Didn't have yeast!

[zombiebrew]

Sooo...this past sunday, I had some spare time and some clean equipment, so I decided to brew up a batch of honey-wheat I had bout a week or so ago. Went through the process wich I feel pretty comfortable with, cooled the wort and strained it into my carboy, checked the temp and it was ready for yeast. Crap. Gone. Nowhere to be found. I had a sanitized airlock which I popped on and covered it with a towel. my local brew shop doesn't open until tuesday, and I didn't make it until today, thursday. I got the yeast, and a back up to keep in my fridge.
I walked downstairs to bring the carboy up to pitch the yeast, and whatdya know...krausean. the airlock is bubbling away though, you can't really see the yeast storm like I did with my british pale ale a batch ago.
I'm guessing it is infected with wild yeast/bacterica which has started some sort of fermentation. I'm pretty sure the batch is toast, but is it worth it to let it do its thing for a week or so and see what comes out of it? If nothing else, to taste what a contaminated home brew tastes like? My first batch, the pale ale, came out perfect, and after a week plus of bottle conditioning, pours with a great head, color, aroma and a satifiying taste.
so what do ya guys think, let it finish itself out and see what I come up with?

 

[hoppymonkey]

THere is a huge section on here about wild-brewing. Let it ride and see what happens

 

[maxamuus]

maybe zombie yeast?

 

[CortexBomb]

Do you like sour beers?

If so, I would finish it out like a normal batch and see what it tastes like. My understanding is that wild often equals Brett, which is a wild yeast that winemakers think of as a scourge, but which is the basis of many tasty sour beers. Of course, it's wild, so who knows what else you might get? That's (apparently) part of the adventure.

Some people brew with wild yeast on purpose, and I think it'd be worth seeing what the thing turns into. But if you are set on a given style, well, dump it and start over. Just be sure to sanitize the hell out of all the equipment that came into contact with the wild stuff, if it's Brett it'll stick around if you don't sanitize it into oblivion.

 

[wyzazz]

Not to be a "Negative Nellie" here but if your batch was infected with wild yeast over the course of 4 days I think you need to take a look at your cleaning & sanitation practices. I've personally let my wort sit in a sealed fermenter for 2 weeks without pitching yeast with no adverse results & no infection. What do you use for cleaning and sanitizing?

 

[homebeerbrewer]

I wonder if you pitched your yeast that you thought was missing, and then forgot that you did.

Could happen...

Don't dump it until it's finished and you've had a sample. Could be some good beer.

 

[wyzazz]

I wonder if you pitched your yeast that you thought was missing, and then forgot that you did.

Could happen...

Don't dump it until it's finished and you've had a sample. Could be some good beer.

You weren't possibly drinking homebrew while brewing were you?

 

[zombiebrew]

you know what...I was drinking a homebrew while I was making it. and on top of that, I did a one for my homies thing and poured a splash into the wort kettle. but it still boiled for about 30 min after that, wouldn't that have killed any left over yeast in the bottle of brew?
thanks for the replies everyone, either way I think I'll let it ride and see what comes out of it. I have another carbory and a fermenting bucket I can get a controlled batch going in meanwhile.

 

[wyzazz]

you know what...I was drinking a homebrew while I was making it. and on top of that, I did a one for my homies thing and poured a splash into the wort kettle. but it still boiled for about 30 min after that, wouldn't that have killed any left over yeast in the bottle of brew?
thanks for the replies everyone, either way I think I'll let it ride and see what comes out of it. I have another carbory and a fermenting bucket I can get a controlled batch going in meanwhile.

Yep that would have killed the yeast in the bottle.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

Not related at all to the topic of this thread, but when you said your LHBS was closed on Monday, I immediately thought "oh, so I'm not the only one that has to deal with that crap!" only to look at your location and see that we must both go to Alternative Beverage.

 

[jonbomb]

Not related at all to the topic of this thread, but when you said your LHBS was closed on Monday, I immediately thought "oh, so I'm not the only one that has to deal with that crap!" only to look at your location and see that we must both go to Alternative Beverage.

My LHBS is closed on monday too

 

[homebeerbrewer]

My LHBS is closed on monday too

So is mine. And on Tuesday. And on Wednesday. He's only open Thursday and Friday evenings, from 6-8 pm, and on Saturdays from 12-5 pm.

 

[PTisch]

Mine is also closed on Monday.

 

[curlyfat]

Same here. Closed Sundays and Mondays...which are my days off.

To the OP, I would let it ride out, but I would not get my hopes up. I think your plan to ferment it out, and get a good batch going is the way to go.

 

[Revvy]

A lot of them are closed on Mondays, primarily because they are open on Sundays to cater to the weekend brewers. If yours is not open on Sunday AND monday, then I'm sorry. The owner's a boob.

 

[curlyfat]

A lot of them are closed on Mondays, primarily because they are open on Sundays to cater to the weekend brewers. If yours is not open on Sunday AND monday, then I'm sorry. The owner's a boob.

He's a nice guy, but definitely not a business man. I tried to talk him into taking me on as an investment partner, but no go.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

my local shop is also closed mondays, and thats typically my brew day.

this is why i always, always keep a packet or two of nottingham in my kegerator. I rarely brew with that strain, but its always there as the backup plan!!!