My Wild Ale.

Brewed 7.5 Gallons Thursday June 14 2012. 5 gals went into carboy and other 2.5 went into bucket covered with 2 paint filters which was then left in garage. When checked Saturday morning, fermentation activity was noticed. I brought into basement on Sunday evening as there was some very hot weather coming and airlocked it. Today it is still active with bubbles and (I guess) yeasty chunks floating on the surface.

Very excited to see what happens next. :rockin:

OG 1.049 Today 1.030. Haven't seen one bubble at the airlock.

How does it smell or taste?

Smell is of sourness and funk and something else that I can't pick out yet. Taste is funky and very pleasant. No sour yet. It looks like it will be drinkable when finished, so far. I. Must. Have. Patience. Which may prove to be difficult.

Thinking I'll make some sour dough bread with the yeast harvest when it's all said and done.

I guess if it remains stalled, you could pitch some clean yeast to ferment it further and then let it sit to sour more. But you are probably right, patience may be best.

Well done with the spontaneous fermentation! I also spontaneously fermented an ale this spring. It went from 1.063 to 1.025 in about three weeks and stalled there. I grew up dregs from a bottle of a JP beer and a Bockor Oud Bruin. Fermentation kicked up again shortly after. If yours stays stalled, you could always do something along those lines.

How long are you going to let it ferment?

Not sure how long to let it go for. Probably until there is no activity on the surface and then some. Hopefully I can let it go another two weeks without checking the gravity at least. http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_lambicbrewing.cfm I'm not sure how the sequence of bacteria activity applies to me though.

How did your's turn out?

So I waited 5 days since last check. WooHoo! Anyway, it's down to 1.010. Not much has changed with aroma or flavor except now there is a very slight sourness at the back of the mouth.

mloula said:

Not sure how long to let it go for. Probably until there is no activity on the surface and then some. Hopefully I can let it go another two weeks without checking the gravity at least. http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_lambicbrewing.cfm I'm not sure how the sequence of bacteria activity applies to me though.

How did your's turn out?

Click to expand...

That sequence generally applies but since you aren't working with a pure, selected culture of bugs you may see considerable variance. You may get some early ropy texture or none at all. You may get a lot of diacetyl or none. Etc. If you are willing to let this sit for a long time you may end up with a very interesting beer.

Today's sample, 1.008 and a little more sourness. I spose I should let it sit for a while now or I'll sample it so much that I won't have anything left to bottle.

Other thoughts I'm having...The other five gallons I made with this batch and pitched the WLP670 is absolutely delicious. Very little sourness so far, but I'm sure that will come with time as the brett does it's thing. I was planning on adding tart cherries and pinot noir soaked oak chips like Supplication which I thought was amazing. Wondering if I really want to do that to this beer or if I want to add cherries and chips to both batches...........:cross:

One more sample. The wild is now at 1.006 with a pellicle beginning to form. I tasted the other batch too and it is at 1.006 as well with no pellicle.

Making progress.

Interested to see how this one turns out.... Subscribed.

So 5 weeks old today. Real nice pellicle. Took a flavor sample and it is oh so sour already. I was going to make another batch of this and pitch the wyeast roeselare, but after seeing what I have in the air here for free, I don't really see any reason to do that. I decided that I don't need to add anything else to this beer as it will be fantastic just the way it is. Now, just to figure out how long to leave it sit...Sure wish this was in glass. The next one will be for sure.