Can I re-boil wort?

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edgewoodbrewery

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Ok, so I have an issue... I brewed a 60 minute clone on friday, but didnt make a starter, so I thought: "No big deal, just stick it in the closet over the weekend while my starter gets going, then pitch on monday morning." Right? Wrong. I opened up the closet to find that my fermentation has apparently already started. There is a nice little layer of krausen and the airlock is just bubbling away! I was very thorough in my sanitation efforts, I'm not quite sure how this happend! Anyways, my question is, if I re boil this wort, will it kill any unwanted strain that is in it and just pitch my eastern ale yeast? Thoughts? Comments?
 
I would say yes it will kill anything in there, would I personally advise doing it, no.
 
you could hit it with some campden (sp?) tablets like you would wine..... wait twenty four hours, and then pitch your yeast in there... that should give your yeasties a chance to overtake the wild strain. Personally, i would have put wort in a fridge, rather than in the closet.

Good luck.

remember... there is no such thing as a bad beer... just a limited edition ( i read that somewhere here) maybe you will hit on something amazing.
 
For the future consider keeping a packet of dry yeast on hand - problem would have been avoided. I love the SAF yeasts for the pure convenience and have given up on the liquid as it was forcing me to brew on a day when I did not want to.

+1 on the refrigeration instead of closet and also if you have CO2 a shot of that would help, but there is no practical way to eliminate airborne yeast unless you are in a sterile clean room. I would consider pasteurizing as opposed to boiling to get rid of current yeasts & nasties. For milk they do 145F for 30 minutes or 161F for at least 15 seconds.
 
I wonder how much of the fermentables in the wort was already converted by the wild yeast... If you have a krausen layer, I'd think it would be a significant amount, but an SG reading might help you figure that out. If it were me, I'd hit it with the campden as suggested above (soon), then hope for the best...
 
Just let it go to completion and chalk it up to experience. You will have and old style european ale (wild yeast) on your hands - might even be drinkable.

PS sulfite (campden) doesn't work as effectively in beer as in wine because the pH is too neutral in wort - its effect is very pH dependant.
 
Could this be the start of a Lambic beer? There are lots of wild yeast and bacteria in a lambic, so maybe you have the beginnings of one. Keep us posted!
 
Some of your sugars have already been converted, alcohol will quickly boil off if you re-boil it. At this point, I'd say pitch n' pray. :mug:
 
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