A Quick Question + Impatience

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IHaveTheCri

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Alright, before I ask any questions, I wanna say that I am a beginner, and I do not know if this is something I want to do, therefore, I don't wanna put any money into this at all. If by the time this is done/ if it doesn't work, I want to continue, then I will put money into it.

Since this is my first time doing this, I decided to use items I already have around the house. A mason jar, sugar, water and organic raisins. (I read somewhere that you could possibly get wild yeast from raisins that were not treated with sulfites)

I put water into the mason jar, filling it 3/4 the way, then added about 6/7 tablespoons of table sugar. I mixed it up, and allowed the sugar to dissolve. then I added in about 12 raisins. (keep in mind, everything is sanitized).

I woke up today, and noticed small bubbles coming from around the raisins. I thought two things. Either it's oxygen from the raisin escaping, or carbon dioxide from the wild yeast that may or may not have been there. I opened the jar once, and sure enough, I smelled bread.

Now, since I opened it up, I assume I'd have to wait for cellular respiration to do its job, and eat up the remaining oxygen in the jar.

Now, here's the question.

If a hair accidentally gotten into the liquid, could it get infected?

Also, is it normal for a beginner to be so impatient, that they check on it every few hours, even though it could take days?
 
The answer to your question is yes, a hair could harbor bacteria that could be seen as an infection of your science experiment.

The question I have though is how do you know that any possible infection didn't originate from critters living in the sugar you spooned in (presumably unsanitized) or living alongside the yeast that was already on the raisins (which I assume can't be sanitized without also killing the yeast on them).
 
So, your harvesting wild yeast? If that's what your trying to do, then I really wouldn't worry about hair. Lot's of wild yeast are going to give you punget, leathery, even sour flavors. So if your not looking for that, don't waste anymore time.

Also, if your not willing to put any money into home brewing.... Stop Now.

But to answer your question.... Wait about a week with your concoction outdoors, maybe with some sort of screen on it. You'll have wild yeast in it. Then it's up to you to separate it how you see fit. Move to the Lambic Section.
 
Yeah, It's just a science experiment. Whether or not it produces, I may or may not get a new hobby, but by the way things are looking, I kinda like it.
 
Impatient brewers? Never.
My wife thinks I'm nuts, though. Obsessed, maybe, but not nuts.
Every brew I've made gets scent-tested from the airlock and multiple close-up observations with a light to watch the carboy yeast storm.
The bock carboy got moved from the kitchen to my bedroom, so I had an excuse to check on it constantly. Going to and from the bathroom, getting up at morning, or just before bed ... this goes on for about two weeks until it's ready to bottle.
To me, this is normal behavior.
 
I think your methods are incompatible with your mission. IMO, you should get some decent (not great, just decent) equipment, and brew some decent beer. If you don't like the process or the outcome, then sell it off. Heck, people go to the movies and spend $20, $30 for what? Nothing to show for it.

Losing a little money while learning about something is far better, IMO. At least you know something as a result.

You're putting together a bunch of ingredients which are unlikely to produce good beer. You'll say "Ick, I don't want to pursue this," when the way you are doing it is the problem.

Brewing isn't rocket science; it's simple, but not simplistic. You need a good recipe, a good process of producing the wort, a decent place and vessel in which to ferment, good yeast, and an approach likely to produce something good.

Making it up as you go? Not a recipe for success.

Now, if you're having fun doing this, learning things, enjoying it--that's great. Far be it from me to tell anyone how to live their life. But right at the start, you say you don't want to sink any money into this if you're not going to like it, but the very methods you're choosing are A) unlikely to produce a quality product, and B) nothing close to real brewing equipment as most homebrewers use.

So I'm unsure what outcome you're expecting here.

************

I do shooting sports too; I once bought a HiPoint pistol because I'd read that these pistols, despite being cheap AND ugly, could be made to run reliably w/ some polishing and tweaking. So I bought one. I was able to get it to run very well w/ commercial ammo, but I roll my own, using primarily truncated cone bullets. It would not feed those things consistently, creating jams that in one case was the worst I've ever tried to clear.

