Finally Captured Some Wild Yeast

[statseeker]

My brother and I were at the park with the dogs the other day and found an overgrown grape vine hanging over the fence of an abandoned house. First thing in my mind was to get the yeast off the grapes.

So I made a very thin starter wort at about 1.012 and let it go for a day before stepping it up with some 1.038 wort. Fermentation took off yesterday. Not a terribly great flocculating yeast, but it smells pretty darn good. Much better than about 90% of the starters I make.

I'm pretty excited by the prospect of having a good wild yeast to use in a beer here soon. It gives off some very good smells, some ephervescence (sp?), some citrus, some alcohol. Definitely a keeper yeast.

Hopefully I can get some pics up soon.

 

[Oldsock]

Sounds excellent, hopefully it works as well in a batch as it did in the starter.

 

[statseeker]

I'll be shocked if it doesnt. It's going to have to be a light beer though, a cream ale or at the darkest an amber or mild ale. Something where the citrus can really take a starring role. I've already got several ideas in mind. I'll keep any curious readers abreast of developments.

 

[broadbill]

Chances are its a mix of different yeasts in there, and what you have now and what you have after a fermenation might be much different. Could be better, could be worse....just sayin' Good luck!

 

[Mr_Pear]

Ooo interested to see how this develops for you!

 

[Oldsock]

I'll be shocked if it doesnt. It's going to have to be a light beer though, a cream ale or at the darkest an amber or mild ale. Something where the citrus can really take a starring role. I've already got several ideas in mind. I'll keep any curious readers abreast of developments.

The yeast character from the bugs I captured was super tropical for the first few weeks after I brewed a batch, but over a couple months that aroma has faded. Last sample I had was starting to get funkier with just a hint of sourness. Things can certainly change as different microbes take over.

 

[statseeker]

That's why I'm giving it a while to work on the starter. There's a hint of sourness in there right now but the citrus is still there, albeit rounded. I have to get the grapes out of it in the morning and hopefully build a bigger 1 liter starter after I get back from LA.

 

[statseeker]

Update:

The smell is still good after almost 2 weeks. I think it's time to brew a batch with this yeast and see what happens. I'm thinking of a saison, which I already have the grain for and the hops for. I'm pretty excited. There is an ever so slight funky smell to it which I think might compliment a saison.

 

[statseeker]

Further Update:

I brewed a saison over the weekend with a combination of the same general quantity of this wild yeast and Wyeast 3724. I ran out of DME to make the wild starter bigger. I was going to do a saison just with the wild yeast but under the circumstances this was not possible. I'm hoping the wild yeast will add some complexity to the overall flavor and maybe add the citrusy notes that it did in the starter. I'm also hoping that it stresses the 3724 into showing me some esters. So far the smell is pretty good. We'll see where it goes.

 

[Grantman1]

subscribing. keep everyone informed!

 

[lumpher]

sounds like an awesome experiment, since it seems to be working. i hope it turns out a tasty saison

 

[statseeker]

So far it's still fermenting relatively actively. There's no krausen or anything but there are still large bubbles actively forming in the beer and there is still yeast rising and falling in suspension. Smells great, I'm enjoying the wait.

 

[statseeker]

Update. Beer down to 1.008 final gravity. Taste test on Sunday was very promising. Much better balanced than the previous attempt I did with purely 3724. Kinda sucks that it didnt stall out a little higher, I tossed in some brett C a few weeks back anticipating it stalling in the mid teens. No such luck. This beer's ready for the keg. Might condition it in the keg with some maltodextrin to get some brett character in there.