how to ferment hot sauce

Mash or brine? Chopped or whole? These aren't style preferences — they're the decisions that determine everything about a fermented hot sauce before fermentation even begins. Get the method wrong for your pepper and nothing that follows can fix it. The craft fermenter guide: why mash concentrates while brine dilutes, what surface area actually does, how to stop fermentation to lock in the exact flavor profile you want, and what pH to hit before you seal a bottle.