Storing unpitched wort

How long can I store about 4.5 gallons of wort without pitching any yeast into it. I brewed today and was planning on pitching some washed yeast that was in the fridge for about two weeks I normally make a starter before but I didn't plan ahead and decided to go ahead and pitch the washed yeast straight into the wort. I split the entire yeast cake into only two containers and figured it would be ok because of the amount of the yeast present in the containers and the short amount of time it was in the fridge. So I started brewing then a couple hours later I look at the container and theres a nasty looking bubbly growth on the outside of the container. I obviously had a contamination so I dumped the yeast. Since I already stated brewing ( it was 10pm at this time). I was not able to get a new vile of yeast and will not be able to till Monday morning. I finished brewing then placed the wort into my carboy after cooling with an air lock on it. So my question is how long could I possibly store the wort before I should be worried about contamination?

 

Do a search for "No chill" brewing, the Aussies do a lot of it for water conservation and there should be some good info on how long they let their wort sit. Seal it up, get it as cold as you can, and if you have CO2 put a blanket of that in the fermentor.

 

Your major concern is nasty bacteria which would happily infect your wort. They like warm conditions with higher pH, so as said your best bet is to seal it an cool it, CO2 will also help.

 

Do I got back yesterday and took a look at my wort and all looked good so I was excited and planed to go to my lhbs to pick up some fresh yeast. I wake up this morning and go to brush my teeth and hear my air lock bubbling away. Ive been infected!!!! It doesn't look crazy though. it looks like if I were to have pitched brewers yeast into it. There's a layer of krausen just like any other brew and actually smells go coming through the air lock. I think I'm going to let this one ride and see what it does.

 

Oh and in regards to no chill looks like its great but I cooled it before I poured it into my fermenter. I sounds like the hot wort sterilizes better then star San can. Or I might have just some bacteria or wild yeast introduced while I was cooling.

 

The way it looks right now.

 

So does this sound like a bad idea? Should I just dump it.

 

Let it ride. You just got some spontaneous fermentation and there is no telling what the strain or bug that started it is. But you should not dump it until you find out if it tastes good or not.

 

Might love it - might be terrible, either way it's a fun trial.

 

you may have a new house yeast on your hands!

 

You never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever want to transfer chilled wort unless you are ready to pitch. For the no-chill method, either leave it in the kettle with the top on or rack it to a glass carboy while it's still 200°F+. That way, your vessel is heat sanitized. Star San reduces bacteria counts. It does not sterilize.


Without transferring, wort should be stable for 2-3 days. Google "wort stability test" and you can see how this test is done. Since you transferred into a non-heat sterilized container, your wort was probably stable for only 24 hours so your time has passed.

If you are short on fermenters, dump it. If you can spare one to experiment with, pitch yeast ASAP and age it out. Hopefully you just got a wild yeast strain which would be pretty cool.

EDIT: DO NOT RACK HOT WORT TO GLASS FOR OBVIOUS REASONS

 

NO!! Thermal shock will be the death of a carboy! No chill requires SS or HDPE containers.

 

My guess is that you had some dormant yeast in your carboy, so it took off. It might not even be wild... Just whatever you had in it previously.

Bacteria, afaik, takes longer to establish itself.

 

That's what I was scared of so I cooled it.

So will pitching some more yeast do the trick then. I'm excited to find out what this is now.

 

So far I've chilled two batches down to about 80-90 degrees (can't get them cooler until I change up equipment some) and then racked into sanitized buckets, then placed in ferm chamber with airlocks for under 12 hours, then pitched. I can't put my kettle in the ferm chamber or submerge it in water (e-BK) and my ground water isn't cold enough to chill to pitching temps right now. Once I get the pond-pump setup, I will try that.

 

Yes, this is how it was done before fermentation was fully understood. They made an "offering to the angels" by leaving the wort open to the night sky for the night.

Be sure and post how it tastes. You might could even isolate your own "house blend" of yeast/bacteria!

 

I'll subscribe for tasting notes.

 

Will do. Could a bacteria infection even look like this. I've never had a contaminated batch before so I have nothing to go off of.

Supper excited to taste the end product.

 

Guessing wild yeast or left over

 

I cooled my wort to 80 degrees this weekend and let it sit for about 24hrs before I pitched my starter. Usually I make it the day before but did not work out that way this time . Did not have anything like this happen. Subscribed as well . I'm curious to see how this one turns out !

 

I'm thinking it left over probably. I cleaned the carboy good and didn't have any sign of yeast still in there, but then again yeast are microscopic organisms. who knows really but I'm hoping for some wild yeast.

So I just got home and check on this beer again and all air lock activity has stopped. The thick layer of krausen is no longer present. I'm going to wait a couple of days and see what happening by taking a hydrometer reading.

 

This is exactly what I do. Ground water is 85 degrees, so I cant get it colder than that (at least not until winter rolls round). But after a few hours sitting in my ferm fridge which I preset to 40 degrees, it gets to pitching temp in about 6 hours.

 

Do after a couple of day I'm noticing the bottom of the carboy is getting noticeably darker then the rest. I'm thinking this thing was infected. I also took a gravity reading and it went down 10 points but there are no more signs of fermentation.

 

What's the current SG?

 

1.055 it's now down to 1.045 doesn't look very promising anymore since the bottom is very dark. I've never seen that happen with any of my fermentations before.

 

I'm looking at it and I just might be my eyes. Looks slightly darker but not that crazy. Is it maybe a stuck fermentation? Should I just add pitch some yeast or shake the carboy a little.

 

If you're viewing it as an experiment...I'd raise temp slightly and swirl it, then check back in a few days. If you're hoping to salvage it at all costs, you might be able to pitch yeast that's at high krausen and let it do it's thing.

I'd taste it first. Is it sour? or just tastes like sugary wort?

 

Relax with the colors. Yeast falling out of suspension will result in color changes which is completely normal. I've seen dark up top and light at the bottom and vice versa.

As for the stuck fermentation, give it three days and check again and post. Infections will make the gravity crash hard -- lower than where your yeast would have taken it. If it is still 1.040+, the good news is you don't have an infection (as the infection will consume the sugars), but the bad news is you'll have a stuck fermentation. If this is the case, bring it to room temp and Nottingham to the rescue

 

Ok I'll try to relax. Lol when I took the gravity sample it didn't smell sour but sweet. I didn't taste it but I will next time I take a sample. I'm going to try to swirl the carboy and move it to a warmer room and hopefully that does the trick. Be back in three day then. Thanks for the advice guys always very helpful on this site.

 

Air lock is now bubbling away! I'm going to take a reading when I see that activity has slowed down thanks guys for the help. I was so scared that I had a infection. So what did you guys think do I have wild yeast or do you think that it's the same yeast from the last batch.