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Mitchell’s Gut’s first product, Bertha’s Country Lane Harvest Apple Cider Vinegar (Photo courtesy Mitchell’s Gut)
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Brett Nobile, owner of Ninja Kombucha and Mitchell's Gut (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Bertha Burke, Brett Nobile’s late neighbor and “substitute grandma,” for whom his first vinegar is named (Photo courtesy Penn Burke)
History: Mitchell’s Gut is a new vinegar-based project developed by Richmond-based Ninja Kombucha. The Brookland Park Boulevard kombucha brewery founded by owner Brett Nobile has been experimenting with drinking vinegars since 2017. His first product, Bertha’s Country Lane Harvest Apple Cider Vinegar, was launched in January, with new flavors to come.
Specialty: Mitchell’s Gut is named after a section of rapids in the James River and takes advantage of another Virginia specialty: apples. While it can be difficult to source local ingredients for kombucha, Nobile explains that working with vinegar allows the company to partner with area farms. People have long been aware of apple cider vinegar as a remedy, making it a “perfect first thing to do,” he says. “[Also,] because apples in Virginia are awesome.”
Production: Fresh apple cider, pressed in the fall, arrives at Mitchell’s Gut from an orchard in Virginia and is then openly fermented with kombucha culture at Ninja Kombucha for anywhere from 40 days to months at a time. It is bottled at the kombucha brewery’s facility in North Side.
Buy: Find the drinking vinegars at Ninja Kombucha, Soul N’ Vinegar, Boketto Wellness and online at ninjakombucha.com.
