stevehollx
Well-Known Member
Has anyone tried maintaining their own wild yeast culture? What's the 'shelf life' of brett or lacto/pedio in the fridge?
I don't have an easy time getting living dregs of sour beers, so I've been buying brett, lacto, pedio separately and pitching. That's a fair amount of money wrapped up for a single batch's yeast, and I think I can do better.
I think there are a few options. Let's assume that sacc/brett/lacto/pedio are all pitched at primary:
* Pulling a blend of the brett/bug mixture before pitching into the primary.
* Washing the yeast from the primary fermenter's cake after moving beer to secondary.
* (For beers that don't have a seconday, like a Lambic) Washing the yeast off the cake after a year of aging.
* Use the dregs from homebrewed sours to rebuild and pitch.
I figure the first option of saving some of the bugs at the start is the way to go, since it keeps them separate from the Sacc strain. Given this, what is the best way to maintain this through multiple future batches? Could I just store a mason jar of and every 3-6 months build a starter for a week with it and put half back in the fridge and half into the beer?
I don't have an easy time getting living dregs of sour beers, so I've been buying brett, lacto, pedio separately and pitching. That's a fair amount of money wrapped up for a single batch's yeast, and I think I can do better.
I think there are a few options. Let's assume that sacc/brett/lacto/pedio are all pitched at primary:
* Pulling a blend of the brett/bug mixture before pitching into the primary.
* Washing the yeast from the primary fermenter's cake after moving beer to secondary.
* (For beers that don't have a seconday, like a Lambic) Washing the yeast off the cake after a year of aging.
* Use the dregs from homebrewed sours to rebuild and pitch.
I figure the first option of saving some of the bugs at the start is the way to go, since it keeps them separate from the Sacc strain. Given this, what is the best way to maintain this through multiple future batches? Could I just store a mason jar of and every 3-6 months build a starter for a week with it and put half back in the fridge and half into the beer?