Zymomancer
Well-Known Member
I thought I'd have my first try at capturing some wild yeast, just for fun, and it seemed like one of the most reliable methods is to get it from fruit skin (see: http://bootlegbiology.com/diy/capturing-yeast/). I came across an apple tree in a park and took some apples (either very young ones or crabapples), brought them home, then:
- Filled a sanitized jar halfway with apple juice
- Dropped in a few granules of yeast nutrient
- Dropped in the apples (unwashed)
- Shook it up a bunch
- Left it in a closet with the lid slightly loose
- Shook up it a little once or twice a day for the first few days (aeration for the yeast)
I know there are better ways of doing it, but I'm wondering what results I'd get from a minimal amount of effort. That was about a week ago, it looks like it's still slowly fermenting. I'm waiting to taste it until it's cleared up. Here's what I've noticed so far:
- Strong bread yeast smell, mellowing out as more alcohol was created
- Strong hydrogen sulfide smell (rotten eggs) for the first several days, which seems to have gone away
- Strong lactic acid smell (sauerkraut) - in fact it smells _exactly_ like some rice wine I made months ago (see "traditional chinese rice wine", using the yeast balls)
This last one is what I'm a little annoyed with. I'm happy that I've got something that's not overgrown with mold and smells drinkable on my first try, but I'd rather just have harvested the yeast and left out the lactic acid bacteria.
Here's some things I probably could have done, I'm wondering if anyone with experience could point out if they're actually correct and/or what the most effective method of harvesting _just_ yeast is:
- Put the fruit in the jar at the moment of harvest
- Use hopped wort, the hops inhibit lactic acid bacteria growth
- Don't do it in the summer: collect it in cooler weather, or use temperature control when fermenting
- Raise the pH to create conditions more favorable to yeast and less favorable to LABs
- Filled a sanitized jar halfway with apple juice
- Dropped in a few granules of yeast nutrient
- Dropped in the apples (unwashed)
- Shook it up a bunch
- Left it in a closet with the lid slightly loose
- Shook up it a little once or twice a day for the first few days (aeration for the yeast)
I know there are better ways of doing it, but I'm wondering what results I'd get from a minimal amount of effort. That was about a week ago, it looks like it's still slowly fermenting. I'm waiting to taste it until it's cleared up. Here's what I've noticed so far:
- Strong bread yeast smell, mellowing out as more alcohol was created
- Strong hydrogen sulfide smell (rotten eggs) for the first several days, which seems to have gone away
- Strong lactic acid smell (sauerkraut) - in fact it smells _exactly_ like some rice wine I made months ago (see "traditional chinese rice wine", using the yeast balls)
This last one is what I'm a little annoyed with. I'm happy that I've got something that's not overgrown with mold and smells drinkable on my first try, but I'd rather just have harvested the yeast and left out the lactic acid bacteria.
Here's some things I probably could have done, I'm wondering if anyone with experience could point out if they're actually correct and/or what the most effective method of harvesting _just_ yeast is:
- Put the fruit in the jar at the moment of harvest
- Use hopped wort, the hops inhibit lactic acid bacteria growth
- Don't do it in the summer: collect it in cooler weather, or use temperature control when fermenting
- Raise the pH to create conditions more favorable to yeast and less favorable to LABs
