Well I've only done this once but it worked great. I noticed right after I captured it and got familiar with its smell that it was EXACTLY how the air smelled outside just concentrated. So I'd do it when the air smelled good outside.
That confirms a suspicion I had that you could essentially capture the "essence" of a place by capturing wild yeast and other buggies there. It is why I'm going to try to get cultures going from a variety of interesting "natural" places like a meadow in full bloom, the middle of a thick forest, an old barn and an orchard.
I'm thinking the floral/grassy flavors that may be captured from a meadow would make a great pale ale or IPA.
Earthy/woody flavors from the forest would make a killer Bitter.
What better use for a barn yeast than a nice funky belgian farmhouse ale?
And how nice would the fruity flavors from orchard yeast be with a hefeweizen.
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I'm too lazy and have too many beers going to keep updating this!
That confirms a suspicion I had that you could essentially capture the "essence" of a place by capturing wild yeast and other buggies there. It is why I'm going to try to get cultures going from a variety of interesting "natural" places like a meadow in full bloom, the middle of a thick forest, an old barn and an orchard.
I'm thinking the floral/grassy flavors that may be captured from a meadow would make a great pale ale or IPA.
Earthy/woody flavors from the forest would make a killer Bitter.
What better use for a barn yeast than a nice funky belgian farmhouse ale?
And how nice would the fruity flavors from orchard yeast be with a hefeweizen.
YES! I think I must of captured the smell of my university town during a dreary cold winter, grungy black ice slush in the streets, car exaust, etc. The funny thing is it still makes a good beer! Maybe I'll start calling it Road Slush Double Wit
YES! I think I must of captured the smell of my university town during a dreary cold winter, grungy black ice slush in the streets, car exaust, etc. The funny thing is it still makes a good beer! Maybe I'll start calling it Road Slush Double Wit
I love your ideas by the way.
Haha, it's like who would have thought "horse blanket" or "wet dog" would be used to describe a good beer. And yet, they are.
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I'm too lazy and have too many beers going to keep updating this!
The yeast will evolve into something different depending on the selection pressure. You could capture yeast from the same place and use it in several different ways to make different yeasts.
For instance, you could get a highly flocculant strain by removing the yeast that falls out of suspension first and using that for a repeat of the process. Or you could slowly acclimate the yeast to higher and higher gravities. The trick is to get one yeast with all the properties you want. Of course, the evolution of the yeast would take place in small batches (maybe 1/2 liter).
This is another idea on how to capture yeast. [I do my own culturing.] I made some slants where made up a good quantity agar-agar and DME for the slant media. I filled all my slants then put the rest in a sterile sauce jar. (Bushes Chilli I think...)
Anyhow the jar is half full with slant media. I could just open the jar for an afternoon somewhere. Then close it up and wait. If I got any wild yeast it will have landed on the media. Within a few days it will start growing. If that works. I will pick off a yeast sample with a sterile loop and inoculate a tiny starter. Then step it up to a gallon sized batch.
This way I don't have to mess with a liquid that is open for so long that it could have multiple infections. Its possible to pick-out a good yeast off a slant that has some mold on it. On the slant the yeast and mold look different. Usually just a pin head in size. (See picture - Has mold and yeast)
This is an awesome thread! I feel like I would be able to make at least a hooch any where I might be! I cant wait to try this when it warms up! this makes me want to find my childhood microscope that I got for Christmas when I was six!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by staffVAJoe
... If you are smart enough and talented enough to make a better cheese burger than McDonald's then you are good enough to out brew Budweiser.
I've had great success with capturing wild yeasts from the skins of fruits for use in cider, my process is simple:
get an organic fruit (so far I've only done stone fruits and apples), try not to touch it with your bare hands as much as possible. Skin the fruit and place the skin into a 12oz bottle filled half-way with apple juice and a little yeast nutrient. cover with foil and shake it around every few hours or so (I don't have a stir-plate) and keep in a warm place. Once you see some good fermentation happening (3-4 days usually), shake around the starter again and transfer the liquids and trub to another 12oz with a bit more juice in it, leaving the skins behind, let starter ferment through for a few more days, then pitch into your wort/apple juice. After that batch is done, I usually wash the yeast to use again. I've found that the first batch is quite "dirty" and cleans up after subsequent washings and refrigerations. YMMV.
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