even the ever-polite Lacy Rude didn’t see a business in kombucha until some of the last dots started to connect.
Initially, when it came to figuring out what Lacy would do for her career, she only knew she wanted to help people but was thinking in terms of something more traditional, like becoming a therapist. Then the kombucha idea came floating in her head, and it turns out she just needed the right motivation to pull the trigger. “After my dad died, I made a snap decision to just do it,” says Lacy. “I was working a lot of the time, full-time as a therapist and case manager. I was halfway through my graduate degree and just dropped out.”
Though there’s still plenty room for another kombucha place in the Greater Madison area, that doesn’t mean it’s not important to set yourself apart. For some, like myself, their guts take a beating from kombucha’s intense carbonation. Lacy’s product, in contrast, is a bit more mild, and her brewing process generally creates something much more chill in the mill…easier on the stomach.
“I pretty much just started by selfishly making kombucha how I wanted. I wasn’t brewing for anyone else. Then people were like, ‘I don’t like kombucha at all. I hate kombucha. But I like this kombucha.’” Rude Brew might not be what everyone wants or expects from their kombucha, but those who dig it can rest assured they’re getting those same health benefits.
Her flavors typically go in a more fruit-forward direction, and she uses Wisconsin-grown fruits and herbs for her flavor infusions. I could write an article just on all the varieties of kombucha Lacy makes: Blueberry Basil, Grapefruit Rosemary, Ginger Pear, Chicha Morada, Blueberry Sweetgrass, and Strawberry Kiwi Hemp for starters. Aside from just having seasonal flavors, there’s a seasonal bent to some staples as well. Take Buds and Petals, made from a bunch of Wisconsin-grown flowers and herbs. When nettle is in season, into the brew it goes. Same with bee balm. Whatever the time of year, you’re going to experience something reflective of the world around you.
Rude Brew is also an extension of Lacy’s father. The connection to the man he was is very much entwined in the spirit of each brew. “When I was growing up, my dad was a hobbyist. Lots of kitchen, craft, outdoors, woodsman, just a very versatile dude who did a lot of interesting things. So he made kombucha moonshine, he did woodworking, made turkey calls out of turkey bones, grew pot, he did all kinds of weird stuff. I had to help him with parts of the kombucha. One of my chores was taking a wheelbarrow of compost out to the woods into this pile. I remember watching him make kombucha and helping with parts of it. Then he would try to get me to try it, and I wouldn’t. It looked weird, and it was in this gross old bucket. I was like, ‘I’m never touching that, ever.’”
She also remembers going with her dad to visit a guy living off the grid in a giant bus. He had goats that came in and out of the bus, and he even had his own apiary. This is where Lacy’s dad went to get his SCOBY, the cellulose mat housing bacteria and yeast cultures needed to make kombucha, for what he called his mushroom tea.
“I wish [my dad] could see what’s going on,” says Lacy. “Maybe he can. Who knows what’s happening in the universe. … This has been a nice way for me to be able to work through grief and embrace positive parts of my mom and dad. It helped to take so much weight off of myself with the other stuff that wasn’t so pretty.”
As much as she adored her father, Lacy struggled with his last years watching him and his wife succumb to opiate addiction. Even when he was becoming less the man Lacy knew through his addiction, he still lit up when she brought in new kombucha flavors for him to try. It’s a cautionary tale, but when our worlds look like they’re crumbling, something we might’ve never really noticed is still holding them up. Lacy embraces her past because the messages and lessons are important to her.
“I try to bring awareness to addiction-related stuff. Like this cool person that had all these cool hobbies and was a loving parent got addicted to a thing and died. It takes the stigma away from who has these issues. It’s important to reduce those stigmas and remind people that folks like that were human beings. It’s not that people are born in the gutter, then you stay in the gutter and you die.”
Prolific drinker Ernest Hemmingway once said, “Every man has two deaths: when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name. In some ways, men can be immortal.” There’s another aspect to this idea that rarely gets discussed, and that’s the size of the wave each of these deaths creates. Lacy is amplifying her family’s cosmic wave through Rude Brew Kombucha in a way that extends beyond the life of her business. From her parents, to herself, to her children, on and on, the lessons and identities passed down continue to build upon themselves in each generation. “Rude Brew has been a nice twist of my parents’ legacy and their memory and embracing the good stuff.”
Embrace the good stuff at Hy-Vee, Willy Street Co-op, Woodman’s East and Sun Prairie, Regent Market, and at select Greater Madison area coffee shops.