Culturing yeast from frozen fruit

[NunoAraujo]

Hey all, just a quick question. A friend of mine brought me strawberry tree fruits (not strawberries though, the latin name is Arbutus unedo). It's common for these fruits to enter spontaneous fermentation after some time. Here in Portugal some people make a spirit from this fruit's "wine". So I thought this would definitely be a good opportunity to try and culture some wild yeast. But right now don't have the time to go to the lhbs to get some malt extract or even do some wort from grain. Do you think I could get away with freezing the fruit and then try to culture it when I finally have time?

 

[trentm]

Hey all, just a quick question. A friend of mine brought me strawberry tree fruits (not strawberries though, the latin name is Arbutus unedo). It's common for these fruits to enter spontaneous fermentation after some time. Here in Portugal some people make a spirit from this fruit's "wine". So I thought this would definitely be a good opportunity to try and culture some wild yeast. But right now don't have the time to go to the lhbs to get some malt extract or even do some wort from grain. Do you think I could get away with freezing the fruit and then try to culture it when I finally have time?

While freezing may work, it may also damage some/all cells. You could just smash up the fruit and let it ferment. That's the way spontaneously fermented wine is done. If you don't think you have enough juice, you could add a little water. If you don't think you have enough sugar, you could add some. I think the "must" should be at a gravity of around 1.02. Keep in mind that wild fermentations are often sequential, meaning one species may dominate for a while after which another species becomes dominant and so on. So you could let the initial fermentation go on for weeks or months. When you are ready to make beer, make a starter (with wort) using the products of your initial fermentation.

On the other hand: Starting with wort would probably be better because it would favor species that prefer wort.

 

[NunoAraujo]

I had also been thinking about the wine, it's an interesting idea. I think I'll make the wine out of the ripest ones then, and try and save the less ripe for when I actually have time. Thanks!