I sold that pistol to a friend, took maybe a $40 loss on it. Now, to me, that was not a loss--I learned a great deal, had a great time while doing it, and for me that's more than anyone spending the same at the movies takes home.

So maybe you might look at this from a different perspective--be willing to put a little cash into this, you could get some decent-enough stuff and really give this a go. If you don't end up liking it, sell it. You'll take a loss of course, but you'll have produced beer you can drink, and I'd bet you $5 that once you start brewing with malted grain or extract instead of (gasp) raisins, you'll want to continue.

Anyway, brew on, good luck, and enjoy.
 
Yes, it's common for beginners to be impatient ... it's also common for the experienced to be impatient .... it happens a lot .... brewers are drinking their beer 2 to 3 weeks after brew day even though they know from experience that a particluar brew is best at 6 to 10 weeks. I do it all the time....for a variety of reasons including dry pipeline, to experience how the flavor evolves and sometimes, to consume it before the warden finds it.
 
SWMBO: "Are you checking that thing again? It's not going to run away, you know."
L'fool: "If someone comes along and runs off with 5 gallons of beer, that means he's motivated - and I'm motivated enough to chase him."

SWMBO: "You're crazy, you know that."
L'fool: "It's YOUR fault. YOU got that Mr. Beer for me, but noooo .... I coulda had a nice socket set instead."

SWMBO: "You buy one more THING and ..."
L'fool: "Too late. Hey, look at this nice shiny Corny I got fo cheap. Ain't it ... OOOW!"

:ban:
 
IHaveTheCri said:
Alright, before I ask any questions, I wanna say that I am a beginner, and I do not know if this is something I want to do, therefore, I don't wanna put any money into this at all. If by the time this is done/ if it doesn't work, I want to continue, then I will put money into it.
Click to expand...

Well - I'm really new at all this - so take my advice for what it's worth - but, I think that unless you're willing to put some money into it (and it doesn't have to be a great deal), and some study into it, you're very unlikely to produce something you'll like, and you'll be very unlikely to continue with this.

I'd recommend you look at this series of articles: Beer School

If you have a stock pot, and a kitchen scale, and can save up some old beer bottle empties, you can go all-in for about $70.

Follow that, and it will take you through a one gallon batch, using an "all grain" approach.

All-grain is considered by some (most?) to be a bit more advanced, but I believe that's because they are doing 5-10 gallon batches, and for them it is a minor feat of industrial and hydraulic engineering! You can do all-grain small batches - especially using the Brew in a Bag approach - in your kitchen, without spending hundreds of dollars on equipment. (of course, you can drop $10K on beautiful stainless steel semi-automated gorgeous homebrew industrial factories is you want to, and can afford it).

Materials for a batch of beer on that scale set you back ~$15 for the first round, and if you learn to harvest,wash,and re-use yeast, further batches can cost you less that $10 (yeast can be expensive, but you can keep 'em as useful pets).

For example, I just plugged a simple Hefeweizen reciepie for 1 gallon batch into Homebrew supplies recipie builder for a 1-gallon batch and it came out to $12.33 in materials with yeast, and $5.34 (!) without.

So using your kitchen, for small batches, you can pump out good quality beer, using a correct and reliable process, at around $6/batch, for an initial investment the first time of <$100.

I hope it works out for you - this hobby is a lot if fun, and hey - beer! :D
 
Well, I am not expecting anything good out of this experiment. I am just doing it to see if I can produce alcohol. Anyway, thanks for the answers and advice, and I will check those out.
 
IHaveTheCri said:
Well, I am not expecting anything good out of this experiment. I am just doing it to see if I can produce alcohol. Anyway, thanks for the answers and advice, and I will check those out.
Click to expand...

Sugar + Yeast = Alcohol. You'll make alcohol every time. That's the easy part. Making that alcohol delicious is the challenge.
 
BWE said:
Sugar + Yeast = Alcohol. You'll make alcohol every time. That's the easy part. Making that alcohol delicious is the challenge.
Click to expand...

I know that... not in the technical way, but in the mental way. Knowing that I have atleast made alcohol, I will want to do it again... and If I don't make it... I'd still try it again, that time with actual ingredients, and the proper tools to do so.
 
