I just finished the Wild Brews book recommended in this thread. Good stuff. It answers a lot of the questions that are still hanging out there and, sorry to be cliche, but it reminds me to RDWHAHB. The book disolves a lot of the fears that people (including me) express in this thread and explains how nature seems to work things out if you just put the right circumstances in place.
I think if you intend on doing more than just experimenting with a naturally inoculated brew (and I think that is probably most of us since it could take 3+ years to ferment a batch) then you should definately invest in this book. The $20 or whatever is well worth it.
So, I set out a sterilized jar with a bit of watered-down boiled wort in it several days ago. There are a few sizable (meaning the size of a nickel) globs floating around towards the bottom. Should I consider this one a lost cause, or is this a normal bacterial development on the way to a yeast culture?
So, I set out a sterilized jar with a bit of watered-down boiled wort in it several days ago. There are a few sizable (meaning the size of a nickel) globs floating around towards the bottom. Should I consider this one a lost cause, or is this a normal bacterial development on the way to a yeast culture?
Next time I wouldn't water down the wort. The higher alpha acids and high sugar content will keep unwanted things from growing in it, IMO. Just fill a jar with some wort, put a hop bag over it and let it sit.
I'm going for Myeast14207 Northwest Buffalo Ale capture on Wednesday. Supposed to be a breezy, sunny, upper 40's day. Figure I'll put some cheese cloth over a growler with half liter of wort and leave it outside while I'm at work.
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On Deck: AIPA
Primary 1: Air :-(
Primary 2: Air :-(
Primary 3: Apfelwein
I left my hydro sample sitting in my garage from my Sunday brew. I went out to the garage tonight to find a nice little mini-krausen formed on top of it. Is this worth keeping and trying to harvest the yeast?
I think what it means by "leaving it out" is letting it ferment. So you let it get innoculated and it gets a little of all this stuff in it. Organism 1 is good at getting off to a quick start so it dominates for two weeks. But at that point organism 2 is more suited to the environment (because of increased alcohol, lower oxygen, or something) and it begins to outcompete organism 1 and becomes the dominant bug. After a while, the slow starting organism 3 is able to outcompete organism 2, and so on.
I have been having 2 of 2 success harvesting with ... apple juice. It is more acidic than wort, and that seems to keep the unwanted stuff (eg MOLD!) at bay.
It will take awhile to cleanup my house yeast I captured but it looks good so far.
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