Home Yeast Cultivation And Use Help

I'm trying to get a good batch of yeast growing so that way I don't have to buy packets anymore. I prefer to use natural yeast techniques (I know I'm odd) because I would like to be able to have my delicious brews in a time of crisis. Anyone know a great way to get natural yeast cultivated, but keep from getting bacteria in your brews?

Not sure what you mean "natural yeast techniques"? Yeast is in the air, in your beard, on fruit and even in beer. If you want to collect some get a petri plate with agar and take the cover off for a few hours or overnight under a fruit tree. You can then grab some isolated colonies and brew small batches till you find one you like. Otherwise leave wort uncovered at night under a fruit tree- thats the way a bunch of breweries do it (La Jolla, Cantillon, etc).

Good luck

Isolating only the yeast would be difficult if not impossible without a microscope.
I have yet to attempt it, but have plans to try it at some point.

Is this like a doomsday beer? Do you have a freezer in your scenario. A grain field? I mean what are we talking here?

I would invest time and money into research and execution of slanting yeast. Put them in your freezer and you will always have yeast capable of making good beer. If you want funk beer get some brett b. slants. Whitelabs has already isolated wild yeast for you.

40watt said:

Isolating only the yeast would be difficult if not impossible without a microscope.
I have yet to attempt it, but have plans to try it at some point.

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Actually, it is quite easy. One would expose a plate to a yeast source, like fruit or beard, allow it to grow, then select the yeast from the plate based on the look of the culture (morphology), and streak another plate. A scope would be useful to confirm, although it is certainly possible without one.

A google search of yeast morphology on a plate would provide enough information to select the right culture.

I second the question about "natural yeast technique," what is that?

Fair enough. For me however, I wouldn't consider the process complete or a success until it was confirmed with a scope.

I am doing some yeast capturing. Until I scope it, I don't REALLY know what I have.
Just my opinion.

If you plate yeast to isolate spores then you can at least isolate good smelling,tasting yeast. I agree you don't know exactly what you have unless under a microscope. I just recently brewed a pale with some isolated yeast i cultured off of organic apples it tastes and smells awesome. I pulled four different spores from the plate and grew them separately and they all smelled different and only one smelled good and obviously that's the one I used.