I have been brewing on and off since the early 80s, and I am still impatient for the first week

I actually will go and count bubbles in the air lock for the first 3 days.
and my wife hates having to come in and look at the krausen as I brag about the amount of activity going on
I still am amazed at the process, and worry over every brew:eek:nestar:

but once racked out of the primary, and sent to the lagering closet, sorry guys all my beers get put in the closet for 2 weeks, I actually just forget about them till I notice on my daily planner I need to filter a beer and put it in a keg.:ban:

Then there is an excuse to drink whatever is close to empty so I can replace it with the new brew.:tank:
 
I remember seeing something somewhere about making beer out of sugar water and bread yeast. It was meant to be a kind of "apocalypse beer". Like, what do you do if the world has gone to ****, anarchy reigns, raiders roam the lands, and all that. Well one thing you could do is make this beer. Maybe something like that would be a better start for someone looking to dip their toe in the water of brewing. At least it was intended to produce something reasonably drinkable. I have no idea what something like that must taste like though *shudder*.
 
Lefou said:
Impatient brewers? Never.
My wife thinks I'm nuts, though. Obsessed, maybe, but not nuts.
Every brew I've made gets scent-tested from the airlock and multiple close-up observations with a light to watch the carboy yeast storm.
The bock carboy got moved from the kitchen to my bedroom, so I had an excuse to check on it constantly. Going to and from the bathroom, getting up at morning, or just before bed ... this goes on for about two weeks until it's ready to bottle.
To me, this is normal behavior.
Click to expand...

Your wife need only worry if you in fact put the carboy in the bed between you...and you cuddle it.
 
Lefou said:
SWMBO: "Are you checking that thing again? It's not going to run away, you know."
L'fool: "If someone comes along and runs off with 5 gallons of beer, that means he's motivated - and I'm motivated enough to chase him."

SWMBO: "You're crazy, you know that."
L'fool: "It's YOUR fault. YOU got that Mr. Beer for me, but noooo .... I coulda had a nice socket set instead."

SWMBO: "You buy one more THING and ..."
L'fool: "Too late. Hey, look at this nice shiny Corny I got fo cheap. Ain't it ... OOOW!"

:ban:
Click to expand...

Thats funny. My wife just shakes her head at me and says "you know we can buy beer at the store"
I say "thats true but we could also sell the stove and refrigerator and eat out all the time too"
After she tasted the beer I made (the Weiss was for her) no more comments about buying beer at the store.
So now I have to remind her the empty bottles need to be rinsed and saved for refilling. One time 4 cases of bottles purchase ,wise investment.
 
IHaveTheCri said:
Alright, before I ask any questions, I wanna say that I am a beginner, and I do not know if this is something I want to do, therefore, I don't wanna put any money into this at all. If by the time this is done/ if it doesn't work, I want to continue, then I will put money into it.

Since this is my first time doing this, I decided to use items I already have around the house. A mason jar, sugar, water and organic raisins. (I read somewhere that you could possibly get wild yeast from raisins that were not treated with sulfites)

I put water into the mason jar, filling it 3/4 the way, then added about 6/7 tablespoons of table sugar. I mixed it up, and allowed the sugar to dissolve. then I added in about 12 raisins. (keep in mind, everything is sanitized).

I woke up today, and noticed small bubbles coming from around the raisins. I thought two things. Either it's oxygen from the raisin escaping, or carbon dioxide from the wild yeast that may or may not have been there. I opened the jar once, and sure enough, I smelled bread.

Now, since I opened it up, I assume I'd have to wait for cellular respiration to do its job, and eat up the remaining oxygen in the jar.

Now, here's the question.

If a hair accidentally gotten into the liquid, could it get infected?

Also, is it normal for a beginner to be so impatient, that they check on it every few hours, even though it could take days?
Click to expand...

substitute the raisins for corn ,barley and rye next time...
 
Hey guys,
I'm thinking of starting my own pharmaceutical company but I want to spend any money. I noticed that my bread has gone mouldy and I remembered that antibiotics came from bread mould. What do you think? Can I make my own antibiotics? I could save a lot of money treating my own infections.
 
