rookie wild yeast question

So I brewed the other day siphoned off a mason of wort and put it by the window. I checked on it tonight and there is no activity yet as expected. I did notice though that there is a layer of dust and dirt sitting on top of the wort. Should I shrug it off or try again and put a piece of cheese cloth on top to keep dirt out?

Id bet its still pretty cold in denver right now, Id think that in a couple more weeks when it warms up to the 50-60's that would be a decent time to try this

also you should put cheesecloth on it to keep out flys and other insects, because they will turn the whole thing into vinegar

Yeah we are in the time of year where one day it is in the 60's and the next it is snowing. I am thinking it will be fine if I just close the window when it gets below 40. Also thinking about it the cheese cloth is necessary. Think I will leave the one I have there just to see what happens and give this another shot with the cheese cloth when I brew next time.

hmmmm looks like I caught something in the jar since it is bubbling. I am going to wait another week before I do anything with it since my carboys are all full. Think I could strain it with cheese cloth before it goes into a starter? I will try to take a pic of it later today.

Sorry no pics yet. I was out of town for the weekend. So it really looks like I have yeast in there now since there is a krausen. I am not brewing until this coming friday though. I closed the window. Should I put a lid on it and put it in the fridge or just leave it in the open air until I brew?

Thanks

What I do is to put it into a starter vessel and treat it just like any other starter. Leaving it open can allow for other, less desirable things. Then again, you may get more desirable things so it sort of is a crapshoot. But, once I capture something, I try to keep it "clean."

Once you put it into your starter vessel, you can step up enough for a batch, decant and pitch it just like any other starter. I've currently got one that's a beast taking a beer all the way to 1.000 so you may want to check the terminal gravity of your starter beer to kind of anticipate what you will be getting.

And if you're not going to be brewing for a while, you can always put it into the fridge for a few weeks then bring it out and make a starter out of it as you would with any other yeast.

The only differences I am finding from wild yeast and non-wild yeast, other than knowing what to expect from the final product, is that wild yeasts aren't necessarily a single strain and may well be multiple types (lager and ale yeasts) as well as have other micro-organisms in the mix, as well. Their overall treatment should be relatively the same.

Good luck!

Thanks for the tips Barc. I put a sterile lid on it and moved it to the fridge.

Any tips on what to brew? I was thinks something really basic with pale malt and maybe a little Halletreu hops.

You could make a very basic blonde or something like that. I just bottled a simple recipe with just 2-Row and some amber invert sugar to give it a little color and a little extra flavor. I hopped to only about 25 or so IBU. My goal was to determine what I had before I made any major moves on what to brew. You're probably on the right track in your thinking, though.

Hey,

Made a starter on Thursday for the wild yeast. Brewed the beer and went to pitch the yeast. It had a kind of Belgium beer smell to it. It is fermenting away today. Gave the airlock a whiff and smelled kind of like nail polish remover. Does that mean I need to lower the temperature? Or did I pitch something that is going to make some nasty beer?

Nail polish is generally not a good smell. Do a search on the forum here... But, it could just be a phase. Keep your fingers crossed. If the starter didn't smell like that, it could be just one of the number of smells you'll encounter during fermentation.

Good luck!

Just to follow up. How did that beer come out?

Hey,

The beer is still in the fermenter. I have been moving and have not had time to do brew work. I will be sure to give an update.

nail polish remover smell is Ethyl Acetate. It is formed due to the reaction of Ethanol and Acetic Acid. I would guess you have acetobacter in you mixed culture but other bugs can make this too.

I did a quick search and found some surface yeasts, in particular Candida, that also produce acetic acid and therefore Ethyl acetate.

Both surface yeasts and acetobactor need oxygen to compete with other yeasts and produce the off aroma.

I am Very NEW to alternative and wild yeast production, but I would not be hopeful of the culture you've created.

Anyone with more experience can give some input?

Even some lactobacillus strains produce acetate and high percentages of acetic acid. You could also have enterobacter or clostridium in there. Acetate stinks, but it's volatile and can boiled away or driven away with additional fermentation with regular yeast.