RushN24
Well-Known Member
Brewers are constantly pushing the envelope with crazy new techniques but just when you think brewing technique can't get any more eccentric, someone proposes an idea so radical it practically blows your mind. I just finished reading the most recent issue of Zymurgy, and Charlie Papazian just keeps on surprising me with his truly outside the box approach to brewing. In his article, Where the Wild Things Are, he briefly suggests that one could harvest the existing wild microorganisms currently dwelling on each of our own bodies and culture them for the purpose of adding it to beer.
Though he has not tried to do this yet he goes on to conject a basic technique whereby a person swabs the skin with a sterile q-tip and cultures the sample in a 1/4 cup of boiled,cooled, and aerated wort (1.040). Then stepping it up to a larger, more appropriate pitching volume, for a few days upon detecting activity and adding it to secondary.
At first thought you might be somewhat repulsed by the notion, but you have to admit such innovative thinking naturally stimulates the mind. You start asking yourself if you would do this, you argue that it might just be too outlandish, but then again what aren't homebrewers trying these days? It's our nature to be experimental, visionary thinkers.
So what do you guys think? Read the article, it is mostly about toasting hops, which is actually very interesting too, but I thought this might inspire more conversation. Would you try it? Is it just plain crazy, or is it genius. Papazian also raises issues about patents and naming right, using cultures from eminent people such as movie stars, musicians...etc. Also in an effort to encourage experimentation and reassure the apprehensive germaphobe Papazian reminds us "there are no known pathogenic organisms that can survive in beer."
Though he has not tried to do this yet he goes on to conject a basic technique whereby a person swabs the skin with a sterile q-tip and cultures the sample in a 1/4 cup of boiled,cooled, and aerated wort (1.040). Then stepping it up to a larger, more appropriate pitching volume, for a few days upon detecting activity and adding it to secondary.
At first thought you might be somewhat repulsed by the notion, but you have to admit such innovative thinking naturally stimulates the mind. You start asking yourself if you would do this, you argue that it might just be too outlandish, but then again what aren't homebrewers trying these days? It's our nature to be experimental, visionary thinkers.
So what do you guys think? Read the article, it is mostly about toasting hops, which is actually very interesting too, but I thought this might inspire more conversation. Would you try it? Is it just plain crazy, or is it genius. Papazian also raises issues about patents and naming right, using cultures from eminent people such as movie stars, musicians...etc. Also in an effort to encourage experimentation and reassure the apprehensive germaphobe Papazian reminds us "there are no known pathogenic organisms that can survive in beer."
