Can spontaneously fermenting a drink be dangerous?

[nanach]

I created this drink containing lemons, ginger, cayenne pepper and maple syrup as a health drink. Then boiled the mixture for about an hour and strained out the ginger and lemon. A recent trip to Belgium inspired me with the idea to take some of it and leave it out for a few hours and to see if I could collect local strains of yeast. Then I took he drink and put it in a bottle that recently contained a lambic beer that had yeast on the bottom cork it and let it sit on the bottom of my closet. It is beginning to bubble (signs of fermentation!) and there is some white sediment at the bottom but i am wondering if there could be any dangerous bacteria mold or yeast growing in it? (I am in NYC if that helps)

 

[nanach]

Sorry about the typos above

 

[Daze]

it is to bad you boiled it. Ginger is a natural source of yeast

 

[nanach]

it is to bad you boiled it. Ginger is a natural source of yeast

I'm very new at this I didn't know that I was merely trying to extract the flavor out of the ginger and lemons, and have only local strains growing in it. But now that I did boil it, could there be any dangerous bacterias, molds, or yeasts growing in it?

 

[Daze]

if it is bad you will know. first give it time and see if it clears, then you can go from there. Mold will give it a dirt flavor. If the yeast are going strong, an infection of some bad bacteria is less likely.

 

[nanach]

How can I tell if this is mold or yeast growing in it? And how long should I leave it for? Will the fermentation that is occurring kill off any bad bacteria and mold?

 

[Daze]

looks like yeast to me. Mold grows on the top. I wish the bottle was clear it would be easier to tell what you have going. how does it smell?? Let it sit until it is done producing co2 and clears. could be weeks to months.

 

[nanach]

Does not smell very different than when I bottled it about a week ago. I guess ill just wait and see what happens. The co2 is very active as you may be able to tell from the picture. Also, I was wondering if I should open it every day or so to release the built up pressure because the bottle is corked, I don't have an airlock valve to release the pressure?

 

[Insomniac]

Yes, I would release the pressure

 

[janivar123]

Sanitize a bit of cling film and secure with a rubber band?
Add a pinhole if it looks like it will pop

Or tinfoil sinse that will probably let out the pressure without need for a hole(and can be sanitized by heat)

 

[nanach]

Once it is done fermenting how will I know if there are dangerous molds or bacterias in it?

 

[LeBreton]

Look, smell, & taste. Your senses are a very sophisticated poison detection machine.

 

[Daze]

Here is a repost of somthing I posted a wile back that should help

If bacteria or mold got in to it you will know. I know a guy.... OK I will admit it, it was me and I had started a wine making project with my brother. We had access to tons of fresh fruit and had started over 50 gallons all in 1 gallon batches. this was about 10 years ago. well life happened and one day added to the next and before we new it 10 years had passed. Some of the bottles employed the old handywrap and a rubberband trick and others had airlocks, but the airlocks had been neglected and many of the rubber bands holding the handywrap on had broken. Even though most of it was exposed to some air it was all still covered which significantly limited the possibility of contamination. The final result after 10 years was that half of it was bad, BUT the half that was good was really good.

Back to what I said, if it is bad you will know. first thing we did was inspect it visually. it there were things floating on the top, it was cloudy, or had obvious major issues we dumped it. This weeded out about 10 gallons. then we did the sniff test which eliminated another 5 gallons. the last test was to taste it. The ones that had been exposed to mold had a dirt taste so we dumped them and a few had a vinegar taste so we dumped them as well. The taste test eliminated another 10 gallons.

The 25 gallons we bottled have been fantastic