for all you sanitation freaks! :D

i found this video awhile ago and found it interesting. its good to see things from another point of view. this video features bannana brewing in africa! i find it cool how relaxed they are with their procedures and their brewing beer which is generally lower alcohol, which means it would probably spoil before a high alcohol percent wine. i dont know for sure the percentage they are making but w.e their method is , it appears to be working!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fb-JwtE4Lw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

so they soak the banana leaf funnel in star san?

Its funny, I also have a dug out tree fermenter; thought I was the only one.

OK, so now I don't feel so bad about sticking a straw directly into primary to sample.

I wouldn't want to drink that. People from there have an immune system that can stomach that. If I tried that, I would be on the pot for a week.

I guarantee Sam Calagione is watching this and getting ideas.

Open log Fermenting and gas-can secondary. I am planning my next brew right now!!

*EDIT*
Original post deleted due to computer glitch causing 2x post.... Sorry.

This, my friends, is a widely accepted possible method (by archaeologists) of how our modern brewing evolved! I have done research on primitive fermenting, and this matches up to what I've found. (ie open fermentation in wooden trough burried in the ground, filtered using plant material, and natural yeast and/or bacteria cultures to ferment) Funny thing is the research I did centered around mead and "ancient beers" from northern Europe (Scotland, Wales, Norway, Holland, Etc). Yeay for banana brewery!!

Not to be a know-it-all, but the yellow "gas can" is actually a water canister. Here our's are blue, clear, and brown.

The reason we sanitize is the same reason they don't, wild yeasts. They wan't them we don't. For them the wild yeast is what gets their fermentation going. For us it just causes off flavors compared to what we are originally going for.

Keith_Mahoney said:

The reason we sanitize is the same reason they don't, wild yeasts. They wan't them we don't. For them the wild yeast is what gets their fermentation going. For us it just causes off flavors compared to what we are originally going for.

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maybe they dont all use wild yeast, maybe they use packaged yeast.

Esters.....not a problem

Nope, ain't going to happen.

I'm a cleaning and sanitizing freak and I'm good with that.
I do some semi-open fermenting too.

Nope, ain't going to happen.

amandabab said:

Nope, ain't going to happen.

I'm a cleaning and sanitizing freak and I'm good with that.
I do some semi-open fermenting too.

Nope, ain't going to happen.

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amandabab said:

Nope, ain't going to happen.

I'm a cleaning and sanitizing freak and I'm good with that.
I do some semi-open fermenting too.

Nope, ain't going to happen.

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you do open fermentaions? i thought that near the end of fermentation the yeast go from liking oxygen to hating it. also called aerobic and anerobic. thats what i learnt about wine making, or is beer different?

shanek17 said:

maybe they dont all use wild yeast, maybe they use packaged yeast.

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Yea, if you watch the entire documentary you'll see them smacking a pack of Wyeast 3068. Ferment warm. Just can't get enough banana in that beer.

Think any of them are members here?

"A hole in the ground keeps the fermenter cool". At least they practice good temperature control!

shanek17 said:

maybe they dont all use wild yeast, maybe they use packaged yeast.

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I didn't watch the whole video but I doubt those Kenyens who are using bannanna leaf filters and funnels and fermenting in logs burried in dirt are using packaged yeast.

I always thought that all the sanitizing was just for just in case . We used to make beer in a plastic 30 gallon trash can . no carbonating , just drink it up .

What did people do before no rinse sanitizer ? I guess if you have to have a beer that tastes exactly like the recipe says it should then maybe there is a point to it . Well that and it just seems a bit more sanitary so I do it any way .
but I did make a stout that i put a half gallon too much water in and a couple extra pounds of sugar and it over fermented out the lock so I sucked off a half a gallon and put it in a plastic pitcher and covered it with a gallon size plastic bag and cut a slit in the corner and that beer tastes great .

how ever the AC blowing or heater in winter can put out a lot of bad crap like black mold . Probably not good in your beer . Since my buckets and stuff are just sitting around the front room i sanitize them for that reason mostly. But I also wash them with ivory soap first .

yeah well when the water over there might kill you, a banana sour doesn't sound all that bad

Rhaop said:

yeah well when the water over there might kill you, a banana sour doesn't sound all that bad

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Andrew Zimmern had a segment where they made banana beer in Tanzania. The beer is sour, and gets more sour with time so it is drunk fresh. All wild yeasts and yeast left over in the fermenter from the previous batch.
I would drink it before I would drink the water, no toxic nasties grow in fermented grain/fruit worts. Plenty of bottled and filtered water to go around for us tourists, though.

Yay for homebrew!!

shanek17 said:

maybe they dont all use wild yeast, maybe they use packaged yeast.

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Nope, look closer, they are pouring over a wild yeast cake.

isurf said:

Nope, look closer, they are pouring over a wild yeast cake.

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hmm i watched the vid again but i dont see. can you clarify what you mean , i do not see a yeast cake.

i was thinkin some more bout all this and you would think it may actually be cleaner to brew outdoors like they are. you got lots of fresh open airspace to keep things clean. as you may know air naturally cleans itself and trees help do this too. i would imagine a dirty musty house would be less sanitary to brew in!

isurf said:

nope, look closer, they are pouring over a wild yeast cake.

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isurf said:

nope, look closer, they are pouring over a wild yeast cake.

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When I began home brewing I realized sanitization is the biggest thing in this hobby so it made sense to me to see both sides of the story. So I began researching about sanitary brewing on the internet and the majority if not all of websites are about buying and using such and such chemical and the importance of using them to sanitize. This can be overwhelming for new homebrewers, it seems at every turn they are told SANTIZE SANITIZE AND SANITIZE! and this can leave them feeling like there taking care of a little sick baby. But very few people talk about whats already available to protect. instead we hear the usual endorsed chemical sanitization lecture.

I personally feel I have learnt alot about the sanitizing products that I can buy, so now I am interested in learning more about natures strength. We make nature intended beverages so why not learn more about alcohol and nature and how it works and what it offers. That way I can make informed decisions about my practice and sanitization methods.

So, What I am trying to get across here is to embrance natures protection and our own methods of protection, and find a balance in homebrewing. If anyone has any information about homebrewing how they naturally keep from spoilage PLEASE DO SO, it makes for a good read!

davekippen said:

Open log Fermenting and gas-can secondary. I am planning my next brew right now!!

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New sig.

I just want to know where's the cheapest place to rent a jack hammer. I've been doing the swamp cooler thing all wrong.


.....starts marking places to dig in his basement.