Butterfly Ridge Brewmeisters?!

We have been using homemade baits to attract butterflies for years. The process was fairly simple; make a banana/brown sugar/dark beer smoothie, add a little yeast and then let it sit there for a month or so. We learned early on to poke a hole in the lid of our ambrosoid beverage to allow the brew to vent.

We learned the bait recipe from Marianna Trevino Wright, the director of the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas. And when our special brew was initially failing, it was Marianna who suggested adding more yeast. Her suggestion worked and we were off to the races.

The race of course, was the trip around the Butterfly Ridge trail to apply the bait to firewood sticks we had hung in the trees. The butterflies did not disappoint. Commas, Question Marks, Red Admirals, Satyrs and Pearly-eyes all jumped on the bait. Hackberry and Tawny Emperors left their perches high in the hackberry tree to mingle amongst visitors and video cameras stationed in front of the sticks.

Then a great idea! Let’s sell the bait in the gift shop!! Totally unaware if such a product would require a liquor license we contacted the state of Ohio. We were passed to three different people without an intelligible answer. Finally, we were given instructions to send an email to their legal department, which we did. And then we waited . . . and waited . . . and waited.

Three weeks later we get our response. Since the bait is not for human consumption, we do not have to have a liquor license. Woohoo!! We set out ordering bottles and buying all the necessary raw materials. We fermented the bananas next to the wood stove in ziplock bags. We fired up the smoothie machine, and poured the results in our vented plastic jug and waited.

After three weeks we thought it would be safe to bottle. We carefully poured the mix into our newly purchased beer bottles. After a week or so, and being curious, we decided to open one of the bottles. Our bottle lids were a snap and seal type, so we grabbed a bottle and I pushed on the metal strap that would release the seal.

Pow!!! For a second I thought someone had fired my dad’s .38 caliber six-shooter. And then I looked up. Half of the contents of the bottle was now coating the kitchen window. Brew lesson #1, kill the yeast before bottling by boiling!

Of course, we still had the challenge of getting the bait out of the other bottles without shattering bottles or blowing up our house. I remembered back to my freshman chemistry class. Gas under high pressure and cold temperatures will change to a liquid. So, into the freezer went the filled bottles, hoping the cold treatment would reduce some of the pressure and we would not be spraying bait around the house like Champaign around the winning team’s locker room. For the most part the strategy worked. We lost some bait in the ensuing explosions, but not as much as we did with the first.

With such a great tale of woe and whimsy, you would think we would sell our bait bottles for $50 each, to bring some relief from our pain and suffering! But no, we will be selling the bait for $10 each. And you too can not only enjoy the fruits of our trauma, but become a part of the story as well.