Collecting wild yeast to ferment pasteurized juice

[z-bob]

Is it as simple as putting a handful of little ornamental crabapples (they have lots of "bloom") or rowanberries in a quart mason jar, covering with apple juice, and adding an airlock or putting the lid on just tight enough to keep fruitflies out but allowing gasses to escape? Should I add a little yeast nutrient? How about hops in the initial starter must to inhibit bacteria? The pH of the juice should be low enough to suppress mold and maybe some bacteria.

I'm not quite brave enough to try a batch of beer using wild yeast, but cider should be less risky. Thanks.

 

[JohnSand]

It should be that simple I think. But in practice I have found that "pasteurized" cider will still ferment on its own. I left a partial bottle on the counter with the cap slightly loose and it fermented pretty quickly, comparable to the other bottles with yeast added.

 

[Miraculix]

Make sure your wild yeast has oxygen to multiply. And no hops. Otherwise you might be training the surviving bacteria to hop resistancy.

You can smell the starter. If the starter doesn't smell good, it's not worth continuing with the yeast. So better make multiple ones so that you can chose and continue only with the best.

 

[Snuffy]

Make sure your wild yeast has oxygen to multiply. And no hops. Otherwise you might be training the surviving bacteria to hop resistancy.

You can smell the starter. If the starter doesn't smell good, it's not worth continuing with the yeast. So better make multiple ones so that you can chose and continue only with the best.

Whatever happened to that compost bucket thread? That was a man scientifically isolating some interesting critters.

 

[Snuffy]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/compost-bucket-sour.732241/

 

[Miraculix]

Whatever happened to that compost bucket thread? That was a man scientifically isolating some interesting critters.

Good question! Let's find out!

 

[z-bob]

I put a big handful of lima bean-sized crabapples in sanitized quart jar and added a pinch of Fermax yeast nutrient and about a pint of apple juice. Put a lid on tight and have been shaking it up and loosening the lid slightly several times a day. Four days later, I'm finally seeing some activity. In a day or two I will see what it smells like and maybe use a refractometer to check about how much sugar is left.

This was a *lot* slower to get going than I expected.

 

[z-bob]

A few days ago I stepped it up to 3 quarts and added a little more yeast nutrient. It is quite active now. It's starting to smell a bit funky. Not necessarily *bad*, but more interesting than good. It smelled a lot cleaner a few days ago when there was just a pint. There are no visible signs of any mold or bacteria.

It's about ready to strain out the crabapples and step up again. I might finish at 3 gallons instead of 4, just because I don't have a 2 gallon fermenter. (and 1 gallon's not enough if it actually turns out good) I think it will be good eventually, but perhaps only after it has aged a month or two.

What about using this same yeast for a small batch of beer? Or has it been ruined by fermenting nothing but simple sugars?

 

[JohnSand]

I think you can use it for the beer if the cider tastes good.

 

[z-bob]

I poured it thru a strainer (to get out all the little crabapples) into a 3 gallon carboy, and added a cup of sugar, 2 heaping teaspoons of yeast nutrient, and about 7 more quarts of apple juice. Shook it up really well to aerate it and make sure the sugar was dissolved. Just a few hours later the airlock was bubbling. When the activity slows way down I will top it up with more juice to a full 3 gallons and then leave it alone to clear. It smells a lot cleaner now. I wonder if the funkiness earlier was a mild case of "rhino farts" because the yeast was stressed from not enough available nitrogen?

 

[z-bob]

The cider is clearing now. Not sure how clear to let it drop before bottling because I'm going to bottle-condition it and I want it to carbonate. I could bottle it now, but the bottles might end up with a *lot* of sediment.

 

[JohnSand]

Waiting longer won't hurt. I think cider benefits from aging.