I went to the local apple orchard's fall festival Saturday and bought four gallons of raw apple cider to make some of the infamous Brandon O's graff. They were refrigerated pretty well, with a little ice on top, so I left them out in a cool place to start the brew the next afternoon.
When I got up, two had begun fermenting on their own. I decided to go with it. I boiled the wort and cooled it, then added the raw cider and pitched some safbrew s-33 on top. I left this covered in the boiling pot, as I had to get to church. (Since SWMBO plays the organ there, I tend to be on time. It's safer.) The lid from SWMBO's skillet fits tightly, and has a nice rubber gasket to prevent leaks. When I got home after lunch, there was quite a bit of krausen on top. I skimmed this off with a sanitized slotted spoon and racked into the primary fermenter. It's been bubbling steadily, but not too rapidly, since.
I'm kinda happy about catching the wild yeast, but a little scared it'll foul the batch. If it turns out well, I'll do a quick pale ale and rack it onto the cake to try it on a beer. If it doesn't, I'll bleach heck out of everything and not sweat it. Anybody have any guesses what I'll end up with?
When I got up, two had begun fermenting on their own. I decided to go with it. I boiled the wort and cooled it, then added the raw cider and pitched some safbrew s-33 on top. I left this covered in the boiling pot, as I had to get to church. (Since SWMBO plays the organ there, I tend to be on time. It's safer.) The lid from SWMBO's skillet fits tightly, and has a nice rubber gasket to prevent leaks. When I got home after lunch, there was quite a bit of krausen on top. I skimmed this off with a sanitized slotted spoon and racked into the primary fermenter. It's been bubbling steadily, but not too rapidly, since.
I'm kinda happy about catching the wild yeast, but a little scared it'll foul the batch. If it turns out well, I'll do a quick pale ale and rack it onto the cake to try it on a beer. If it doesn't, I'll bleach heck out of everything and not sweat it. Anybody have any guesses what I'll end up with?