Appearance of a wild beer?

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dontman

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About a month ago I pitched the WY Lambic blend on a partially fermented beer. So far I have no visual evidence of the dosing. Should I be seeing anything on this beer? A pellicle, etc.?

EDIT: There is an odor to it but it is kind of hard to distinguish because of the co2 bite when I sniff.
 
pellicles only form in response to O2

I suggest smelling or tasting it, then Im sure youll be convinced of the "infection"
 
The other thing you MIGHT (and I stress "might") see is some slimy looking stuff on the surface, which is a bi-product of pediococcus.

It's some sort of protein chains, sometimes described as "ropey" and beers of this state have been described as "sick". When I've seen it in beers I've made, it's been a slightly jello-like consistency on the top surface.

Best bet is to taste it though.
 
I've got a true wild fermentation going currently. I used a sourdough starter, pitched the liquor into a sugar water mixture and let that ferment for a few days until i was sure it was doing "something" and not just making acetic acid or lactic acid. I pitched some of that into Malta Goya mixture and let it ride.

Observations:
*No true krausen. It is basically like everyone is saying. It looks like there's something, possibly "slimy," on top but not a true, bubbly krausen like you'd expect from pure ale yeast. It varies from day to day a little but, since I am stirring it about 2 times per day, I don't know what it would look like if I let it go longer than a few days.
*Lots of floccuation. There's a ton of stuff falling out of suspension. I don't know what it is, but there's a lot of it.
*Funky smell. It isn't bad, per se, but it is funky. It is alcoholic as you can smell an alcohol edge to it but it isn't yeasty, either.

Again, this is a yeast / bacteria mix I picked up in my kitchen and not something you're likely to duplicate 100% from "true" bugs. It does sound suspiciously like what I've read a bug mix will get you, though.

Hope that helps!
 

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