Sir-Hops-A-Lot said:
Hey guys,

I'm thinking of starting my own pharmaceutical company but I want to spend any money. I noticed that my bread has gone mouldy and I remembered that antibiotics came from bread mould. What do you think? Can I make my own antibiotics? I could save a lot of money treating my own infections.
Click to expand...


That's a really poor business decision. These days people can get all the antibiotics they need just by eating a healthy amount of chicken and beef.
 
IHaveTheCri said:
Now, here's the question.

If a hair accidentally gotten into the liquid, could it get infected?

Also, is it normal for a beginner to be so impatient, that they check on it every few hours, even though it could take days?
Click to expand...

I doubt it but since you are harvesting something wild not sure it matters. I dont know if your methods are accurate for gathering wild yeast, but i hope you get some and brew with it and post how it went. I have a book detailing this process i think and now i am curious to look at it. Thanks for the inspiration. If you are trying to save money, not sure this is a good idea. The reason is after a wild yeast that fermenter might be sour/wild only equipment. Not necessarily a bad thing. Also i dont really know what i am talking about. I like your creative spirit.

Impatience and worry, yes.
 
Its an exciting hobby and to be impatient to sip your very own home brew is natural ( ok maybe not but it is damn good beer ,way better than store bought.) Just remember that Rome wasn't built in a day and it takes yeast a good 2 weeks to do its thing to your grain extract. Do up your brew, put it in the fermenter and after the yeast starts , count down to 2 weeks ...imagine you're a little kid again with 2 weeks until Christmas . Mom and dad wont let you open your presents until Christmas day ,right? Right. So be a good boy and wait for Santa.
 
Soulshine2 said:
Its an exciting hobby and to be impatient to sip your very own home brew is natural ( ok maybe not but it is damn good beer ,way better than store bought.) Just remember that Rome wasn't built in a day and it takes yeast a good 2 weeks to do its thing to your grain extract. Do up your brew, put it in the fermenter and after the yeast starts , count down to 2 weeks ...imagine you're a little kid again with 2 weeks until Christmas . Mom and dad wont let you open your presents until Christmas day ,right? Right. So be a good boy and wait for Santa.
Click to expand...

This has not been my experience and its not uncommon for me to drink a warm force carbed beer 7 days later. I have no problem with your advice but if i am out of beer and i haven't seen any activity in fermenter for a few days, i start getting thirsty! If i have beer i might let it sit 3 weeks or more. Its all good, cheers.
 
Update - Until the 5th and 6th days, there was no action in the jar. Then it started bubbling, but after that, no more, so I decided to strain it and try it out. I could feel somewhat of a buzz coming on, but a beer or two could've given a better one.

Results - I think I'd like to keep this hobby, and will actually put money into the brew next time.
 
IHaveTheCri said:
Update - Until the 5th and 6th days, there was no action in the jar. Then it started bubbling, but after that, no more, so I decided to strain it and try it out. I could feel somewhat of a buzz coming on, but a beer or two could've given a better one.

Results - I think I'd like to keep this hobby, and will actually put money into the brew next time.
Click to expand...

So, what's&#8203; your plan for your&#8203; next batch?
 
As far as equipment you can brew a batch pretty cheap.
Get a couple used plastic buckets from a bakery or grocery store. One for a fermenter and one for a bottling bucket.
Purchase a bottling bucket spigot from a home brew store and install it on one of the buckets. About $5
Get several feet of vinyl tubing from a hardware store to siphon from fermenter to bottling bucket.
Do a partial boil in the biggest pot you have on the stove.
Re use PET soda bottles so you don't have to buy bottle caps or a capper.
Aside from ingredients it would probably cost less then $20.

Edit--- You would also probably want a bottling wand , again about $5
And you could sanitize with a bleach solution.
 
IHaveTheCri said:
I was thinking something that didn't include grains or hops, so I thought mead would be something good to try.

One particular recipe caught my eye:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=599390
Click to expand...

mead is great, but takes close to a year to age past the hotness of the alcohol. I have done a few batches and love it. Cider is also fun, I can buy some fresh press apple juice every year near me in the fall. using store bot juice is not recommended.
 

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