Is it safe to develop mold on purpose for wine?

[Ring Many]

Hi everyone,

I've been following a recipe for making Sloe berry wine via BrewBitz. One of the suggestions is to basically add several lbs of sloe berries, boiling water, then leave it in a warm room for around 2 months.

A thick, green mold forms on the top of the fermenter, which you then scoop out in one go, then rack the wine and continue with the fermentation process as normal. Apparently this adds extra spices and flavours.

Link to the video here:



Do you think that this is safe to drink afterwards? Most forums I've read, you want to avoid mold at all costs and usually throw away batches. What do you think of this? Will adding the campden tablets and the high alcohol content kill off the bacteria afterwards?

Cheers.

 

[newbeerman]

Hi there,

In my limited knowledge and understanding of what I've been reading. Sulphates will kill and stop bacterial growth. And from what I understand campden tablets are a sulphate made for just that.

If I were to make this wine I would personally look into ways to finish the wine properly with additives to secure there being no mold or whatever in the final product.

In the end I assume you would let it sit for several months in a bottle and if it doesn't go bad then you might have a decent wine on hand.

 

[newbeerman]

Good luck and let me know how it progresses.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

IDK when the mold is removed the spores are still on the walls of the bucket. I’d research more about what campden kills bacteria are different from fungus.

 

[newbeerman]

IDK when the mold is removed the spores are still on the walls of the bucket. I’d research more about what campden kills bacteria are different from fungus.

Thanks.

 

[RPh_Guy]

That kid in the video doesn't know the first thing about sanitation.

I would not drink that; it's a significant health risk.
Mold is allergenic and may produce toxins and carcinogens.


@newbeerman
Sulfite will not fix it, you need to prevent mold growth.
Be careful mixing up sulfate and sulfite.

@Hoppy2bmerry
Bacteria, mold, and fungus are all different.
Spores aren't the problem, it's the actively growing mold that's dangerous.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

@RPh_Guy thanks for the distinction, just goes to show you that drinking someone else’s home brew is not always a good thing. Mold is in the kingdom of fungi, which is admittedly a bit general.

“Fungi are usually classified in four divisions: the Chytridiomycota (chytrids), Zygomycota (bread molds), Ascomycota (yeasts and sac fungi), and the Basidiomycota (club fungi). Placement into a division is based on the way in which the fungus reproduces sexually.” -UC Berkeley publication

 

[Miraculix]

Most of you are scared that the mold or bacteria might not get killed.... I would be much more scared about all the toxins they might have already produced and that will surely stay in the liquid even after killing them successfully and also after aging it for years.

 

[RPh_Guy]

@RPh_Guy thanks for the distinction, just goes to show you that drinking someone else’s home brew is not always a good thing. Mold is in the kingdom of fungi, which is admittedly a bit general.

“Fungi are usually classified in four divisions: the Chytridiomycota (chytrids), Zygomycota (bread molds), Ascomycota (yeasts and sac fungi), and the Basidiomycota (club fungi). Placement into a division is based on the way in which the fungus reproduces sexually.” -UC Berkeley publication

Haha, sorry, you're right!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

^^^ no problem.

 

[NinjaBear]

An old NES RPG has stuck with me over time as an item you could acquire was “Mold Wine”

After much googling, I assumed this was a failed translation of “Mulled Wine”

Now I’m re-invigorated to learn if mold Wine was ever truly a thing.

 

[RPh_Guy]

People eat, drink, & smoke all kinds of disgusting and dangerous stuff. Some of those people die or get sick because of it.