Bottle Dregs to old?

[dlampen45]

Hi all
About 8 months ago I started harvesting dregs from a few different sours I bought while in Belgium in March. I sanitized a mason jar and tin foil and pitched 4 different dregs into it over the course of a month and fed it every couple of weeks for the next month or so. ....then things got crazy at work. I haven't brewed anything or touched any of my equipment since probably April/May including that dregs jar. Its been covered with the same tin foil and kept @ about 55-60 degrees since then but my question is will it still be good to use. Im assuming if anything is still alive in there its "hibernating" and ill have to pitch a bunch more with it and feed it second runnings or whatever I have before actually pitching it into a beer, but does anyone have any input on whether or not i should continue to use the original or just dump it and start over?

 

[NickersonC]

For one, I'd be assuming you have this jar semi-refrigerated by your comments about 'hibernation', but I guess 55-60 degrees isn't very refrigerated. Since you "fed" it, which I assume was with med-low gravity wort, the proportions of sacc yeast to bugs will not be the same as in the original bottles. I'm far from an expert, but all research I've done and advice I've gotten I believe leads me to the idea that sacc yeast feeds and reproduces much faster than any kind of bugs. This isn't necessarily problematic, just something to consider.

As a rule of thumb, if it has any off smells or flavors in the jar itself, I would not use it in a beer. That rule applies to any kind of 'starter', I believe. That's your first test: if it smells fine, you could give it a little sip unless there are scary things floating around in it.

Honestly, if it was just kept out on the counter or something at room temperature, or whatever 55-60 degrees is in your house, for that length of time, my gut tells me it is probably not good to use. It's worth giving it a test, though, I guess. Nobody wants to pour out precious bottle dregs, especially from a different country!

 

[dlampen45]

Exactly what i was thinking, I'm just glad i didn't dump a whole bunch of sour dregs in it that I'd be wasting.
FWIW my basement stays about 55ish through the summer

 

[NickersonC]

Check back in if you give it a smell/taste test, I'm curious. Again, I'm far from an expert, but I'd like to hear what you think.

 

[dlampen45]

Just took a good look at it. Im not sure I can tell the difference between good "things growing in it" and bad so I just tossed it. Smells delicious though but a couple dregs of sour stuff isn't worth getting sick over to me. Time to start over. Any advice on where to keep it? I researched it in the past but never really got a clear answer of put a lid on it vs lightly put tinfoil over it so 02 can get in and what actual temp to keep it at. Its finally getting pretty cold here in southwest MI so I would imagine my basement will be closer to 50 for the next couple of months. Kegerator holds at 41 otherwise. I really doubt my wife will appreciate keeping something like that in the fridge, but she would love the smell

 

[Agate]

I really like to keep my bottle dregs in a 5-gallon carboy full of 1.050 wort, preferably fermented out with some phenolic yeast.

But seriously, if you're storing bottle dregs long term, you don't want to expose them to oxygen and give other microbes and mold the opportunity to get in there. Just get a small jug to which you can fit an airlock (or a wine bottle) and store them in some low gravity wort. Add additional dregs as you get them. Or just make a full batch and add them to it as you drink various sours.

 

[dlampen45]

I really like to keep my bottle dregs in a 5-gallon carboy full of 1.050 wort, preferably fermented out with some phenolic yeast.

But seriously, if you're storing bottle dregs long term, you don't want to expose them to oxygen and give other microbes and mold the opportunity to get in there. Just get a small jug to which you can fit an airlock (or a wine bottle) and store them in some low gravity wort. Add additional dregs as you get them. Or just make a full batch and add them to it as you drink various sours.

Gotcha. Ive got plenty of 1/2 gal growlers laying around i might just sacrifice one of those and fit an airlock to it. After a 6 month or so hiatus im planning on brewing a few things in the coming days and wanted to start this over again so ill just grab some second/third runnings and make the wife split a couple sours with me
Is temp a big deal or as long as its sealed off from 02 the biggest concern?

 

[Agate]

The microbes will be more active at room temperature or slightly warmer, which is kind of what you want. I usually keep them off in a corner until it looks like they're doing something, and then keep it at cellar temperatures (i.e., banished to basement) when I'm tired of walking around them. There's some evidence that brett survives better at room temperature than in the fridge, but these microbes live for years in barrels at cellar temperatures.